Watch Dogs Review - No Hack Job

deserteagleeye

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Sep 8, 2010
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This game does look really good. So far the only game that makes me want to buy the console for it. Still gonna need at least 4 more games for that to tempt me.
 

Kerethos

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Jun 19, 2013
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I'll probably pick this up for the PC once the DLC surge is over and I can get the whole game at a reasonable price, as thus far I've been hearing mostly good things about it.

But I'm also hearing that there are issues with pop-in. I mean just look at footage while driving, seriously, that's so bad it hurts the gameplay. And that the PC port is poorly optimized and downscaled.

The way the police works is also very inconsistent, seeing as you can run down a bus stop, 3 streetlights and 5 people and no one calls the police. But pull out a gun while walking around, or steal a car, and bystanders (sometimes) call the police. The police will also fight side by side with a gang of armed thugs shooting up the streets to take you down - because apparently the police and the people carrying illegal firearms, and shooting up the streets, are bros.

Whether or not you're fine with the main character being a psychopathic criminal is more of a preferential thing, but personally I don't mind. He has to be, or the game would have to be very strict with what you're allowed to do. But I can see why some people would find that less appealing.
 

Rabid_meese

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Jan 7, 2014
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This game looks fantastic, and is getting universal acclaim as being a pretty good game. I can't wait to hear how shit it actually is 3 months from now, when the "it sucks" bandwagon will take over. Because that seems to be the 'thing' now with big budget titles. Or, ya know, some controversy that will pop up over it because of a slice of gameplay taken out of context, a bad ending, or something buried in the depths of the code.

In all actuality, I think it looked like a decent game and this review is well worth the read. I noticed Jim talking about how wordy it was going to be, and it was a good read. It answered every single one of my questions about the title. If I had the $60, I'd probably end up making it a day one purchase. Because I don't (and I won't for a while), I'll more then likely either wait for a deep discount, or a GOTY version.

RatherDull said:
4 and a half stars while having no less than 3 huge ads on one page.

Uh huh.
Oh for the love of. Please, shut up. If you're the kind of person who thinks this website would sully its reputation by having their biggest reviewer take a kickback for a good score, why do you even visit this websites review section? The last thing I would do for a website that I believed was taking a kick back is support them - you'd just be funding bad behavior. Jim has been nothing but a consumer advocate speaking out about the bullshit and abuses of the game industry - he has given no evidence in the slightest that he could be a crooked reviewer.

They had ad's on this page because it's the new biggest title, and Ubisoft PR has been hitting people hard with this game to ensure an ROI. This is a website for nerds - they wouldn't get very far having ad's for Slimjims *cough* or new tires. It ensures clicks from the Escapists end, which nets them more revenue. That's not corruption - that's the fundamentals of how advertising works. And Jim isn't the guy planning the advertising.
 

otakon17

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Jun 21, 2010
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RatherDull said:
4 and a half stars while having no less than 3 huge ads on one page.

Uh huh.
It's JIM! C'mon among the few people you can trust for NOT shelling out a bought review he's one of them. It's not like what's his name with the 5-stars for that game that nobody can remember....
 

AnthrSolidSnake

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Jun 2, 2011
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GumbaMasta said:
AnthrSolidSnake said:
Per usual though, the PC port right now is terrible, at least for the majority of people it seems. Playing with my 780ti, I get horrible stutter, significant frame rate drops and screen tearing, making the game pretty much unplayable right now. Looks like I'll have to wait for a patch for a new game...again.
Have you updated your graphics drivers? That apparently fixed most issues I had with the graphic performance. That or it was the thirty pounds of dust motes I brushed out of the cooling fans.
I updated the drivers before I even downloaded the game. Still have the problems.The only solutions I've had were to either lock the FPS to 30, or play in borderless, the latter of which only sort of fixes the problem.
 

1Life0Continues

Not a Gamer, I Just Play Games
Jul 8, 2013
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Kerethos said:
I'll probably pick this up for the PC once the DLC surge is over and I can get the whole game at a reasonable price, as thus far I've been hearing mostly good things about it.

But I'm also hearing that there are issues with pop-in. I mean just look at footage while driving, seriously, that's so bad it hurts the gameplay. And that the PC port is poorly optimized and downscaled.

The way the police works is also very inconsistent, seeing as you can run down a bus stop, 3 streetlights and 5 people and no one calls the police. But pull out a gun while walking around, or steal a car, and bystanders (sometimes) call the police. The police will also fight side by side with a gang of armed thugs shooting up the streets to take you down - because apparently the police and the people carrying illegal firearms, and shooting up the streets, are bros.

Whether or not you're fine with the main character being a psychopathic criminal is more of a preferential thing, but personally I don't mind. He has to be, or the game would have to be very strict with what you're allowed to do. But I can see why some people would find that less appealing.

You watched that WTF Is...? too, huh?

The AMD lock-out by Ubi and nVidia is seriously riding the monopoly line too.
Might wait until it's on a deep discount sale, because $75 for a hobbled POS that punishes me for wanting good value for money is disgusting.
 

