The gaming audience has become spoiled for a very long time. Not all games can boast at least an average score. Every year there are only a couple of projects that really attract attention, the rest remain almost unnoticed by a wide audience. The same story happened with Watch Dogs. The users left a variety of reviews, so attributing the game to good or bad is not at all easy.
About Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs is a project that first became famous in 2014. Then the release on all available platforms took place immediately. Ubisoft Montreal, a company known for stories about assassins and Templars, as well as popular stealth action games, worked on the game.
Many have called this project a sandbox for hackers. The gameplay is based on the hero’s ability to hack electronic devices and always get the necessary information.
This project can be attributed to several genres. Although reviews of Watch Dogs indicate that we have an open-world stealth action. The game is translated into Russian, has single-player and multi-user modes.
Watch Dogs system requirements
At one time, the game was quite demanding. The simplest systems required an Intel Core 2 Quad or AMD Phenom II. The processor frequency should be from 2.6 GHz. The game needs 6 GB of RAM and 1 GB of video memory. Graphics adapter version GTX 460 or Radeon HD 5770. On the hard drive needed to free 25 GB of memory.
To enjoy good quality graphics and gameplay, we needed a recommended system that would work with a third-generation quad-core Core i7 processor with a frequency of 3,500 MHz or an AMD FX-8350 with eight cores. RAM required 8 GB and 2 GB of video memory. I would have to get a GTX 560 Ti or HD 7850 graphics card.
All current modern systems are free to cope with this version of the game.
History at Watch Dogs
The main idea of the game is the information war. The player is transferred to an alternate reality, the scene is Chicago. It has long been used technology to obtain information. The main management tool is a special operating system, thanks to it you can get all the data about each resident of the city.
The main character is Aiden Pearce. He is a hacker who can do almost anything to harm enemies and help his family. It is even capable of disconnecting communications, telephones and adjusting traffic lights for its own purposes.
Watch Dogs plot reviews were not the most flattering. Since most of the audience are guys, the snotty story of the protagonist was not to their liking. They complained about the poor development of the character and the not always clear revenge, which in some places bored to horror.
Many expected a noir action movie from the story, but instead got a rather mediocre hacker who didn't want to take revenge on his enemies as much as he wanted to break out in Chicago.
Many gamers noticed that the character wasn’t even helped by those rare flashbacks that developers filled with drama. His character became more and more blurred and incomprehensible. In addition to detachment, he sometimes flashes of anger. Pierce does not experience other emotions, and of course, it is not his fault.
Gameplay Watch Dogs
The gameplay of the game Watch Dogs reviews has gathered more flattering than the storyline. In fact, the idea itself is interesting and worthy of attention. The game got an interesting futuristic setting with a lot of interactions and technological “lotions”.
Of course, in the gameplay traces of other projects of developers are slightly traced. But thanks to that setting itself, it was possible to recreate cool missions with their own style. For example, to steal a car, the hero will not act as GTA characters. He will have to work hard to get rid of the alarm silently.
It is not surprising that the Watch Dogs gameplay reviews were pretty good. Everyone can realize hacking abilities in themselves, besides there are a lot of tasks here. Everything is tied to a special operating system, which Pierce can control using his smartphone.
It should be understood that the gameplay is in no way connected with real hacker activity. This is just a primitive simulator that does not require special knowledge. The complexity of the tasks with each stage is growing, although each of them does not take even 5 minutes.
In addition to hacking, Pierce will have to watch. For this, he can also use his smartphone. In general, a gamer can:
- disconnect power and communication;
- stop trains;
- adjust traffic lights;
- drive a car;
- raise bridges, etc.
These abilities can be developed to advance along the storyline.
Driving at Watch Dogs
Particular attention should be paid to machines in Watch Dogs. The hero can drive a car, but precisely for this reason, many users left negative reviews.
All the surrounding beauty and generally tolerable history are overshadowed by terrible graphics and driving. Physics looks so awkward that it is sometimes confusing. Any maneuver performed by the hero is too simple and completely unrealistic.
Everything is not very good and damaged cars. Therefore, large-scale shootings with opponents seem so heavy that you want to get out of the vehicle and start fighting on your own.
For a long time the player will have to spend driving. At the same time, there are many different cars in the water park. True, they look, frankly, bad. It seems to be made of plastic. Even getting into the truck, you do not feel the heaviness and difficulty in driving. It is light and fast, and on corners it carries it just like any passenger car.
But users in their reviews of Watch Dogs (PS4) pointed out that such driving physics plays into the hands in moments of pursuit and fast driving. Police U-turns can be performed by anyone who has never played a race. Due to a rather unpredictable ride, you can quickly eliminate any enemy.
Quests in Watch Dogs
The game is divided into five main acts. Each has a certain number of chapters. Among them there are simple tasks that take only a couple of minutes. Some will have to think longer.
In general, missions in Watch Dogs are dynamic. They try in every possible way to reveal the storyline, even if this does not always work out.
