Watch Dogs (PS4)

If amazon would allow 4.5 star ratings I would be giving Watch_Dogs that, but since I get a lot of enjoyment out of the game I will be giving it 5 stars.A lot of other reviews have already highlighted this, but it is an excellent game that almost meets the high expectations set by all the hype. It is worth noting that obviously for a cross-generation release the graphics are not going to be truly next-gen but I think they are close enough even if they do not quite meet the graphics shown off at E3 2012 - obviously Ubisoft had a reason to slightly downgrade the graphics and I would much rather play a smooth game with GOOD graphics than a game with GREAT graphics that is unstable and frequently crashes/runs at a slow framerate.PROS--------- Endless fun in messing with the city, watching traffic pile up when you hack the lights, or the police blown sky-high when you hack a steam pipe with exact timing- The AR mini games are fun- A strong campaign, it has a slow start in which it attempts to make us feel empathy for Aidan before it introduces the much more powerful topic 'Information is Power'- Great graphics, beautiful interiors of buildings and great exterior (It is much better at night)- Endless opportunities for fun- Intense gun-fights where you can run-and-gun, or use the hacking and environment to your advantage by causing distractions- A funny biography for each NPC, including their job/salary- NPCs reactions are funny and different every time- Online hacking and tailing is fun, as well as the online racing- Car handling in some vehicles is very good- You can choose whether you will be a menace or a protector, there is a full spectrum of good/bad and this will influence how civilians react to you and what the news features about you.- Change Aidan's outfit- Minigames such as Chess and Cups in shops and around- You could be invaded at any time by a multiplayer player (although this can be turned off), adding a hint of suspense and making you feel under attack.CONS---------- Lots of glare at daytime, slightly washed colours- It is too easy to get money and good weapons (after 2 hours I had a grenade launcher, 2 sniper rifles and 2 assault rifles)- NPCs will call the police if you have your gun out at any time - really annoying when you are tailing a criminal and have the police to worry about too- Driving in some vehicles is terrible!- I've spotted an old granny with a walking stick driving a fire engine before...AND THE BIGGEST CON:uPlay and the Ubisoft servers.I expected this to only last for launch day but it is still incredibly slow, 90% of attempts to login to uPlay time out and online/authentication servers for Watch Dogs are very slow as well. I could probably run a faster and more reliable service from a $4.99 VPS.Basically, the game is what you make it. There are endless opportunities of fun if you find them, but it takes a bit of effort. Who would have known that you can 'herd' up civilians on top of a steam pipe and blow them sky high?4.5/5

Good solid game - lots to explore.. No real instruction or step by step guide - so knowing where to go, what to seek, what to unlock is not clear.. Voice acting is poor; unclear voices mean subtitles should be switched on.. Graphics are decent.. Map is, as expected, a city with square streets.. Tunes/music are okay.. Loading times are nothing special and does not make great use of HDD; Killzone teaches everyone a lesson here.Top tip: you can turn online invasive hackers off; meaning you can be left alone; but it is ON as default. You cannot - yet - make it so that only friends can invade.. AI - not intelligent, yet.. Millions of upgrades, side missions, etc.. Less fun than GTA, less clunky than Sleeping Dogs though, and some side games make it more fun than SD.For a full review I'd read some of the proper gaming websites, etc. but in summary you're hell bent on cleaning up the city, your way. You gain rep by helping people, and loose it by killing them. The story unfolds at a fair pace and as I say the voice acting is poor, even poorly punctuated at times, as if the guy didn't know how to read.The game is unclear as I said. It certainly helps to unlock the city, unlock the maps by opening cfOS stations; these are a nice way to warm you up to the game. There are plenty of side missions, people to help, albeit repetitive. The arcade games are silly, fun and very short. There are some more adult themes, including inference of drug use, suicide, sex etc.It's the first 3rd person game that I've actually enjoyed placing my self in the car, opposed to 3rd person (on top/behind). Crusing the streets and taking in the decent graphics, while listening to your edited list of tunes is nice.Enjoy!