IceForce

Is this memes?
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Dec 11, 2012
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RatherDull said:
4 and a half stars while having no less than 3 huge ads on one page.

Uh huh.
I swear, every time there's a positive review of a game on this site, there's always a post like this in the comments thread.
 

orangeapples

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Aug 1, 2009
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So, taking good parts from a whole bunch of successful franchises actually works this time around. We'll have to see what the landscape looks like a month down the road since Titanfall was another super hyped game that people bought, but after a month so many people were done. Sure plenty of people still play it, but it isn't the revolution EA wanted it to be. Sounds like Watch_Dogs has a lot going for it though. I'm going to pick it up later today.
 

Alpha Maeko

Uh oh, better get Maeko!
Apr 14, 2010
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Open world games never really strike my fancy for more then a few hours. (Skyrim? <10 hours, quit, never looked back. Fallout 3? Finished main campaign, reaction was "meh", never played again.)

Assassin's Creed was more unique, but I got tired of it after sequelidous set in.

Now, we have an Ass-Creed Grand-Theft would-be spiritual successor that works in basically the same way but in a different setting with no hidden blades. The hacking aspect changes little in my opinion and it bores me just looking at it.

I'm going to pass on this.
 

Izanagi009_v1legacy

Anime Nerds Unite
Apr 25, 2013
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IceForce said:
RatherDull said:
4 and a half stars while having no less than 3 huge ads on one page.

Uh huh.
I swear, every time there's a positive review of a game on this site, there's always a post like this in the comments thread.
To be fair, after the doritogate incident, i think people have a right to be a tad cynical. This is too much but I think this cynicism may pay off with other sites

OT-I'm a PC gamer and while the game looks fun and seems to hvae a lot of content for me, A) I'm going to be playing Wildstar soon so I probably shouldn't pay money for Watch_Dogs yet, and B) if the PC version is as bad as I heard combined with all the DLC, I will wait
 

Adeptus Aspartem

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Jul 25, 2011
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Jeah.. bought it, found out neither Uplay nor the game itself works and now i'm currently writing a ticket to the Steam Support to trade in the game for steam-money or another game i want.
Because they clearly sold me a product which is not working at all. Double so, since AMD cards are not supported at all - without a single lable providing information about that.

Meh, got proven right once again: Stay away from Ubisoft. The only company i consider worse than EA.
Back to Transistor it is.
 

The Lunatic

Princess
Jun 3, 2010
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I imagine this game is pretty decent for the consoles.

Admittedly, it falls a bit short of the hype, but, for a PC game?

Really kinda poor. Port is abysmal, game is struggling to run on higher end rigs, despite really not being a particularly amazing looking game.

A lot of minor immersion elements are missing.

Kinda feels inferior to GTA IV in almost all "Open World" aspects.

Which is a little disappointing from a "Next Gen" title.

4.5 is perhaps a little bit generous.


I'll tell you what, Jim.

If I give you a Nexus 7, preloaded with literally all the furry porn I can find, will you lower the score to 4.0?
 

McElroy

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Apr 3, 2013
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So the game's pretty good. Good to hear. I shall play it wearing MY ICONIC SWAG CAP. Though if the PC port is really as shit as people say it is, I might start doing a little consumer vigilantism against Ubisoft to get my money's worth. Thank God for Jim and thank Ubi for ICONIC SWAG CAP.
 

danielcofour

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May 6, 2014
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I have to disagree with Jim(thank God for him), the game, while good, isn't as spectacular as he makes it out to be. While the open-world aspects of the game are fun and enjoyable, the story and protagonist is a really weird conundrum.

I'm actually quite surprised the review didn't mention the brain-piercing ludoscababib discotech going on this game. The protagonist is a genocidal thieving c*nt in the gameplay, yet the story tries to make him out to be a hero of some sorts, but it's utter bollocks. And the story(other than being a cliche in a cliche in a cliche in a...) feels really contrived, and it seems like an after-thought made to fit the various gameplay elements.

The side-missions are very AC-esque, where the context is always: do something to this random, nameless bad person. And often that something is also an after-thought made to fit some gameplay element(Ex. Gang Elimination missions)..

I won't harp on, because I can't be bothered, but I'll just leave a score here: 8/10.

And for f**k's sake, do not... I mean DO NOT buy the PC version. The optimization is terrible. The controls are also terrible, they feel like a cheap porting from consoles. I mean it. Graphics are a little bit better, but it's not worth the hassle. If you but it, go for the PS4.
 

Rabid_meese

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Jan 7, 2014
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The Lunatic said:
I imagine this game is pretty decent for the consoles.

Admittedly, it falls a bit short of the hype, but, for a PC game?

Really kinda poor. Port is abysmal, game is struggling to run on higher end rigs, despite really not being a particularly amazing looking game.

A lot of minor immersion elements are missing.

Kinda feels inferior to GTA IV in almost all "Open World" aspects.

