Watch Dogs (PS3)

Anticipation running up to the launch of Watch Dogs was intense to say the least, with the internet going into overdrive with excitement and high expectations. Upon release, reviews seemed somewhat mixed and that delayed my purchase of Watch Dogs. In some ways, I regret that decision because this is indeed a good game (it obviously paid off financially though).The genre of which Watch Dogs belongs has been fairly static in terms of it's overall gameplay. You get in a car, you drive around shooting people, get out of the car, shoot more people, do some missions etc. It's the GTA formula, and many copy cats have come and gone over the years, True Crime, Scarface, Godfather, Getaway and the Driver series (which thankfully returned to its driving roots with San Francisco on the PS3). However, Watch Dogs takes on a different slant of the genre with it's heavy dependence upon the use of technology and the overall hacking theme. The gameplay in Watch Dogs is very refreshing. I enjoy being able to hack the urban realm and using different types of technological methods to complete missions instead of blasting my way through with an AK-47. Yes there are guns too and these come in handy occasionally, but hacking and technology are your main weapons. This is a fun game.The open world environment is also one of the best out there. Chicago is a living, breathing environment, with plenty to do and plenty of cars and people around to interact with. It is refreshing to see a different US location in an open world environment - in recent years, most games have tended to go with New York or Los Angeles. One of the most entertaining aspects of the game is the Metro lines, which you can naturally hack to stop and start trains. Brilliant!So why the mixed response when the game was released? Well, I agree that graphically (on the PS3 atleast), it doesn't hold it's own against GTA V that's for certain. The driving physics are utterly appalling, which I struggle to understand as the team behind Driver San Francisco was supposed to be on board for this game. The original soundtrack score accompanying missions is good, but the in car radio is poor.In summary - I feel this is a good game, with a great concept. The end result could have been executed a bit better, with some pretty glaring issues letting the side down. However, I would argue that the gameplay in Watch Dogs can hold it's own against the unbeatable GTA V. It would not surprise me in the least if Rockstar take some of the gameplay elements explored in Watch Dogs and apply their magic for GTA VI.

Overall Watch Dogs is a very good game. It feels really good, gameplay is smooth and the story line is amazing. Hacking is without a doubt incredibly fun. You can do so much with it.Great things:-Smooth gameplay-Guns feel good-Hacking as a general is just spectacular-Can very easily get money (by hacking people)-Skills/perks tree is well laid out and easy to use-Well written and voiced story-Graphics (Obviously better on PS4/XB1/PC but still great for PS3/XB360)-Its plain simpleBut why rate it 4 stars? There are a few things which I do not like at all.-Firstly 'Online Invasions'. This is where another player can join your game without you knowing and start hacking you, which usually for me ends up with them joining my game and immediately killing me, halting whatever I was doing. Thankfully you can turn it off. If this couldn't be turned off, I would rate it 1 star-Secondly the driving. There is nothing much to say other than its pretty bad and I can't describe it very well so you have to experience it for yourself.-Next is the infamous UPLAY. There is no possible way to describe how bad UPLAY is-Also you can't shoot while driving. Honestly what were the developers thinking?-You can only have 1 save game per account. That could be fixed with an updateNow I'm just nit pickingOverall its amazing. Well worth the money. I highly recommend it so buy it if you want to.

I had very high hopes for this game since it's announcement at E3 some time ago. I can't lie, it did disappoint, it was less than I expected. But, if you look past the E3 and look at this as another game to play, I found it very rewarding and fun to play. The story is excellent, and the gameplay is better than most games out there. The free roam is very nice, and clean cut, though after a while of chasing criminals, it does get a little repetitive. Also, criminal convoys and gang hideouts (side missions) are currently not replayable, which I found annoying because they are so good! Another negative thing is you can't have more than one saved file, so you can't keep old saves. The graphics aren't as bad as everyone says, and you don't even notice they are really bad unless you compare it to the PS4 which would obviously be so much better. The driving mechanics aren't as terrible as speculated once you get used to them - but they are very different from most if not all games in the same genre.But the story and side missions, as well as the overall concept of the game is fantastic and it really has been underated. I would recommend this buy! Sometimes lag happens when playing and when connected to the internet, so I recommend signing out when you are doing freeroaming and don't want the multiplayer interruptions.

Really good game that holds up years later