Video-Game Review: Overwatch

Overwatch+emphasizes+teamwork+to+capture+areas+around+the+map

Overwatch emphasizes teamwork to capture areas around the map

Story by Jorge Soares-Paulino, Copy Editor

When it comes to hero-based, competitive, multiplayer-only first-person* shooter games, the long-reigning champion has always been Valve’s Team Fortress 2. But with unique characters and fast-paced gameplay, Blizzard’s Overwatch brings a much-needed update to this small genre.

Overwatch is a highly-competitive online FPS, which means the center of the game revolves around working together with other players to complete certain objectives (like pushing a cart or ‘payload’, capturing an area, etc) while also fending off the opposing team (which usually has the goal of stopping your team). This makes for tense, action-packed gameplay, as you’re often racing against the clock to finish certain tasks. Split-second fights are abundant, and you have to be constantly moving lest you succumb to enemy fire.

What sets Overwatch apart from most other games in the FPS genre is the fact that characters aren’t just another generic blank-faced soldier in a war. No, Overwatch is special in that before every game, one must choose a “Hero” to play as throughout the game. No two Heroes are alike, the selection ranges from cowboys to robots all the way to apes from the moon. This variety also carries over to the gameplay, as each hero serves a different purpose in-battle. The cyborg ninja “Genji” is able to quickly move around the map, flinging shurikens at enemies and deflecting bullets. The large, hammer wielding “Reinhardt” is able to protect his allies with his energy shield, but can’t move too quickly. Point is, each hero has different abilities that they’re able to use, and no one hero is better than another.

Skilled players should make sure their team is balanced out so that all of their bases are covered. To make things easier when deciding which character your team needs, each hero falls into one of four categories of gameplay, or “roles:” offense, defense, tank, and support. Offense heroes are all about causing as much damage as possible, and are usually quick on their feet. The gun-toting brit “Tracer,” for example, is able to teleport short distances to swiftly enter and exit battle. Their downfall comes from a lack of health, however, as Offense heroes normally can’t sustain much damage. Defense heroes are all about, you guessed it, defending an area. The defense heroes are usually better when stationary and guarding an area, like “Bastion,” a robot who can turn into a stationary turret to quickly dispatch enemies. Tank heroes are the big guys; slow-moving heroes that can absorb tons of damage and keep fighting, while support heroes have abilities based around healing and upgrading teammates to ensure they live for more than five seconds. Teamwork is the name of the game here, as an unbalanced team will undoubtedly be swiftly overpowered by a team that plans ahead and has all the heroes for a good team. A team with every type of hero will easily be able to defend all corners of the objective, whereas a team of six Tracers will do nothing but shout about how the cavalry’s here.

No game has ever made me strive to work with my teammates more than Blizzard’s Overwatch. Every character has a unique skill-set and an in-depth background, each person on the team has a specific role, and everyone is important. The visuals are breathtaking, the gameplay is fun, and in my time playing, I only felt like throwing my controller at the wall three times. Point is, when you start a game in Blizzard’s Overwatch, you can expect a fun time. 

Final Rating:

5star

* Terms to know:

“Multiplayer-only:” No offline single-player mode, you can only play online with other people.

“First-person:” The point-of-view from which you play is that of your character (see picture).

 

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