Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
The 50 Most Iconic Video Game Characters
Games The 50 most iconic video game characters of all time
Dying Light the Beast Safe codes
Survival Horror Games Dying Light The Beast safe codes and combinations
samus looking at the camera in her armor with her helmet on
Action Games Metroid Prime 4: Beyond players are finding Samus' sidekick so annoying they are sharing hints for how to lessen the cringe: "I shut off voice volume completely and instantly felt better"
Arc Raiders raider in a pilot helmet looks at the camera in a sunlit forest
Third Person Shooters Police confirm Arc Raiders fan got a visit from officers in real life after a concerned motel guest heard him plead for a revive: "I got shot, please get me up!"
Knack
Survival Games No Man's Sky lead says Sony has a "KNACK for this kind of thing" as people try and riddle out the viral Game Awards teaser – that, or "Geoff is simply opening a hell portal"
Dispatch
Adventure Games Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 veteran says superhero smash hit Dispatch is "my game of the year" – and it certainly wouldn't be replicable with AI
Arc Raiders best weapons
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders door exploit makes keycards useless, and players demand the banhammer for those using it: "The sooner Embark bans people doing this, the sooner it will stop"
GTA 6
Grand Theft Auto GTA 6 fans grab their spare pitchforks and torches as AI "leak" gets out of hand, turning 8 million views into an angry mob: "I wouldn't have thought it would go this far"
Best video game heroes
Games The 25 best heroes in games of all time
Alan Wake 2 tips
Survival Horror Games 13 Alan Wake 2 tips we wish we knew before playing
Alan Wake 2 words of power
Survival Horror Games Alan Wake 2 Words of Power locations
Dispatch
Adventure Games Dispatch's success shows a way forward for a struggling AA narrative genre
Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters "I have to kill them before they kill me": In just one week, Arc Raiders has ruined my ability to trust, and the killer robots aren't even the problem
Key art for Marvel's Wolverine, with Logan on the right hand side - his claws are out against a yellow background, with a GamesRadar+ frame that says 'PS5: Five Year Anniversary'
Action Games All signs point to Marvel's Wolverine being the Logan simulator I've wanted for decades, and the next step toward PS5's superhero universe
Dying Light 2 Stay Human
Games 10 games like Dying Light 2 to play once you're done with Techland's latest
Trending
  • Best Games of 2025
  • The Future of Total War
  • Fallout Season 2
  • Gift Guides
  • New Games for 2025
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Watch Dogs

"But his phone battery never dies" - 6 ways Watch Dogs defies logic

Features
By Matt Porter published 27 June 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

It's good to hack

It's good to hack

Say what you want about Watch Dogs, but you cant deny that its core hacking system is cool. Being able to plunge Chicago into virtual chaos using your phone makes you feel powerful, and thats before you resort to the usual guns and grenades.

But come on now, Ubisoft. You cant expect us to believe Aiden Pearce is doing all this from his smartphone without any complications. Everyones got one of those mobile devices nowadays, but as good as they are, we all know that they dont exactly work how we want them to all the time. Heres what would happen if the events in Watch Dogs were actually realistic.

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
1. Unbelievable battery life

1. Unbelievable battery life

Ill start with the obvious one up front. Lets be honest, your phones charge might last an entire day provided you dont even turn on the screen to check the time. A few checks of your email and a quick Twitter update is usually enough to send the battery into the redzone.

Now take Aiden Pearce, and his constantly logging into Chicagos operating system. The first time he changes the traffic lights at an intersection hes going to have to head back to the bunker to plug in his phone. Maybe Aidens trenchcoat carries dozens of extra batteries. Is that why it flaps around so much?

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
2. He never gets spam

2. He never gets spam

Aiden only ever seems to get texts and calls from people he wants to talk to. I dont know about you, but most of the time I excitedly check my phone after I receive a text, only to find its spam about some special offer or a call about a free credit report. Not Aiden. Why? Well, just imagine your next tailing mission in Watch Dogs being interrupted by an ad for penis enhancement.

Maybe Aiden doesnt get them anymore, but he must have received some in the past. It looks like he got a pretty sweet deal on trenchcoats and hats before, because those are the only things he seems capable of buying in clothes shops. Maybe he just has a really great sponsorship deal. From, er, people who make slightly shabby coats and self-aggrandising hats.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
3. He never gets caught for texting while driving

3. He never gets caught for texting while driving

Using your phone while driving is very dangerous. Youre distracted from the road, and you have to take your hand off the wheel to use it. Of course, its even more dangerous if you happen to be a Fixer chasing down Aiden Pearce in a car. Drive over some blockers or a steam vent and its lights out for you.

There dont seem to be many visible police in Watch Dogs version of Chicago (they just seem to magically appear during a chase), but if any of them did spot Aiden on his phone, hed be pulled over in a flash and slapped with a hefty fine. Maybe even some points on his license too. Perhaps this fictional version of the Windy City doesn't have the same law that the real one put into effect late last year.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
4. He never drops or damages his phone

4. He never drops or damages his phone

Weve all done it. Those slippery phones always seem to squirm out of our hands at the worst possible time. Ive lost count of the number of friends who've dropped their phone down a toilet. Whats more is, the pricier the handset, the more damage it seems to take / faecal matter it seems to attract.

Aidens phone must be very expensive and heavily customised, given how high tech it is. The amount of running and jumping about he does, coupled with how many times he gets shot or in car accidents must mean Aiden drops his phone from time to time. Thankfully for him, any one of the people whose bank accounts hes hacked can pick up the bill.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
5. He never gets unexpected phone calls

5. He never gets unexpected phone calls

*Bzzzt... bzzzt* Hello? Yeah, hi mother No I cant really talk right n Yes Ive remembered aunt Sarahs birthday No I havent forgotten youre visiting at the weekend. Listen, Im surrounded by some very angry gang members at the moment, I have to go. Ill call you back okay?Yeah I love you too.