The first act introduces the player to the story of the protagonist. It begins with the fact that Pierce finds out the name of the killer of his family. He needs to get out of the room, sneak past the police, crack the camera, collect data, etc.
This is followed by a training mission, which will teach you to get information about game characters and look for it on your smartphone. Already in the third mission, the player will be able to buy a rifle, and in the next - to kill an enemy hacker.
Throughout almost the entire first act, Pierce tries to find the necessary codes, crack computers and obtain important data in order to reach the villains.
The second act also obliges the gamer to learn something new. This can be annoying for some, as most experienced players almost always skip such training. But in this case, it is better to really participate in such a mission, since hacking and other hacking cases may differ from each other depending on the goals.
By the way, each mission has a main task, as well as several goals that will lead to it. Thus, it is much easier to figure out what to do in the open gaming world.
In the third act, the player is occupied by Blum and T-Bone. He needs to chase from time to time, hack and save good characters. He will also have to meet with gangs. Some gang members need to be killed, others will have to be spared to obtain the necessary information.
In the fourth act, missions do not become easier. They have fewer goals, but they lead the player to the denouement of the plot. At the same time, the puzzles themselves become much more complicated. The fifth act consists entirely of one mission with several goals.
Watch Dogs (PS4) received positive reviews about missions. The game is not the easiest. It takes time and attention. You will have to learn a lot, because some moments of the gameplay will seem completely new. Positive feedback was also received by the open world, which allows the player to continue to study it after completing the plot and, in general, do whatever it wants.
Network game Watch Dogs
The project came out with single-user and multi-user modes. The developers allowed players to invade the worlds of others. If an uninvited guest appears in your world, you will have to throw all your strength into his search. But if you are very afraid of such interventions, this option can be turned off.
Multiplayer turned out to be quite universal, which could not but affect the reviews of Watch Dogs (PS3). Players with consoles, computer versions, and even mobile gameplay can take part in it.
The multiplayer game offers to manage the police to stop Pierce's revenge. Therefore, all those random situations that a gamer encounters in a single player game turn into manageable ones. You can direct helicopters or cars to the place where the fraudster may be.
Graphics in Watch Dogs
The owners of the consoles, in particular the Xbox 360, responded most positively. Watch Dogs received not the most positive reviews on the schedule, since the game turned out to be too demanding.
The main feature of the project was dynamism. In Chicago you will find a large number of interesting phenomena. You can see how citizens drive a car, how water, electricity and wind behave in the game.
Why was the graphics so demanding? The developers paid special attention to details in Watch Dogs. Reviews about them are the most positive, since many gamers really appreciate such solutions.
For example, if it rains outside, those around take out and open umbrellas. If a strong wind begins, you can notice how it blows off the leaves and controls the raindrops. Night lights are reflected in puddles of asphalt. The main character hides his hands in his pockets when he begins to feel the cold. It’s hard to overestimate all this atmosphere.
Customizing Watch Dogs Graphics
Due to such difficult resource-intensive graphics, it turned out that Watch Dogs could not do without optimization. Firstly, we were pleased with the wide graphical setting. Secondly, an update later appeared that affected the game’s graphics.
The player can adjust the resolution, the quality of smoothing and texture. In the advanced menu, you can work with effects.
Changes from ultra-tunings to low ones become noticeable. The picture immediately loses clarity, the figures become blurry, and cars look like a soap box. Moreover, the quality of the picture does not always change for the better when changing various effects. Sometimes such a setting can provoke a lot of controversy and raise the question of expediency.
Graphic surprise
Immediately after the release of the game, many found an interesting detail - in the Watch Dogs files there were advanced graphics settings. They were hidden, so not everyone was able to get to them. Thanks to new parameters, the game could be launched in higher resolution with better quality textures and effects.
Later, a modification became known that helped improve the graphics to the state that was shown in the trailer for the game. The mod allows you to change the number of people on the street, improve the quality of reflection, weather effects, shadows, etc. The modification receives updates and is being finalized.
Problems with Watch Dogs
Shortly before its release, a pirated version of the game was merged into the Network. She was very problematic and could not even cope with the crack. When the license came out, many hoped that they would never again face crashes or lags. But in reality, everything turned out not so rosy.
What to do if Watch Dogs crashes? In this case, problems can be associated with various reasons. Most often, such an error occurred with systems based on AMD. Users left feedback and recommended switching to the proprietary software of the video card and disabling Dual Graphics.
If during the launch of the game blue screens began to appear, then you need to do driver updates. After that, you need to disable automatic reboot. You can use the combination of Win + Pause / Break buttons or go to additional system parameters to find the corresponding option in the "Download and Restore" column.
If there are problems associated with the absence of any file with the .dll extension, then just find it on the Internet and download it to the game folder.
