‘Watch Dogs’ Gameplay Is Nothing New: Is Ubisoft’s New Game Ripping Off Other Franchises?
Watch Dogs gameplay isn’t really original at all if you think about it. Ubisoft’s latest attempt at a new game series seems to be taking ideas from everything else.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, an early CoD: Advanced Warfare trailer showed that Sledgehammer’s latest yearly outing isn’t original either. Taking elements from Halo, Dead Space, and Titanfall, the latest Call of Duty appears to be taking all of its original ideas from other franchises. Now, Ubisoft has done the same thing with Watch Dogs.
The premise behind Watch Dogs‘ gameplay is built on the simple concept of a criminal attempting to take over the city by illegal means. If that sounds familiar, then you’ve probably heard of the Grand Theft Auto series. You can use various weapons and steal cars to accomplish missions which local police aren’t too happy with, and there are even other criminals trying to cut in on your activities.
Another game released around the same time as Grand Theft Auto V used a similar concept, except it introduced the idea of hacking into the city around you. Of course, the hacking was a little more over the top and often hilarious in Saints Row IV, but at its root, it’s the same thing. There are even “digital trips” in Watch Dogs, which alter reality for a little bit of unusual fun, again the same thing the latest Saints Row did. Yes, Watch Dogs appears to be taking ideas from that game, as well.
How many other games does Ubisoft’s latest new franchise appear to be taking ideas from? You’ll notice its antihero, Aiden Pearce, wanders about seemingly covered from head to toe, benefits from using stealth to accomplish his missions, and he can’t attack regular citizens. Could Ubisoft be recycling some concepts from their other major series? Watch Dogs gameplay seems a lot like a modern day Assassin’s Creed, taking the stealth elements and moral boundaries from Assassin’s Creed IV.
Watch Dogs even takes elements from the Need for Speed Underground series, staging cross-town races against your friends as you weave through traffic while evading police. Much like Hot Pursuit, you can even set up obstacles while you race to slow down the competition.
So, why did Ubisoft delay Watch Dogs for half a year, only to allegedly copy almost every other successful open world franchise available? Is the Watch Dogs gameplay entertaining enough to distract you from realizing there is almost nothing original about it?
[image via GameSpot]
