"Watch Dogs" will be celebrated for its fun gameplay, but it isn't a masterpiece. It is great fun, but it is not a great open-world game like Rockstar's "Red Dead Redemption" or "Grand Theft Auto V". The tone is inconsistent and the characters are too cartoony for their own good, but fans of the developer's best games should enjoy it immensely. The sequel should be even better. I would give it an 8.4 out of 10.
It's like GTA for the Wi-Fi Generation.
Ubi Soft's "Watch Dogs" is like "Grand Theft Auto" for the Wi-Fi generation. It was hyped due to an impressive demo shown at E3 2012. And while it's not one of the great open-world action games, it is perfectly entertaining. The game's protagonist is a gun-wielding hacker named Aiden Pearce whose daughter is murdered as a result of a hack gone wrong. As the game begins, he's on the search for the mystery man behind the hit. His journey for justice sends him into the underworld of a futuristic Chicago filled with hardened gangsters and the shady hackers they employ. The players can use Aiden's smart phone to hack into Chicago's “central operating system”. From there, Aiden can create inner city havoc by controlling traffic lights, creating black outs, raising street barriers and stopping trains. He can even hack into civilians' cell phones and steal their personal info, if need be. The concept is interesting, but the game isn't anything too groundbreaking or deep. However, it does have good single-player missions, an entertaining story, solid multiplayer modes and plenty of fun diversions.
The structure of the game is similar to GTA as well as Ubi Soft's own "Far Cry 3" and "Assassin's Creed" games. You can finish the campaign in about 12 hours, but the real fun is being side-tracked with countless of diversions in between missions. Most are great, but some can be quite boring. One of the best diversions are the "Digital Trips" which are basically arcade-game simulators. And if you're a fan of retro-gaming, then you'll have a blast with the "Phone Games" which bring to mind "Space Invaders" and other 80's-era video games. "City Games" are composed of chess, drinking contests and other everyday activities. And "Gang Hideouts" are areas that must be carefully infiltrated in order to catch the leader. There are also plenty of hacking "mini-games" throughout the city that will earn you upgrades. But if you want to see every activity on the map, you'll have to hack into cell phone towers which is similar to climbing the radio signal towers featured in "Far Cry 3". Aiden can also use his SmartPhone to order vehicles, customize a music playlist, replay missions or play against other players online.
There are six online modes (on XBOX ONE/PS4) of "Watch Dogs" are actually quite fun, but nothing as innovative or complex as the "Splinter Cell" multiplayer games. In two of the modes, you can either try to hack or tail another player which can sometimes lead to chases or even deaths if you are discovered. There are also car races in which players try to stop you by raising barriers or bridges and hacking traffic lights. And the Mobile Challenge is basically a race to the finish line. The catch is that a person tries to stop you by controlling patrol cars, police helicopters and raising street barriers from their real-life tablets or cell phones. As you succeed, you'll earn different abilities. "Decryption" (a next-gen exclusive) is similar to Capture the Flag as two teams of four scramble to find a computer file and try to hack it while evading the opposing team. The free roam multiplayer feature is also exclusive to next gen. In it, you'll create your own missions or goals with your teammates.