Which is a little disappointing from a "Next Gen" title.

4.5 is perhaps a little bit generous.


I'll tell you what, Jim.

If I give you a Nexus 7, preloaded with literally all the furry porn I can find, will you lower the score to 4.0?
I can take other peoples opinions from YouTube videos and pass them off as my own without playing this game too. An abysmal port though? Really? I think you're mistaking 'mediocre' or 'poorly optimized' with abysmal. Yeah, it's having frame rate issues. That can be fixed with a day one patch, or some optimization work. The game is completely playable however. Unless you're one of those people who cry about sub-60FPS (which means you apparently ignored all gaming up til a few years ago, but hey.)

The state of the PC port wasn't mentioned because he was not reviewing the PC version - in fact, if you read the review, its quite clear it was reviewed for the consoles. As for GTA doing everything better - Apples and Oranges. Driving is completely different. In world obstacles are completely different. I mean, if you want a "hire strippers and watch TV" simulator, I guess Watch Dogs is a let down. I also don't remember GTA5 having a dynamic Single/Multiplayer mix with contracts and stuff. I just remember a semi-broken online mode filled with a bunch of assholes.

Jim was not one of the journalists that got the Nexus 7 either. And in fact, most journalists who received the tablet ended up selling them off and donating the proceeds to charity, for exactly the reason that they didn't want people on the internet insinuating corruption on the reviewers part if the game ended up being good.

Oh, and reviews are objective, not subjective. A 4.5 is an objective score. You may not think the game is worthy of that score. You're free to make your own review and place the game at a rating you see fit. The reviewer is just as important as the review. If you don't agree with the reviewers stance, find a new reviewer. Cross analyze reviews. Etc.
 

The Lunatic

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Jun 3, 2010
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Rabid_meese said:
I can take other peoples opinions from YouTube videos and pass them off as my own without playing this game too. An abysmal port though? Really? I think you're mistaking 'mediocre' or 'poorly optimized' with abysmal. Yeah, it's having frame rate issues. That can be fixed with a day one patch, or some optimization work. The game is completely playable however. Unless you're one of those people who cry about sub-60FPS (which means you apparently ignored all gaming up til a few years ago, but hey.)

The state of the PC port wasn't mentioned because he was not reviewing the PC version - in fact, if you read the review, its quite clear it was reviewed for the consoles. As for GTA doing everything better - Apples and Oranges. Driving is completely different. In world obstacles are completely different. I mean, if you want a "hire strippers and watch TV" simulator, I guess Watch Dogs is a let down. I also don't remember GTA5 having a dynamic Single/Multiplayer mix with contracts and stuff. I just remember a semi-broken online mode filled with a bunch of assholes.

Jim was not one of the journalists that got the Nexus 7 either. And in fact, most journalists who received the tablet ended up selling them off and donating the proceeds to charity, for exactly the reason that they didn't want people on the internet insinuating corruption on the reviewers part if the game ended up being good.

Oh, and reviews are objective, not subjective. A 4.5 is an objective score. You may not think the game is worthy of that score. You're free to make your own review and place the game at a rating you see fit. The reviewer is just as important as the review. If you don't agree with the reviewers stance, find a new reviewer. Cross analyze reviews. Etc.
I've played the game.

As I've said. Runs okay, could run better. Biggest issue is with the controls, I've just given up even trying to use a keyboard and mouse for it.

And, frankly, if the default input device for the format in question feels unplayable, then, in my subjective and reviewing opinion, that would be "Abysmal".

Frame rate is pretty slow, popping in of objects, really quite poor. Doesn't seem to perform at an acceptable standard for a PC game. The PC standard being 1920x1080 resolution and a solid 60 frames per second.

Given it's struggling to perform this, on computers far superior to my own, it is questionable as to how much time they have spent ensuring their game runs on what is presently, the highest revenue platform for gaming.


Comparison to GTA IV come entirely in terms of the open world elements, I'm not too into the missions at present, thus I am not mentioning them, thus why I phrased it as "Open World Aspects".


However, as you've said, everything I wrote is subjective too, thus calling me out on them seems a bit pointless given you've only then gone on to say that opinions are subjective. Which I agree with you on.


Also, the last bit was a joke. I can't afford a Nexus 7.
 

Weaver

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Apr 28, 2008
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I watched TB's WTF is on it and I'm glad I did. Holy shit this game looks boring to me. It looks like a slow GTA with a clunky cover shooter glued together. It also has demons/dark souls invasions? How does this make sense lorewise? Aren't you a lone hacker? A singularity in the system? It's just so gamey. It even says "Searching for players" in an unashamed, 4th wall breaking, UI decision.
 

Lightknight

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Nov 26, 2008
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It's getting surprisingly bad user scores with surprisingly high review scores. That's odd. I do trust Jim though on his reviews so I'll give it a shot.

Lots of the reviews seem to be angry at the PC version or are complaining about the graphics. Not really things I care about at the moment beyond getting the game on my PS4 instead of my pc.