Second version
The sequel did not have to wait long. Two years after the release of the first part, reviews about the Watch Dogs 2 game began to appear on the Internet. This is a multi-platform game that was released in 2016. She continued the style established by the developer and again invited the player to plunge into the open world.
Those who still appreciated the first part, were glad of the new story. Firstly, due to the fact that the plot was moved to another setting. Secondly, due to the fact that gloomy Chicago gave way to vibrant San Francisco. It became known about the new protagonist.
Already on November 15, there were reviews about Watch Dogs 2 on the PS4 and Xbox One, and a week later they added feedback from PC owners.
Required hardware for Watch Dogs 2
No one was surprised that the second series was even more demanding of the previous one. Some modern PCs could hardly cope with ultra-settings. For minimal graphics, you had to get a Core i5 or FX 6120 processor with frequencies from 2.5 GHz. The game required 6 GB of RAM, 50 GB of free space on the hard drive. To run on minimal graphics needed a graphics card GTX 660 or HD 7870.
To fully enjoy high-quality graphics, the developers proposed the recommended system requirements for Watch Dogs 2. Required processor: Core i5 3470 with a frequency of 3,200 MHz or FX 8120 with a frequency of 3,900 MHz. For good performance, you need 8 GB of RAM and 50 GB of free space on the hard drive. Best of all, the GTX 970 or 1060 graphics card, as well as the Radeon R9 290, can handle the game.
History in Watch Dogs 2
In general, the project received positive reviews. Watch Dogs 2 - AAA game, which belongs to the high-budget class.
The plot tells the story of a hacker who lived in California. Marcus Holloway arrives in San Francisco, because that is where Silicon Valley is located. He is teaming up with a gang to fight corruption with corporations and greedy authorities along with other hackers. Marcus takes control of the second version of an already familiar gamer operating system. He puts all his exploits on the Web.
Gameplay
Gamers have to go through a AAA class game. Watch Dogs 2 has received positive reviews since its release. Of course, many since the release of the first part have been waiting for work to be done on the bugs. And finally, before them appeared an updated project in which the developers tried to realize all the wishes of the fans.
This version has become even more like GTA 5, at least thanks to the updated graphics. The gameplay also resembles the popular Rockstar game in terms of mission structure. Key missions here resemble robberies in GTA 5, and similar features with the second part of Assassin's Creed are noticeable.
The main difference is that the protagonists of this series are not killers or robbers, but hackers. Accordingly, puzzles and tasks will be different for them. The second part still imposes a stealth mode on the player, and many noted this in reviews of Watch Dogs 2. But for those who are not ready to spend time silently passing, the game has weapons.
Gamers also liked the fact that the developers did not impose a single correct solution to the mission. That is, they began to use the features of the sandbox genre, which provides the player with several ways at once. In addition to several ways of completing tasks, you can also use different ways of getting to the location.
As always, the player will interact with city systems that are under the control of the operating system. The field of activity in the new series has expanded. Hackers can crack everything that works on microchips.
Therefore, in Watch Dogs 2 you can use other people's phones, computers, cars, CCTV cameras, traffic lights and much more. Thanks to such fraudulent activities, the protagonist sets traps, puts sticks in the wheels of enemies and in every way violates the established system.
Reviews and ratings
On the Web you can find a lot of player reviews about Watch Dogs 2. But a lot of it gives a professional opinion. Popular gaming resources since the release have already begun to make up their minds. Players disagreed with something, but, as a rule, such reviews are not much different from the reviews of ordinary gamers.
The average score was 8-8.5, and this is more than the previous part received. Experts positively noted the mechanics of the game and the structure of tasks. They liked the videos and humor. Replacing Chicago with San Francisco had a positive effect on the atmosphere of the game. Thanks to the improved graphics, the characters have become realistic. Even the plot was not snotty, but rather very dynamic and fun. In addition, this time the developers managed to raise serious topics in the history of the protagonist.
Finally, driving physics has improved significantly. This, in turn, affected the shootings. Due to credibility and attention to detail, everyone can feel like an omnipotent hacker.
But the negative sides of the second part include bugs encountered. In addition, some AIs may behave strangely. The storyline is developing chaotically in some places, questions arose about checkpoints in some missions.
Gamers reviews about Watch Dogs 2
Positive reviews of Watch Dogs 2 are mostly found on the Internet. Many noted that for the first time Ubisoft's product exceeded their expectations. The second series was very successful. Not bad developers coped with the script, well registered the main characters. The antagonist was not a cruel serial maniac, but a completely ordinary person who seems tough and understandable. Pleased many and raising important topics for modernity.
Despite the large number of scripts, the developers managed to recreate the living world. AI interestingly respond to the player’s action, albeit not without problems. Missions do not seem boring, so you can’t get tired of them in 20 hours of passing the main line.
They spoke negatively about some bugs that they have not yet fixed. Also, not everyone liked the stealth mode, which can be annoying due to the lack of dynamics. Some tasks received uniform mechanics, and music sometimes freezes on one melody.