ElegantTrout Reviews - Overwatch

Author's Note: The long gap in blog posts was due to the need to find a different job. Dealing with finances is a troublesome and time-consuming task, but it's a must. I still don't have a stable job, but it's a part-time IT Tech job that'll at least pay the bills. I'll do what I can to keep blogging on.

So, by now, you might have heard about Overwatch. I'm mostly certain that you have.

That's because it's the game that's been stealing players away from pretty much every other game in existence. When Overwatch's open beta started and when the game was released, even the most popular games took a plunge in active players. I play a lot of other online games. It wasn't too hard to notice that during the open beta of Overwatch that the queues for Smite and The Culling have gotten significantly longer. For games of ranked joust in Smite, which was common place for me at that time, I remember queues of around 8 minutes. Same deal with The Culling.

Don't get me wrong, they're both great games in their own regards, but Overwatch seemed to have that je ne sais quoi that drew people in. The games themselves are too different to be compared - apples and oranges and whatnot - but that doesn't change the fact that Overwatch is as potent as crack. And we just happen to be burnouts.

Not to mention this whole controversy. The Streisand effect was strong with #Buttgate. Getting to the bottom of this, this pose generated quite a bit of heat in social media (LennyFace.jpg). However, the initial concerns were faced with insurmountable resistance. It brought up important concerns about ethics and censorship in games, which does happen rather frequently in the West. Eventually, the game director himself, Jeff Kaplan, had to butt in. I believe he gave a rather bland response which tried to appeal to both sides. The resolution of it all was that Tracer was given another pose, which was straight-up inspired by a pin-up poster from the 50's. The ones fighting against censorship were pleased by this, as it was a pose that they could get behind.

Just like Team Fortress 2, the story is mostly found in either minute aspects of the game like newspapers or posters, or through the extended universe which is seriously awesome. The animated series is very well done in almost all regards. There's 5 as of now, each of which has a focus on certain characters from the game. In addition, there is also a webcomic series which focuses on characters as well. It all explores small stories of a character and fleshes them out, gives them depth. Something we can understand and possibly relate to. Usually, when games do this, it's pretty forced and gives it to us straight and bland. Stuff like, "We should care about this person because they love children and they fight bad guys." It's not that simple. These characters don't just have meaningful disputes with other characters, but very real and relevant interpersonal conflicts. In Solder: 76's "Hero" cinematic, viewers could he him torn between chasing violent thugs to end them and saving a young girl from a grenade blast. If you plan on playing the game, it's definitely worth watching the cinematic shorts.

As an aspiring writer, backstory is one of the key things to a game with any type of story. It gives additional meaning to what the characters are doing in the present. It informs the viewers about the character's past and the pertinent details like past decisions or events which progresses the personality and mentality. Lore colors the character and brings them to life, even moreso. With that said, many of the characters have a rather interesting background, all tied in with the theme of robotics.

To condense the story, Omnics are these self-aware and intelligent robots that were created by a Omnica Corporation, which was eventually shut down. These omnics came in various forms for multiple purposes. For example, Bastion (Which is one of the playable characters) is a peacekeeping robot which combat programming. Another would be Titan, a humongous omnic which was used to help with construction efforts. A "God Program" infected them, reawakening these omnics and turning them against humans.

The leading countries were hit hard against these intuitive machines, and they couldn't fight back effectively no matter what they tried. Russia developed Syvatogors, giant pilotable mechs; Germany developed powered-up armor suits called Crusader Armor (which in-game character Reinhart uses); and the US developed the classified Soldier Enhancement Program (Which John "Jack" Morrison / Soldier: 76 and Gabriel Reyes / Reaper went through). The United Nation (UN) banded together and formed an elite operations team to combine their efforts and developments, and it proved effective as they took took apart the omnic-producing factories and halted the spread of the God Programs. The Omnic Crisis soon ended, exalting the elite team into a global organization, devoted to keeping the world safe from threats. That team was Overwatch.

But it wasn't all easy. While Overwatch devoted efforts to the progress of life and justice in all regards, it also took a very combative stance against violent or shady organizations like the Shimada Clan and Talon. After two decades, internal strife worsened and hidden agendas were revealed. One of the revealed things was Blackwatch, a secret operation in Overwatch led by Reyes, who was and still is bitter that he didn't get the recognition that Morrison received. Blackwatch was the straw that broke the camel's back. It's existence proved that they were behind some of the world's assassinations and other inhumane acts. The public now heavily distrusted Overwatch, and Morrison and Reyes fought in the headquarters for their reasons. An explosion happened which "killed" both of them as well as others, and destroyed much of the base. With that, Overwatch became no more.

Years later, with Overwatch gone, the world is falling apart once again with new, dangerous threats. That's not stopping our heroes.

