Watch Dogs: Legion takes risks that ultimately pay off for those that look to do the same.
The
much-anticipated 3rd entry in the Watch Dogs series has arrived, and this time,
we are now set in London but in a rather futuristic version of it as a usual
trademark of this franchise. Ubisoft have gone ways to give Watch Dogs a name
for itself in the gaming industry, from hyped up E3 trailers to branding the
game itself as a “GTA Killer”, is Watch Dogs: Legion really worth the shot?
GRAPHICS: 8/10
The visuals of
Watch Dogs: Legion holds up to the standards of the current generation nearing
its end, though I must admit nothing is really groundbreaking. It still has its
usual texture pops from here and there which are apparent from Ubisoft’s open
world games such as the Assassin’s Creed’s franchise, but I can say that the
graphics are pretty good despite the aforementioned problem.
Watch Dogs:
Legion’s own version of London is very well made and various landmarks such as
the Big Ben, London Eye and The Buckingham Palace all made an appearance. If
you played the previous games, you will notice improvements from lighting to
textures itself, though I deem the London setting of the current game to be a
bit dark as it should have, given the theme and story of the game.
GAMEPLAY: 8/10
This is the most ambitious entry yet in the Watch Dogs franchise, personally I loved how the developers took risks with the new mechanic of not having a single or main protagonist in the game. It is a hit or miss concept: either a player would love it or hate it as a whole. In Watch Dogs: Legion you control literally a legion of characters or a team with different sets of abilities and specialties who can be recruited during in-between missions or free roam. The player has the choice to enter a specific mission the way the player wants, may it be through stealth or gunning down everyone as they enter a specific mission. Of course, with your preferred playstyle you choose the preferred character.
Conquering certain districts of London called Boroughs will help you obtain more skilled and quality team members, which are really fun and satisfying in my opinion. The advancement in the game is also good which you can unlock by finding and spending tech points, it’s like a skill tree if we’re talking in terms of a generalized term in video games, each upgrade has tiers of their own to further improve its effects and helpfulness.
Hacking and gadgets are still the same as the previous entries, however I felt that the gadgets are watered down a bit as Aiden Pierce’s skills in the first game are a bit more exciting since it has the blackout ability and such. I don’t know if I’m just a bit over sentimental since I am a fan of the first one, but still new gadgets and perks are a welcome.
There are a few glitches here and there every once in a while in its current state. As I write this review, besides the aforementioned texture pops, glitches include the games physics where sometimes I find my character flying in the air with the slightest bump, or my character walking through walls like a ghost.
I think that the
game still needed more time in the oven but I think that they rushed just in
time before the release of the next generation of consoles, and it will be of
course ported to it as well. Last problem to highlight is the overall
repetitiveness of the game, on a positive note the main levels and some of the
first side missions are well designed but as time goes on with the side
missions, it will really get repetitive.
Side missions
include recruitment missions of team members and since literally everyone in
the world can be recruited in the game, I was already expecting it to be
repetitive. Puzzles are well thought out and some of it are really wittingly
placed but as we go through it midway, some of it are really tiring and a chore
to do because of its repetitive nature as well.
Despite the
problems I have said, it is still very fun game indeed and I had a good 25
hours of gameplay with it, the repetitive nature of the game will easily get a
pass since the main quest levels are well made in my opinion. In other aspects
of the game, the driving is improved from previous game, it doesn’t feel like
arcade-y anymore like in the previous games which feels like you’re driving a
car in Fortnite or PUBG, it is not as great as GTA V driving but hey, it still
has decent mechanics and physics as well. System UI needs improvement as well
as switching characters or gadgets feels like a chore as you would need to go
over the whole pause screen just to do it, combine it with the really slow load
speed, you will really feel the game is as dragging as it could get.
I can still see
a lot of potential with the direction the series is going - they could add team
switching between missions (just like in GTA V) to really get the most out of
the term legion, and as I mentioned, add a shortcut while playing in switching
team members and equipment as well.
In terms of
difficulty, the game is really easy to breeze in through if you know what
you’re doing even if you’re in the hardest difficulty, but I applaud them for
adding the permadeath feature as it adds a bit of a challenge since missions
will feel like a lot more is at stake as your characters can be permanently erased
from existence when you fail a mission and get killed. I tell you, the game is
at its best when permadeath is turned on.
STORY: 7/10
The story of
Watch Dogs: Legion revolve around DeadSec being framed for the bombing that
happened in London and the quest to rally the people into a revolution to take
back London from its oppressors. Story is really not the strong suit of the
Watchdogs franchise as gameplay is where it really shines however, despite of
it having a really clear plot and goal, I just don’t feel really connected to
it as well as its characters.
I think this is
because of not having a really main character in the story but also it is
because just overly really light. Watch Dogs and Watch Dogs 2 had their fair
share of problems as well but at least in the first game, you really feel
Aiden’s intentions and motives all throughout the game despite it being dull.
Still, I can say the story is still viable as decent and arguably, good for a coming of age franchise trying its best to be innovative in the world of gaming.
SOUND, VAs AND MUSIC: 8/10
The music and
sound of the game is pretty good, radio songs while driving are a great fit in
my opinion and also the sound effects are on point. The problem persists in the
dialogues, sometimes it doesn’t sync with the character’s speaking animation
which really detached me from the overall experience, also speaking of
dialogues, some of the lines are really bad and cheesy in my opinion, it feels
like the scriptwriting is really mediocre at some areas and players may feel a
slight cringe when going through it, I know I was. Other than the problem with
voice acting and script, the sound and music is on point and fits the game as
it is.
VERDICT: 8/10
Watch Dogs:
Legion is the best of the trilogy. It’s a bold claim but I do claim it. It
fixed and further improved certain problems that are apparent in the previous
installments without removing the identity of the franchise as all fans loved
right from the start. Sure, it has its problems, but it doesn’t remove the fact
that the developers are pushing their minds at its limits in order to maintain
the relevance of the franchise in the gaming industry. They pushed for new
innovations and ideas that are risky sure, but worth it in the end.
It is still the
game that we, the fans, all love, the hacking, the shooting and all the
adrenaline that one feels when playing this game, it still all there. Combined
with the open world access that makes it feel like a GTA duplicate with an
added twist, we can still say that Watch Dogs is a game of itself and not a
duplicate of anything. The future is bright for this franchise and I hope that
Ubisoft continues to develop and improve the game’s future installments, the
overall potential looms but the execution of it is all that we wait to see.
Behold the revolution, the legion is here.
This Watch Dogs: Legion review was played on the PlayStation 4, with the key provided by Ubisoft.
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