Overwatch! Review & Ramblings
Blizzard’s newest masterpiece Overwatch went live May 24th, 2016 – So it’s been just over two weeks into the games lifespan. Myself and friends played the beta and loved every minute of it, and have been playing the full release day in and day out all week! (Please, send help.)
The whole internet has been abuzz with clips, fan-art(does hentai count too?), cosplay, and even ships of Overwatch’s diverse lineup of 21 heroes. As a player and fan, I’m loving every minute of it and glued to the R/Overwatch subreddit even at work…
I want to give an initial impression on the game; its far from perfect because it’s only been a couple weeks, but I’ll offer my thoughts on the gameplay and non-gameplay aspects of Overwatch!
Non Gameplay
What I mean by this is everything surrounding the game that isn’t actually playing it. Blizzard did an excellent job at building up lore, as I mentioned in a previous post about the ‘Dragons’ animated short.
Furthermore, the fan base has taken to Overwatch in a big way, all over the globe! So far I’ve seen cosplay, fan-art, and comic shorts from multiple countries across different internet mediums.
Some of these include:
And..
Now, as for the Gameplay
Blizzard’s philosophy on game balance is a rock-paper-scissors approach. Each hero matches up with other heroes in such a way that you’ll either be at an advantage, disadvantage, or somewhat tied, before taking your skills with the character into account. This makes for balanced (and sometimes imbalanced) team building strategies that are vital to your victory in Overwatch. With 21 Heroes that are all vastly different, teams of six become a great mess of action when you work together.
One thing I love are the game types: escort the payload, point control, and zone capture. All area and time based objective game types that reward team coordination – a refreshing break from ‘team deathmatch’ games that are ever popular.
I’ve never felt that an online match was horribly imbalanced: if the enemy team is dominating you its because you were technically outplayed / using a hero that was countered by an enemy hero.
Is an enemy Torbjörn camping behind his turret, hammering away? Just use Widowmaker or Hanzo for some easy points. “Bastion OP!” Your teammate cries with dismay. Use Genji, or someone who can attack without needing line of sight such as Junkrat, and stop them from getting play of the game for the umpteenth time.
Another aspect of the Hero system i’m fond of is the difficulty star rating. While it may seem arbitrary, after playing several hours as characters from each tier, my interpretation on the stars is like this:
- One stars have attacks and abilities that are cut & dry, what you see is what you get. They perform quite well in a general sense of always being somewhat effective, and more so in their niche. Take Soldier 76, who can lay down steady damage to anything in mid range.
- Two stars *best of both worlds, see below*
- Three stars attacks, abilities, and even movements require a higher degree of control and creativity to use to max potential. At max potential and control, three star characters can turn the tide of a match and seem damn near unstoppable. Take Genji for example: if you only stand around using his primary fire, you’ll very likely be outgunned by many Heroes at most ranges. However, if you use his double jumps and wall climbs frequently you’ll gain a tactical advantage against any opponent, making you difficult to properly hit and kill.
I love Overwatch, and can seriously see myself playing it for a while – and considering Blizzard is going to have continued updates that include Heroes and maps for free, i’m sure most people share my sentiment. Time will only tell how the desired competitive scene Blizzard wishes to create will pan out – there’s already planned nerfs & buffs in the works for certain gunslingers and gamer girls as mentioned in an interview.
As long as Blizzard doesn’t touch my beloved Mei and Zarya (7 hours logged as both so far) with the nerf stick, I’ll be happy.
Огонь по готовности! (Fire at will!)”