With some of the plot explained, I can get to what I feel about the other aspects of the game. We'll get on about the graphics and sound first before touching on the gameplay.

The graphics in this game has been generally described by some as Pixar-esque. I find that to be pretty true in some regards, but let's face it, that style fits so well with these characters and settings.

The game currently features 12 maps in rotation, each depending on what game type you're currently (We'll get into that later). The maps are gorgeous, each based off a place in the world from Hollywood to Nepal to Hanamura, Japan. Each map is meticulously crafted to have unique, true-to-life spots with nice little details in them which catch the eye. I particularly enjoy Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, and Ilios, with Route 66 being my least favorite map.

Each place has some really great character interactions. Some characters can leap, dash or fly over certain obstacles to find different routes to objectives or rooms. Each map has a mix of long, clear spaces for mid-range to sniper action and small rooms or hallways for short-ranged beams and shotgun play. Some maps have circular pits or protrusions that a character, Lucio, can wall ride onto for fun plays. Lastly, those same pits or edges of the maps can be used to push or blast enemies off of. Overall, these maps are created well and are enjoyable to play in.

Music in the game is, by all means, fitting. Different maps have the themes of it's country, it's culture. We get to experience some sonic renditions of African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, etc. types of music. Thankfully, it's not exaggerated. The tracks are fine, and the crescendo near the end of a match is a great touch to a game. [Music intensifies]

The voices are, for the most part, great. There's that mix of accents, gratuitous amounts of foreign language for signifying enemy ultimate moves, and character lines that are larger than life. There are lines that are hammy, and accents that just don't seem to work well, but those are minor gripes in comparison to how much of it is done excellently. Reaper never fails to give off the cringe and edgy aspects, despite his "badass" appearance. It's a bit funny.

There's 21 unique characters in the game as of right now, with plans to release more. With each character, an array of passive and active abilities, including an ultimate ability which requires it to be charged. Quite like MOBA games. Each character belongs to a general classification: Offense, Defense, Tank, and Support. In a nutshell: offense takes out enemies, defense protects an objective, tanks soak damage (and have good CC abilities), and support provides heals and other various buffs.

Like most people have been saying, it's like Team Fortress 2 with MOBA elements. It's a very accurate description. You choose your team and battle it out to win the game mode that you're currently on, whether it be Escort, Assault (Capture/Defend Points), Hybrid (Assault + Escort), Control (King of the Hill), or Brawl (varies). With the game mode, an added amount of strategy that is a must, which calls for different plays and team compositions to fit your needs. With the ability to switch characters at base or upon death, you're not locked into a bad match either. You're able to counterpick when you can.

Games at most last around 10 minutes, which is fantastic for people who need a short time-killer and have commitments. It's absolutely great. Sometimes, games can be 3 minutes long if you're steamrolling (or getting steamrolled), and that can be intense and gratifying if you win it. On top of that, there's a level system in place with prestige-like elements from Call of Duty, so that's nice. No cap on levels, so that's even nicer. Every level up is cool because you get a loot box, which can unlock skins, currency, sprays, voice lines, poses, and emotes. Incentive to play.

One of the major gripes is probably the lack of content. I'd love a team deathmatch game mode. Other game modes. The option to pick a game mode, maybe (though that could possibly ruin the 8-second queue times I'm getting). A smaller gripe would be imbalance issues, though they've fixed the worst of it today with the McCree and Widowmaker nerfs.

To go over each character would take a monstrous amount of time and effort. If I did that, I'd like to go over their backstory as well. Maybe some other time?

It's no surprise that Overwatch is one of the biggest games out right now. It's truly the genre defining game of this time, beating out it's competition to the point where no one even knows the name of the games released to compete with it. All things considered, it's still got some minor flaws, but let's be honest: after a few games of Overwatch, you'll probably be drawn into it like I was.

Stuff I Like:

- Art style and music is on point

- Finely optimized

- Characters are fun, memorable and have unique kits

- Queue time for games is insanely short

- Maps are well designed

- Mostly non-toxic community

- Free updates for more heroes and maps

- Mei

Middling Stuff:

- Not many people use voice comms

- Character customization is pretty minimal

- Sucks getting duplicate items in loot boxes

- Tutorial is cool, but lacking key gameplay strats

- Mei

Stuff I Don't Like:

- Only 4 game modes -- feels a bit bare

- Mei

Recommended For:

Anyone who likes FPS games, especially those who enjoy Team Fortress 2. Many casual gamers will find this game enjoyable too, as most games won't take you much longer than 10 minutes. Great game for moms and dads -- people who are rather busy with commitments.

Personal Score:

9.25/10

#Blog #Game #Videogames #Overwatch