Watch_Dogs
Every year when E3 rolls around,
I am usually excited. However, it’s mostly for the showing of the big three
publishers. Sure EA, Activision and Ubisoft have some awesome experiences, but
the Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo’s line-ups are what usually dominate my
excitement leading up to the event. This year was a bit different. Sony managed
to give me two games to be excited for. One was a complete, yet welcomed
surprise (Beyond: Two Souls) and the
other, basically a confirmation of my steadily rising excitement (The Last of Us). When Ubisoft took the
stage at this year’s E3, I was expecting lots of awkward blabber and a showing
of some of their moneymaking franchises (Assassins Creed & Far Cry). I was
not expecting them to reveal a new IP that would actually send chills up my
spine, but that’s exactly what Watch_Dogs
did.
The premise of Watch_Dogs revolves around a computer
system (ctOS) that controls everything around us, including the cities we live
in. Ubisoft, with the above video poses the question, “If computers control our
cities, who controls the computers?” I was immediately hooked; they were
blurring the line between my reality and fantasy. These are the kind of
conspiracy theories I’ve debated about quite often in recent years. Don’t you
just love it when it all comes together? I do!
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| The name's Pierce, Aiden Pierce. |
Watch_Dogs is an open-world, action adventure set in a
fictionalized version of Chicago. The game follows Aiden Pierce, an “anti-hero”
of sorts, who can take control of the city and use it as a weapon. I know what
you might be thinking, “an open-world city to explore”, hmm haven’t I played
this game like a billion times? Well,
I love games, but if you’ve played any game a billion times you probably no
longer have hands. Anyways, check out the gameplay below and if you are not
intrigued, then I guess I am wrong and I except defeat.
Was that club awesome or what? Did
you see that security guard get “handled”? What about when he saved that kid
from the Lion? Okay, so there was no Lion, but did you feel the vibe of this
game? How Aiden was able to get a bio of the NPC’s around him. They are not
just there, existing to fill the world; each person in the game has some sort
of back-story, a life if you will. The ways we will be able to interact with
the city and its inhabitants has me excited. I have a lot of information on my
phone; old voicemails, text messages, pictures, etc. I am willing to bet many
of you do as well. What do you think would happen if someone were able to walk
around with a device of their own and essentially hack-in to our devices to
siphon information from them? Let’s just say I’d rather be the guy doing the
hacking.
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| Grand Theft Assassins from the makers of Splinter Cell |
Yes, you will still be using your
standard hand cannons and boom sticks to get the job done, but the on stage
demo shows both lethal and not-so-lethal means of combat. For example, wasn’t
that traffic pile-up insane, yet tactical? And what about his melee weapon? That
shows we can use non-lethal force, right? Let’s just hope Ubisoft gives us some
choice in the matter, which would just make this game even batter than it
already seems. This is a modern game, so you know there is multiplayer. I know
what you’re thinking, “something does not belong”, but I implore you to
remember the Demo. Remember how another character took over at the end of the
Demo? Well, that was another player. So, imagine the possibilities.
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| Everything is connected |
There are still many questions to
be answered about Watch_Dogs, but
this is what keeps us excited until the game actually comes out or more
announcements are made. Questions like, what the NPC’s information can be used
for as we learn about them? Also, and more importantly, when is this gaming
coming out? Speaking of which, that is the scary part. The demo was running on
a “high-end” PC, and is promised to release on PS3, 360 and PC in 2013.
However, many believe or more accurately fear, that this will be a “Next-Gen
title”. That would suck because it means we would have to wait longer to play
the game, but if it’ll look that gorgeous. Bring on the Next-Gen. Also, what
about Multiplayer? During the demo and interviews following the developers made
sure not to divulge any detailed information on Multiplayer. This is without a
doubt to keep us excited for their game, but can you blame them?
So what did you think of Watch_Dogs? Is this a game you could see
yourself playing? Are the apparent similarities to GTA a turn-off? I have
posted a few links below where journalists in the industry give their take on Watch_Dogs. These links contain a bit more
pieces of information on the game, especially the first one that gives some
insight on multiplayer.
Want more info on Watch_Dogs check out these links.
Also, check back here on
Wednesday as I describe what I hope to be Watch_Dogs’
Multiplayer experience. Trust me it’s awesome!
-GamerBloodline.
