Watch Dogs: Eat, sleep, hack, repeat

Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2014/05/30/game_theory_watchdogs_review/

Click click, hack, thwack.... SCREEECH! This car is whack

Posted in Personal Tech, 30th May 2014 11:29 GMT

Game Theory In preparation for tangling with Watch Dogs, I spent plenty of time revisiting the salty seadogs of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Presuming that one Ubisoft stealth-'em-up might have much in common with the other.

Oh, bollards to this

In many ways, the fundamental Watch Dogs gameplay of infiltrate, kill and escape is similar. Protagonist Aiden Pearce is cast almost as a descendent of Ezio Auditore or Edward Kenway – albeit equipped with modern day tools. After all, wouldn't any latter-day assassin be possessed of guns and the skill to hack security?

Of course, it's this hacking element that separates the two franchises, and a fine addition it is too. There's something satisfyingly voyeuristic (if that's not too weird to admit) about hacking into the smartphones of any Tom, Dick or Harry that happens to be wandering by.

Hack and stash

It's clear that Ubisoft has had no small amount of fun in scripting the snatched snippets of conversation between jilted lovers, borderline perverts and other characters... some of which is just plain ridiculous.

And, even if the game's overarching plot is somewhat forgettable, the fact that some of this accidental dialogue is entertaining enough to raise a smile is a feather in the cap of the company's writers.

Chicago: the Wi-Fi city

It's this feeling of being on the inside that makes the game so absorbing as you surf through a rich tapestry of stories within Watch Dogs' virtual Chicago. In the fictional version of the city, seemingly everything – from traffic lights to forklift trucks – is equipped with some kind of ultimate Wi-Fi signal.

As he walks the city's streets, Pearce resembles a disgruntled teen in that he's constantly glued to his smartphone. It's through this self-charging wonder that a constant barrage of interactive objects are highlighted.

A very, very smart phone

Each object can be activated by the single click of a button, creating some entertaining ways to hassle the local populace. For instance, there's an early encounter with thugs as you infiltrate an enemy building.

Whether you want to play stealthily or dynamically is up to you – except when the game regrettably forces the former upon you during specific missions. It remains largely your call as to whether you want to distract said thugs with the ghostly activation of equipment, or blow them to kingdom come by activating any explosives they might be carrying.

Shocking behaviour

I’m happy to report that the AI is pretty solid on the whole. Enemies will home in on your location and work in groups to hunt you down. Ubisoft has also had the courage of its convictions and has not been afraid to create an AI system that's less than psychic. This makes it possible to create diversions, thereby allowing you to sneak by, or else flank, enemies.

Perhaps the ultimate illustration of AI versus hacking comes during the many encounters you'll have with law. A modern setting demands cars, of course, and a great many (probably too many) of Pearce's missions culminate in high-speed cop chases.

The garage door remote comes in handy once again

Expect to be raising bollards, changing traffic lights and causing drains to erupt at the press of the very same "hack" button – which is a positive change away from the GTA-standard of losing pursuing cops by simply driving at full speed.

Driven to distraction

Alas, it isn't all good news, with Watch Dogs' driving experience being far from the equal of its hacking. Cars tend to handle like canal boats might on a river of ice and, though persistence will eventually hone your driving skills, more work should have been done to tighten this substantial part of the game.

Cruising: the cars handle like boats

That said, there was one idea that I did warm to that makes its presence felt when you're behind the wheel. If you manage to get out of sight of the police, it's possible to pull into an alley and kill the engine. Pearce will then hunker down in his seat to give a confused police force the slip. Small beans perhaps, but neat nevertheless.

Thankfully, the driving is just about serviceable enough to not ruin the other elements of the game. A good thing too, as the diverse options you'll unlock through Pearce's various skill trees soon produces a genuinely varied, even bespoke, experience.

Driving engines need refinement

As you might expect from a sandbox, there's an overwhelming heap of superfluous missions to attempt. These will be highlighted on your mini-map once you've hacked an area’s CtOS terminal – an event that reveals an area’s secrets, much like "synchronising" does on Assassin's Creed.

Missions fluctuate from yet more driving to bizarre nightmarish battles against drug-induced enemies. While there's further chaos to be unleashed in missions that pitch you into a walking spider-tank. Fun, if hardly the most subtle means of transport for an anonymous hacker.

Chicago: my kind of town

Multiplayer is a further variation, even it does feel somewhat tacked on. Best of the lot is Decryption mode – a variation on a theme on capture-the-flag. Here, you'll face off against a rival gang as each tries to decrypt a secured file before the other.

Interesting too is the chance to invade another player's game. When it's done right, the cat-and-mouse type tracking down of your would-be hacker can be a tense affair, though the experience depends much on the invading player. And that’s if you can get online at all, with the service patchy at best as Ubisoft irons out some gremlins.

Old tech still has its uses

The Reg Verdict

There’s no doubt that Watch Dogs offers a clever, fresh twist on the sandbox formula. While it could have been improved in certain areas – most notably in driving and its unremarkable lead – the hacking dynamic is as impressive as was first promised in a darkened room back at E3 2012.

As we gird our loins (at least that's what I do) in anticipation of another E3, it will be interesting to see if Ubisoft has a sequel up its sleeve. There's certainly plenty of untapped potential and areas that would benefit from a polish. For now though, this first foray represents a reasonable return for your outlay. ®