The Watch Dogs release date is just a few days away; reviews and teasers offer samples of gameplay. It's yet to be determined if the most pre-ordered game of the season will deliver to expectations, though.
Developer Ubisoft didn't pull any punches in promotions and hype, even appealing to the non-gaming market. It recently penned a film deal with New Regency, a movie adaptation with Michael Fassbender in the lead role.
The company reportedly made a misstep with its core market, though; gamers demand something new and playable in new titles, particularly if these are preceded with a reputation of having "revolutionary, groundbreaking" features.
The game will offer online multiplayer mode, a sample of which came out before the Watch Dogs release date. The multiplayer option has become the staple of titles, competitive and cooperative. Need for Speed Rivals and the upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts should offer this by default.
The online experience seems to be an integral part of the Watch Dogs dynamic, but developers took this a step further by penalizing subscribers who opt out of the game's online invasions option.
Toggling the option menus and switching off the mode leads to a prompt: "By disabling Online Invasions you will not be available for other players to invade, but you will also not be able to participate in Online Hacking and Tailing. Your Notoriety will be reset to zero and any Notoriety Skills you have unlocked will be lost. Do you want to disable Online Invasions?"
The compulsory feature is from the Xbox One, and was not received well by the community. Disappointment from gamers forced Ubisoft to reconsider, and the feature is now optional by default.
The success of the online multiplayer function depends on the game's playability. Some are built for multiple players, while others exhaust their repeat value with single play. With the Watch Dogs release date set for May 27, an optional multiplayer mode should make the title appealing to gamers who'd rather finish the game in single player, story mode (spawnfirst.com).