Its pretty lucky Aidens phone never rings while hes sneaking up behind a bad guy with his baton at the ready. Maybe he remembers to put it on silent before infiltrating a gang hideout, though it's got to be pretty quiet on vibrate too. Like most human beings, gangsters happen to be another group of people who dont like you being on your phone while you're trying to kill them.

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
6. No-one criticises Aiden for constantly looking at his phone

6. No-one criticises Aiden for constantly looking at his phone

One of the more amusing moments in Watch Dogs for me was near the start of the game where Aiden visits his sisters house. Shes talking about her son and how everyone is coping with the tragic loss of her daughter. Meanwhile, Aidens walking around the house looking at his phone as her heartfelt conversation continues.

People can get super annoyed if youre on your phone in their company. Sending texts to other people while youre having a conversation is just plain rude. At least most people put their phone away again afterwards. Aiden seems to have the thing glued to his hand. I know youve got some pockets on that flappy trenchcoat of yours, Pearce.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
No service

No service

I know if I had a phone with the power of Aiden Pearces, I wouldnt be so mad at how much I currently pay for mine. I bet his data doesnt get throttled after 5GB either. As it is, weve got a long way to go before the events of Watch Dogs can be believable. Have you noticed anything else wrong with Watch Dogs world? Let me know in the comments.

Want more Watch Dogs-flavoured madness? Here is 8 Things You Need To Do In Watch Dogs Before You Die, and another feature on Why Aiden Pearce Is A Total Asshole. No, you're welcome.

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms
Matt Porter
Social Links Navigation

You can often find Matt writing words about games, especially at a time when he was a freelance games journalist. However, nowadays Matt is a producer for CSGO and League of Legends, and an interviewer for Dexerto. 

Read more
Grand Theft Auto 5
Behind the scenes GTA 5 camera work reveals Rockstar's trickery, featuring transforming NPCs, random T-poses, and a half-built plane
 
 
A screenshot of Kyle Crane on a rooftop in the upcoming PS5 game, Dying Light: The Beast.
Not even Dying Light: The Beast's game director knows how many Easter eggs there are, and you haven't found all of them yet
 
 
Half-Life 2
Ex Valve designer reveals the door and big toe that retroactively broke Half-Life 2: "This isn't a normal bug - it appears to have traveled backwards in time and infected the original!"
 
 
Dying Light The Beast tips
11 Dying Light The Beast tips to help you smack zombies with a shovel
 
 
Dying Light: The Beast screenshot of Kyle Crane punching a Biter using the knuckle dusters, with a GamesRadar On The Radar overlay
Dying Light: The Beast feels like Action Man: The Game, and I can't get enough of Kyle Crane's badass skull-smashing moves
 
 
Alan Wake 2 cult stashes watery town algebra question about batteries and amps
How to solve the Alan Wake 2 battery amps stash puzzle
 
 
Latest in Action
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows backlash won't stop Ubisoft from going down the dual-protagonist route in the future "if we have a good reason to do it"
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows review gameplay showing Yasuke overlooking the sea and lush green scenery
Assassin's Creed Shadows lead teases "things that are set up" in the open-world RPG "should keep happening in other projects and evolve" thanks to the Animus Hub
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows associate director has a hot tip for the next Ubisoft studio taking on the franchise: "Pay more attention to parkour as its own pillar"
 
 
GTA 6
We got a Rockstar doormat before GTA 6: Rockstar drops new merch for GTA, Red Dead Redemption, and Bully ahead of the holidays
 
 
Michael in GTA Online
Rockstar slams the emergency button and announces big GTA Online update with a mission creator starring Michael that arrives next week
 
 
BioShock 2
6 years since BioShock 4's announcement, South of Midnight star thinks she might have had a role in the long-awaited FPS but there were so many NDAs she's not actually sure
 
 
Latest in Features
Grounded 2 screenshot showing kids facing a scorpion with a GamesRadar+ Best of 2025 badge in upper right
From Skate to 2XKO, why wait when you can already play the best early access games of 2025
 
 
Big Preview Total War hub image featuring Warhammer 3 characters
Explore the future of Total War in the GamesRadar+ Big Preview
 
 
Crucial DDR5 Pro facing the camera on a stand, showing the small Crucial branding
Crucial could have been the brand to help consumers with RAM and storage costs, not make them worse
 
 
Dust Bunny
Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny is a weird and wonderful tale with one important lesson: "Believe children"
 
 
Pokemon Phantasmal Flames Charizard X Ex Ultra Premium Collection box laid out at an angle
Pokemon TCG Phantasmal Flames introduces a couple of tournament-winning cards you need in your deck
 
 
Hand using the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con controller in its mouse setting
Here's how to use mouse controls on Metroid Prime 4, and how to make them even better
 
 
  1. Art from Octopath Traveler 0 showing the hero being haunted by the images of those who burned his hometown, with ghostly images of the three surrounding an image of a town on fire behind him as he walks forward
    1
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  2. 2
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  3. 3
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
  4. 4
    Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
  5. 5
    Marvel Cosmic Invasion review: "Excellent '90s-tinged superhero brawling across a punchy campaign falls just short of arcade bliss"
  1. Freddy Fazbear in Five Nights at Freddy's 2
    1
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  2. 2
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  3. 3
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  4. 4
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  5. 5
    Predator: Badlands review: "Die-hard fans may be disappointed, but as a blockbuster action-adventure, Badlands kills it"
  1. Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in Stranger Things season 5
    1
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  2. 2
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  3. 3
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  4. 4
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
  5. 5
    Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...