Overwatch is an excitingly addictive and colorful first person shooter that follows in the footsteps of games like Team Fortress 2. An extraordinary revival to the FPS genre, Overwatch breaths life back into a genre that has labored under nearly identical games for years now. Ironically this release comes close to a very similar game, Battleborn. Another FPS that attempted to combine FPS and MOBA, Battleborn fell short while Overwatch has triumphed in nearly every way. Even Battleborn has sensed this and already dropped the price to try and keep up. Being released so close to one another and fundamentally the same it’s hard not to compare the two.
Graphically Overwatch looks brilliant with a colorful pallet and a wide variety of maps to play on from Hollywood to Nepal. Anime style 3D graphics that almost border on the Pixar style. Each map feels unique in its own way and mixes up the old formula considerably. There aren’t many maps to play on however and I don’t consider it a new map just because I start at one end instead of the other. The characters are also varied with extremely unique appearances. With Battleborn most characters were either shooters or melee with the only actual differences being between specials. In Overwatch every character plays very different from one another, playing on individual strength and weakness. Of course they fall into one of four categories like offense, defense, tank and support but it doesn’t take away from the game at all.
Mechanically the game is fairly easy to just start playing but the real challenge is finding your place on a team. Every character has unique characteristics that players need to learn through trial and error and some can be trickier than others. It is also important to consider what mode you’re playing, some characters aren’t suited for certain modes. I personally use Junkrat (the one with the f****** tires), Torbjorn (turret dwarf) and Symmetra (the healer that won’t heal) because I like to be a pain in the ass from a distance. The game encourages trying multiple characters and unlike Battleborn it is possible to switch characters mid-game and have multiples of one kind… which can create its own issues. Some characters are a lot more complicated than others, like Lucio who is great to have on a team of tanks but difficult to master.
The primary issue with Overwatch is that while the content is great there isn’t really much of it. Overwatch is so addictively fun it doesn’t sink in right away but after playing for days it will. Even Battleborn made a half assed attempt at a story mode. Before release a number of short anime style movies on Overwatch were released and it made me excited because I thought they were part of the game. Not only are they not part of the game, they aren’t even in the game. So Blizzard created this rich background for Overwatch that doesn’t even appear in its own game. What’s more disappointing is that the possible fertile background story for each character is just going to waste. The opening cinematic kind of sums up the idea of the game and gives Winston a deeper feel but that’s all there is.
Gameplay is also kind of minimal. Broken down there are only two real game modes, capture and/or escort. With such a variety of characters it’s reasonable that some modes wouldn’t work but Blizzard could have at least added a team death match or something. Overwatch doesn’t have nearly as many MOBA elements as Battleborn but apparently Blizzard really wanted to stick to that theme. It is also possible to earn customization items by leveling up. Overwatch almost forces you to buy them with actual money though. Not only do you only earn a few items at each level it is possible to get the same ones multiple times. I don’t know if or what the level cap is but when each character has over 50 custom items and it can take hours to level up after 25, there’s a problem. Not that players should be surprised; Blizzard sells games to keep the lights on, the real money is in the micro payments.
Overwatch might be thin on content but is delicious and beefy where it counts. As much as I wish it had an anime style story for each character it doesn’t. That didn’t stop me from playing for days after release and I don’t regret it either. While simple and colorful enough for kids it will also excite advanced gamers with in depth gameplay and strategy. The game strongly emphasizes teamwork, not only with a XP boost (for playing with friends) but by how easily a team can clean house by coordinating well. Playing defense especially can be extremely easy in a well-rounded team. No news yet on future characters or how many, but supposedly future content will be free. Players can only hope this will include some new maps and game modes as well. On a final note to all players, we get that you can use Mei’s and Tracer’s specials almost infinitely in the special mode but that’s no reason to be an ass when losing… THAT’S MY THING.
