We've all seen the Ubisoft E3 reveal of Watch Dogs, and if you haven't, I don't know what you are doing with your time. Either way, everything about it was magnificent. It was an unheard of game with a completely original game concept. Aiden Pierce, the one they played as in the demo, can theoretically control any electronics in the city? I say theoretically because I know only as much as the demo showed me, which was a small mission out of what I'm sure are a lot. Now, when the gun play came into the spotlight, I thought nothing of it. More guns in a game? I've come to expect it. However, Egoraptor, who makes awesome cartoons, had something a little different to say.
"Watch Dogs had me interested until the guns came out. Like, why is it always necessary? There was such a great buildup in hacking devices I thought that if there was combat it'd involve taking advantage of devices, almost in a puzzle solving way like Ghost Trick. Aren't people tired of taking cover and shooting dudes? It blows my mind that this still excites people."
And after much pondering, it hit me, he's right. There was loads more potential for the original game concept to be used instead of the guns. And that's not to say that there aren't a bazillion other ways to complete a mission, just that it's a little sad to see such potential go to waste. Now I was in agreement with Egoraptor until, suddenly, it hit me again. They had to show the gun play.
People have come to expect good gun play in their video games. I mean, if I were to play Watch Dogs, I would find an approach that used the hack tool of Pierce's to it's fullest. But many other people would prefer to go in there all guns blazing. Ubisoft wanted to catch the attention of the hardcore and the mainstream. If they had shown only the hack tool in use, without guns, then the hardcore would have fallen to their knees to pray to the Ubisoft gods. Alright, maybe not, but it would have been pretty impressive. The casuals, however, would have thought the game to complicated for themselves. At least, my theory is that by showing both the expected shooting and the unexpected hacking, Ubisoft have attracted the largest audience possible.
Consider, for a moment, that Ubisoft is a business first. A business would rather make money from a large group of casual individuals than a small group of core individuals. But the casual group are still consumers that are just as important as the hardcore consumers. Without the casuals, how in the world would Ubisoft fund a triple A game like Watch Dogs? That's why we should just accept that we share our beloved games with casual gamers.
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I hope you can approach each mission differently.
So if you want to go in with your AK-47 and blast the suckers then so be it. However if you want a different approach, stealth, hack, take down a few guys with some tools. Then there's that option.
I have a feeling this option will be available. Ubisoft have shown it in many games such as Assassins creed and Ghost recon. There being an option of Stealth or All out attack.
I personally didn't have much problem with the gun battle. I hope I can approach each mission how I want, however every once in a while I do want a bit of action. Not necessarily guns, however some fighting.
The Online is what I'm really curious about. I just can't wait. I hope they can pull it off.
I cant belive there wasn't more reaction to this game, if the game play is real and as diverse as it makes outt his could be a massive game. Graphics and style were excellent too.
Guns are now casual? Missed the memo, sorry. You're probably right that the one of the reasons they showed the gunplay and not just hacking is to excite more than a select few. But saying casuals would have found the game too complicated is silly.
The gun play was the icing on the cake for me. I don't think I would enjoy a game like this without a good combat system - and an open world game with only hand to hand combat or simply escaping situations would not be enough for me. But the most interesting part was undoubtedly the hacking aspect. I do hope they don't just make a game that falls into a mindless shooter because the hacking gameplay mechanic could create a special game.
@StraightPath & Fez
Guns don't only cater to casuals, hence games like Killzone 2 and Bad Company 2, etc. But they are really easy to sell to casuals, hence Call of Duty. I never said that guns were only for casuals, just that casuals prefer guns. It might be too complicated for a casual player to complete a mission entirely through hacking in Watch Dogs.
I agree that this game needs good combat, but it was shown when Aiden beat the guard with his baton, we didn't necessarily need to see the gunplay, it was nice, but we've seen gunplay before. My point is, they should emphasize the hacking aspect because it's being used in an original manner in Watch Dogs. Show hacking as the big feature, show guns later.
This is just what I'd prefer as a hardcore gamer. Consider that their trailer as it is stole the show at E3.