WATCH DOGS – MY FELLOW GAMERS, GET EXCITED

[SPOILER ALERT: Parts of the storyline and gameplay may be revealed]

Looking at the 2013 gaming calendar, there is a lot to look forward to. One such game that I’m anxiously waiting for is, Watch Dogs; for the sheer fact that it is going to be an open world game (GTA, Mafia, Sleeping dogs, Just Cause – just to name a few). I love open world games; they usually provide a free roam mode where you can roam around the city, looking for interesting buildings, monuments and cannot help but notice the many intricate details which the developers put in the game to make it quite aesthetically pleasing. This game comes from the franchise owners of some of the most epic games, which include Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy.

Watch Dogs has some intense gameplay action. © Ubisoft.

Talking of open world gaming, initial videos of Watch Dogs suggest that the city in the game is loosely based on USA’s third most populous city, Chicago. The game also has a pretty elaborate story to tell.

The story of Watch Dogs is based on an American concept of information warfare where information technology is used against opponents to gain a professional edge by collecting confidential information, and later using it to defame or demoralize the enemy. In the game, the ‘antihero’, Aiden Pearce, uses this concept to control any device that is hooked to the city’s central operating system and eventually use it as a weapon against his enemies. It seems that Ubisoft might go a little too far with the concept of the story if they’re unable to explain such details in the simplest possible manner, with the help of some kind of cut scenes. The concept sounds quite complicated but somehow manages to make me even more excited to try it out and see what it is all about once the game is released later this year.

The gameplay is pretty similar to GTA, where you have a small mini map on the lower right side of the screen. While walking around the city, you’ll notice strangers talking, minding their own business, like you would in a real world. The game seems to integrate some kind of stealth mode tactics to complete missions/objectives as well, which we have previously seen in the Hitman series and even in Mafia to an extent. The action scenes are quite amazing and you can even enter a slow motion mode when engaged in a gun battle. Yes, you can drive cars in the game as well. The developers have done a fantastic job with the background score which immerses you completely in the game and more so, when you get beautifully directed cut scenes during missions/objectives.

I guess these should be enough spoilers to get your copy of Watch Dogs when the game is released later this year. Ubisoft has been extremely secretive about this ambitious project and have not given a concrete release date. They have not even released a list of specifications required to run the PC version of the game. Enthusiasts suggest that you’ll require at least 1GB graphics card, 4GB RAM and 15GB of hard disk space. However, they have confirmed that the game will be released on PS3, Xbox 360 and even work on PCs with Windows Vista or later. Rumors even suggest that this game will be available on Microsoft and Sony’s yet-to-launch gaming consoles, Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4!

Watch dogs is probably the best GTA clone till date and I for one will be hooked once it is released.

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The image and video is a property of Ubisoft (and all its parent/children/sister company(s) if any). They have been used for illustrative purposes only and I do not claim ownership of the content of the image or the video. ONLY the textual content is a property of Vinamra Kokane.