Current Events > Watch Dogs is an unlucky franchise so far

(+) Yeah! (+)

Was hyped as the first 'next gen' game of this generation. Didn't live up to that hype. Is still the big 'downgrade' example despite other games also being guilty of this and still being successful.

Watch Dogs 2 comes out and flops at launch. Potentially because of the controversy from the first game. Big improvement otherwise.

Watch Dogs Legion is the Ubisoft game coming out after Ghost Recon Breakpoint. So it gets hit with a major delay because that game was a disaster. Now it's due to be released right around Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed Valhalla...so uhh good luck.

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They could never achieve the first vision they had for it, the character was garbage
the second game was all about the young tech guys in Google land,
the best part was THE AI NPCs living around and with each other,

Watchdogs 3.....IT IS about you controlling those "interesting NPCs". No Main Character.


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I actually thought the first game was great, never tried the second one because the tonal shift turned me off

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Joeydollaz posted...

Watchdogs 3.....IT IS about you controlling those "interesting NPCs". No Main Character.

I still absolutely hate this idea and I really struggle to see how I'm supposed to care for anybody.

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Ubisoft: "People want more open world games"

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eston posted...

I actually thought the first game was great, never tried the second one because the tonal shift turned me off

It's better in every way.

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eston posted...

I actually thought the first game was great, never tried the second one because the tonal shift turned me off

I think it works better since it's more consistent.

The plot of the first game was pretty nonsense. Aiden was both a vigilante and a criminal. It was weird.

Although 2 would be weird if you went around killing people.

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dave_is_slick posted...

I still absolutely hate this idea and I really struggle to see how I'm supposed to care for anybody.

Have you ever played something like State of Decay or X-COM? Or maybe the Sims?

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Darmik posted...

Have you ever played something like State of Decay or X-COM? Or maybe the Sims?

Yeah, they aren't going full roguelike with this, but there's a precedent set, mostly in indie titles so far, for games that focus on systems and allow for emergent storytelling with characters who are effectively procgen.
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Yeah I think I'll like the characters since they'll likely feel unique to me.

Sure they'll be missing character development or whatever but tbh Ubisoft games are pretty poor at that anyway.

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Ubisoft is physically incapable of making a good game

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Romulox28 posted...

Ubisoft is physically incapable of making a good game

I think it's the opposite.

Generally they are capable of making a good game but nothing more ambitious than that because of how safe and samey they are.

Legion actually looks like something different to me with the way they handle characters but I know the structure will still be very similar overall.

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The first game was so bad that people refuse to give the second a try. A shame because WD2 is great.

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I really enjoyed Watch Dogs 2 after sleeping through the entirety of Batman of Interest: Watch Hard.

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Romulox28 posted...

Ubisoft is physically incapable of making a good game

Very much disagree, they've been a top tier dev for the past two gens

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mattymad posted...

You say unlucky but if it was a let down and kind of meh, how is that luck? That just sounds like they made a meh game.

More because it had a ridiculous amount of pressure on it because it was treated as the first look at next gen. The developers probably didn't choose to do that. Marketing execs at Ubi did.

The first Assassin's Creed game was also a game that was pretty meh but people saw the potential and it didn't matter.

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I think the unlucky thing for Legion is that the game got delayed until after massive anti-police protests and a resulting crackdown that make their premise seem kinda tame.
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Darmik posted...

Have you ever played something like State of Decay or X-COM? Or maybe the Sims?

Nope. The Sims a few times but it's a simulation. WD3 isn't a simulation.

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dave_is_slick posted...

Nope. The Sims a few times but it's a simulation. WD3 isn't a simulation.

I think it's designed like an immersive sim. The characters you log for recruitment have daily schedules and a unique recruitment mission that gets generated for them. They also have relationships and known associates attached to them. When you switch over to them they're doing a thing that fits their character.

I watched a preview video and one mentioned he found the wife of the guy he recruited being detained by police.

So it depends on what you mean by simulation.


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While I wish they would have played up the vigilante aspects of the first one more, I still enjoyed it and even play it on occasion. Spider tank was an awesome side game and its basically GTA lite outside of the story.

Havent looked at the second one though Im sure i will eventually.

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Titanfall is the most unlucky franchise this generation imo.

The first was a sales dud due to exclusivity on the console that (at the time, at least) nobody wanted. The second was one of the best games of the generation but was released at the worst possible time ever.

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ImAMarvel posted...

The first game looked so mediocre. Just another open-world game with a neat cyberpunk hacking gimmick.

The second game looked pretty decent. I still want to try it out one day, because I really liked the style and aesthetic of the game.

The third one actually looks pretty interesting though it'll probably be yet another generic Ubisoft game.

The second one was great. The first one feels like a tech demo in comparison tbh.

The second one incorporates a ton of fun features, like tune finding apps to unlock songs, a *ton* of San Fran/Bay Area sights, really fun mechanics for screwing around with people and getting the various factions to interact with one another (you can basically start gang battles and battles with the police that last for a long time).

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I'm playing through 2 now and yeah it's way better.

I love how you can actually stealth/hack your way through the missions. Haven't even bothered using the guns.

The photo side quest thing is a much better way to handle collectibles.

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Darmik posted...

I'm playing through 2 now and yeah it's way better.

I love how you can actually stealth/hack your way through the missions. Haven't even bothered using the guns.

The photo side quest thing is a much better way to handle collectibles.

Yeah, other than the the stun gun, I never used them. The fact that I could legitimately go through the entire game non-lethal was great.

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I really enjoyed the tagging missions in 2, they were like platforming puzzles essentially
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I really like how in 2 you can see the other ways to get to your objective. From what I've played so far there's always been a route to use to get your little drone in there instead of sneaking in yourself. But both sneaking methods work well.

Legion looks like that'll continue it with certain characters being allowed in restricted areas too.

I love that sort of design.

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Theres no game, its boring.

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Darmik posted...

I think it's the opposite.

Generally they are capable of making a good game but nothing more ambitious than that because of how safe and samey they are.

Legion actually looks like something different to me with the way they handle characters but I know the structure will still be very similar overall.

personally i feel like all all the big megacorp video game developers, they are the most soulless and uninspired, they make EA look like Fromsoftware or something.

far cry, ghost recon, assassin's creed, watch dogs, the division, etc, they're all virtually the same game with some minor variation (1st person vs 3rd etc). all ubi games feel like they were made in a boardroom. i played ghost recon breakpoint a while ago during a free week and it felt like a parody of modern gaming, ubi crammed in every single modern trend & trope from gaming regardless of how that worked

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watchdogs 2 is great because you get to play as parappa09

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