Why Watch Dogs and Person of Interest are so similar?

With the PS4 Conference come a slew of next gen titles and stage demos for us to pick at till this years E3. Ubisoft's Watch Dogs caught my eye cause of its sheer scope, intriguing gameplay mechanics and brain swelling visuals. It also dawned on me that this game draws several parallels to the CBS action thriller Person of Interest. Now I couldn't stop grinning after entertaining the notion that one of my favorite TV shows could have a game where I can recreate some of the scenarios from the series. Oh if you not been watching Person of Interest DO IT NOW!!! Its that good. Back to the matter at hand we still don't know much about Watch Dogs in terms of its story or characters that will inhabit it so some my comparisons will be mostly conjecture and the rantings of crazy person.

Ubisoft's next Gen title looks stunning!

First off, let me drop a knowledge bomb about Person of Interest. The show revolves around two protagonists, John Reese, a rogue CIA operative and Harold Finch, a presumed dead genius developer who's amassed a ridiculous fortune. Together they pretty much batman up, rain beat downs upon the city, avoid being caught by the law and save the would be victims.

Reese provides the guns, the brawn and badass skills from his days as a wet works operative. Finch is the brains as well as the financial backing of the group, his near limitless resources and peerless hacking abilities makes him pretty much a superhero Bill Gates. Back on to Watch Dogs, it's safe to assume that the main character, Aiden Pearce, is a wanted man as he is being chased down by police in the gameplay footage.

#PAUSE#

OK this is where we draw some parallels, Aiden Pearce helps an innocent bystander by chasing off a crook and showing him the error of his ways, with fists. Sound like someone we know? Now unlike Reese who has Finch to provide him with intel, eyes from above and hacking into security systems, Aiden is on his own. That being said Aiden strikes a balance between the two by being able to hack his way into anything with a electric pulse to going all John Woo in a fire fight.

From the left to right: Reese, Carter, Finch

Both Watch Dogs and Person of Interest are set in a world where Supercomputers observe everything and everyone. The one difference is that the supercomputer in Person of Interest can predict crimes before they happen whereas in Watch Dogs.... ok I don't actually know the full extent this metal box can do other than what Ubisoft has told us "The system controls almost every piece of technology in the city, and contains information on all of the city's residents and activities which can be used for various purposes."

Sweet Lord its helping him cheat!

Still not convinced that Watch Dogs and Person of Interest are cut from the same cloth? Well I got one more round left in the chamber. One gameplay feature in Watch Dogs has that screams Person of Interest is hacking via cellphones which I can only presume is hot glued to his hand, seeing how it can do more damage on the field than a mere handgun. Q put it best when he told Bond where the evolution of warfare and espionage was heading in this quote "Well, I'll hazard I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pajamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field." That applies here but with a cellphone instead of a laptop but the principles genuinely the same.

Aiden Pearce getting his John Woo on

Well that's my two cents on Watch Dogs and Person of Interest I can't draw a full conclusion till I play Watch Dogs so you'll have find out what I think of it in the near future. But I can say this Person of Interest is a show worthy of your attention if enjoy anything similar to it like Minority Report, Enemy of the State or the Bourne series. Watch the preview featurette below if your still not on the wagon.

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