In the modern age we'd all love it if servers actually ran as fast and reliably as the likes of Microsoft would love them to, but the simple fact is that at the minute it's very rare a game requiring an abundance of server-load power can get it at the right time. And therein is the current 'problem' with Watch Dogs' multiplayer, as during that initial reveal Ubisoft mentioned many potential caveats involving a 'constantly connected world' where we saw the camera zoom up away from Aiden only to settle on an unknown combatant - leading everyone to assume that somehow everyone's worlds were going to be linked and we'd all be perpetually raiding each other's voicemails from across the street. Of course this isn't what the final mode turned out to be - but why would it? Can you imagine how infuriating that would be? Instead what is on offer is a series of modes, one of which is a fantastic inclusion where after you accrue a certain level of notoriety in your own game, a cash bounty is assigned to you that can be claimed by another random opponent when they randomly land in your game, forcing you into a showdown. It all leads to some great one-on-ones comprised of citywide chases as you attempt to evade and take down your killer, both of you hacking everything in sight along the way. These more basic Dark Souls-style encounters are the most common at the moment as Ubi's servers struggle to load the matches with more competitors that see you all frantically blowing each other to smithereens in the name of holding onto a decryption program for a certain amount of time. However the fact remains that the toolset laid out before you is a fantastic one, and should you decide to opt-into these random invasions and online deathmatches, it offers a whole new level of enjoyment to the already worthwhile single-player missions.
