Watch_Dogs

I'm still trying to get through the first one - it's getting a bit of a drag. Is this one worth the asking price? Does it get repetitive as with all Ubisoft Open World (TM) games? I like the look of the drone element at least.

And how intrusive is the multiplayer?

Second game has a lot of gameplay improvements over the first one.

The second game has a lot more immersion factors (and a few odd immersion-breaking ones) and is generally more lighthearted in tone. You never really run out of stuff to do, but the game does a pretty good job at pointing you towards the story missions.

So I just did "Looking Glass" recently (GOOD LORD, that was HARD) and I have some questions.

1. Would Ubisoft had been sued if they had used "Burning Man" instead of just making up their own? I didn't think anyone owned Burning Man.

2. The next story mission intros us to a girl whose name I don't remember, so for the time being I'm going to call her Fat Lena Dunham. (Am I wrong in thinking that? Their original plan was "make her look like Dunham" then they got gunshy and sald "change of plan, make her fat and give her weird hair so we won't get sued"?) Marcus' first face to face with her has her in a gay bar getting what looks like a tattoo that only shows up in blacklight. Is that a real world thing? I see shit like that and I want a tattoo. (Then I remember NEEDLES INTO YOUR FLESH and I don't want a tattoo anymore.)

Actually, Burning Man and a variety of IP related to it is trademarked. Well, they probably would need to stop a flood of porn claiming to feature people at Burning Man otherwise...

And yes, UV tattoos are real. No guarantees about how safe they are over the long term, though.

Like I said before, Josh on acid is my favorite part of that chapter.

Zero Punctuation reviews Watch Dogs 2. I agree with almost all of this review. I'm still compiling my thoughts for my own, but it's telling that I still can't recall the name of the black member of DedSec (who isn't Marcus) off the top of my head. Horatio, that's right. See?

Yeah, he is generally spot-on.

Still, I expect the pure fuckin-about gameplay to be enough to satisfy me when I get around to it. I've kept WD 1 just doing random street sweeps with T-Bone for a long time, after all, and this has even more fun.

Glad I'm not the only one who feels they come off like, for lack of a better term, self righteous millennial douchebags.

Looks like the T-Bone DLC has dropped for consoles and should be on PC soon. Any buzz yet (spoiler-free, preferably)? It's rather amusing how they felt the need to go back to the Raymond Kenney well, as if their star Marcus couldn't sustain any more interesting stories.

I think it's more "Lets bring back the protagonist people liked so people who might be turned off by Marcus will have a reason to try the game".

Which is exactly the same model they followed for the first game. Ubisoft, thy creativity well runneth dry.

Well the first game was more an after the fact thing

"People really hate Aiden, but they like T-Bone. so T-Bone DLC is a go!"

I am pretty sure in this case a T-Bone DLC was planned from the start since they can't whip one out that fast.

So if they do a WD 3, don't they pretty much have to say, "fuck it, T-Bone is the main character"?

Thing is, there's still more story to be told about DedSec and its little group of hipster hackers. They've proven they can take down anyone, anywhere, on ctOS, and they've even screwed with the FBI directly. The government would be expending all its resources to bring such a dangerous group to heel. That doesn't have a happy ending for our heroes, though, which is probably why it's not portrayed.

T-Bone can go off and have his fun-loving romps without wrecking the status quo with an unhealthy does of reality.

edited 3rd Jan '17 11:02:45 AM by Fighteer

From what I can tell there's no story to spoil. The T-Bone Content Bundle gives you some new clothes, a school bus/bulldozer, a new series of online co-op missions on a harder difficulty mode, a new type of enemy (grenade launcher thugs), and a series of daily challenges where you do things like blowing up rival players or running people over with taco trucks. No new story missions, and I'm not sure if T-Bone even shows up.

I'll probably get it when it's cheaper.

With this series' sales at this point: WATCH_DOGS being not very well recieved and the sequel not selling all that well, this could be a final nail in the coffin...

Even more likely when you consider the situation at Ubisoft

Ubisoft is currently being looked at by Vivendi, who seeks to buy them. Vivendi already owns about a quarter of the shares, and bought out Gameloft, Ubisoft's sister company in a hostile take over last year. Vivendi's been pushing to get their people on the board of Directors at Ubisoft, which is currently filled with the Guillermot family, which founded and runs Ubisoft, thing is the Guillermots now control less shares than Vivendi does, and they can only remain in control via the graces of the other shareholders, so they cannot afford to take another risk in a floundering franchise. With no Assassin's Creed in the last few years, the movie's dismal reception making interest peak being unlikely, and the meh sales of Farcry Primal, the Guillermots are in a tough corner if they intend to keep their company. Basically all's running on The Division keeping interest, and For Honor being a hit.

edited 3rd Jan '17 10:16:20 PM by Ghilz

What do you mean no Creed? That's the exact opposite of what they were doing.

Asscreed's been on hiatus since Syndicate (released 2015). Before that they used to be yearly releases (Unity 2014, 4:Black Flag 2013, 3 in 2012). The Hiatus was announced following Syndicate's launch, and projected to last a year. In mid 2016, Ubisoft confirmed the series hiatus would last one more year. It's now 2017 and there's still no new game announced. Did you not think it odd the movie was coming out without a game for it to sell?

edited 3rd Jan '17 10:13:07 PM by Ghilz

Isn't the movie just retelling the story of AC 1? I guess they could've released a remastered AC 1, but still.

Nope, it's a different plot from any of the games.

It's very similar to the first in terms of premise, but the plot is otherwise entirely new.

Anyway, not to turn this into the Asscreed thread, but my point was, considering how the big cheezes as Ubisoft are on a precarious situation, I'd not be surprised to see them not give Watch_Dogs another chance. They are not in a situation where they can take this sort of risk and let those who want to replace them say "We can do better".

edited 3rd Jan '17 10:31:28 PM by Ghilz

Oh, so it's an appearance pack? I was hoping they would provide a chance to figure out what exactly happened out in the desert. By that I mean "find Frewer".

So is Watch Dogs 2 on its way to being an Acclaimed Flop at worst or something? Most of the reviews seem to be declaring it to be much better than the original...

I'll agree with that. Lots more to do, a more compelling story, a main character you don't want to knee in the dick......

Well, I do want to rub his little gang's faces in a bit of Reality Ensues, but...