Overwatch uses unique and fun characters to turn what would otherwise be a clone of Team Fortress 2 into an immensely satisfying and enjoyable shooter with great visuals and solid gameplay.
Overwatch is a team based online first person shooter (FPS) that pits two teams of six against one another. The teams fight over objective locations or escort vehicles. In that sense, Overwatch is a very simple game, as the four game modes are all based on this basic concept. No matter what map the game is on, there will always be an objective to defend (moving or stationary), and one to attack.
However, this simple structure is part of what allows the characters in the game to shine like they do. The game launches with twenty-one characters, and no two play alike. Each character is broken into one of four classes; offense, defense, tank, and support. The classification of the character is just a guideline of their role, but isn't the definition of how they must be played.
There are numerous examples of this. Widowmaker, one of the headline characters from the ad campaign, is a sniper that is classified as a defense character, and her rifle combined with her skillset, make that understandable. However, her ultimate ability reveals all enemies through walls, which is a huge help to all heroes on the team, not just Widowmaker. D.Va, my favorite character so far, is a tank class with powerful short range weapons and the ability to self destruct her mech for massive localized damage. She's very fast, especially in a straight line, and her speed makes her well suited to move past enemy front lines and attack from the rear, something a typical tank character would be unable to do.
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| D.Va, a pro gamer turned mecha pilot that doesn't just win, but does it in style. |
It isn't just the play styles and abilities that make the characters stand out though. Each character has a unique look and personality to go along with it. The aforementioned D.Va is a Korean pro-gamer who is enlisted to fight in the military's MEKA corps due to her fast twitch gaming reflexes that mesh well with the robot controls. As such, she has a peppy gamer attitude and the base color for her mech is pink. Bastion is a robot who can turn itself into a turret or tank, and can lay waste to enemies in tight corridors. However, its favorite thing to do is enjoy the peace of nature, and has a skin covered in grass and flowers. These personalities come out in both the backstory videos for the game, as well as through in game dialogue. When two characters on the same team just start chatting, such as Lucio (a famous DJ) and D.Va asking for one another's autograph, it shows a level of detail not seen in most online only games.
The unique and versatile characters are certainly the game's strongest aspect, but the maps are not far behind. There are twelve maps in the game that span the globe, covering five continents. The map style is rendered in a way that perfectly matches the cartoon style characters. Each of the twelve maps is dedicated to one of the four game modes, and they are made perfectly both in size and routes. There are chokepoints everywhere, but nearly all of them have side alleys or other means to get past for the more agile characters that want to flank. Add in the ability to fly or teleport that many characters have, and Overwatch has completely multi-dimensional combat that feels natural.
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| The twelve maps span the globe with architecture to match and small details like cherry blossoms (Hanamura, Japan). |
The combat is very balanced in large part due to the ability of players to switch their character mid game. If a player is using Bastion, but can't find a good place to sit in turret mode, then they can just swap out for another character and rejoin the fight. Because of that, a game is never truly over. I have played multiple games where the opposing team was at ninety-nine percent on an objective, and still lost because of a well timed ultimate ability or assault. Likewise, I've played games where a team with only two living players managed to escort an objective in the overtime period due to a mass revive (the ultimate skill of support healer Mercy) followed by a successful firefight. While there are games that snowball and end in quick disaster for a single team, they are few and far between.
That's not to say Overwatch is perfect though, it isn't. There are two main problems with the game. The first is its loot system. Whenever a player's rank goes up, they are rewarded with a loot chest (which can also be purchased for real money). Each chest contains four items, with one guaranteed rare or higher (though I've gotten as many as three in a box). These items range from graffiti sprays and character skins to emotes and victory poses. Each character has fifty-four total unlocks, so a true collector will be at it for a very long time, especially since each crate might contain duplicates of items the player already has, and has no guarantee of containing items for the characters the player likes. Duplicates produce coins, which players can use to purchase specific items they want for the characters they like. This system makes rewards frustrating, as there is no guarantee that a player will ever get the skin or emote they want unless they open enough crates to get the coins to unlock it.
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| A lucky player get's a legendary and epic drop in the same box. |
The second problem is the very fact that Overwatch is an online competitive FPS. Despite the rich characters and fleshed out backstory that each character has, aside from the introductory video and other video materials already produced by Blizzard for advertising, and videos promised in the future, there is no story or cooperative mode in the game. There was a huge opportunity here for a series of short campaigns for coop play with characters from each of the four factions in the game, but there is none. In a game like Team Fortress 2, that doesn't matter because there are no real characters to love. In Overwatch though, it just feels like the amazing cast is being wasted due to its absence.
Overwatch is a great online FPS that is sure to be played both competitively and among friends for years to come. The starting twenty-one characters are unique and memorable (with a tons of fan art online already), and the twelve maps are perfectly constructed to allow any type of player to enjoy. Unfortunately, the lack of a story mode, and a random loot system that doesn't truly reward play, hold it back from being the perfect game it could have been.
Overwatch - 8.5/10
Note: I have played a few dozen hours on PC. I cannot comment on different controls or issues on other consoles, but I can say that I've had no issues graphically or connection wise so far on an upper-mid tier Alienware gaming laptop.
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