Overwatch: Origins Edition Review by: legacyme3 - 9.5/10
Overwatch - The Game of the Decade?Overwatch for me represents the first time I've legitimately wanted to review a first-person shooter, and not just any first-person shooter, but one that only has a multiplayer component. That is to say there is
NO SINGLE-PLAYER CAMPAIGN. This is odd for me, because as the anti-social person I am, I never want to play online. When asked, I usually dodge the question and say I have other things to do.
I don't have other things to do. I'm just not fond of online games.
With Overwatch however, something is very different. It doesn't feel unapproachable. Something you could pick up one random Saturday afternoon, play a few hours, and be good enough to competently help your team push a payload or win a defense map.
And the thing is? That's exactly how I got into Overwatch. My buddy had been pestering me all summer to pick up the game, and finally, one day, the price dropped to 35 dollars. Deciding I couldn't wait anymore, I picked it up, and found myself in love. My first game was played with D.Va. I liked her ability to be versatile. She was a tank (I hate tanks! Another preconception dashed!) who could fly from point to point, had a defense ability that could reflect bullets, making her perfect for blocking so many ultimates, and best of all, she was a cute asian girl in a mech.
The first matches were rough as I adjusted to her play style, but in the next few matches, I found myself doing crazy things like
this. To the uninitated, what I did was I surveyed the scene (I saw an enemy Roadhogg, Genji, Mercy, and Pharah in particular) and adjusted on the fly. My first reaction was to get behind cover, and to find something with a roof, so Pharah wouldn't have as much power. Getting under the roof, I activate my defense matrix, mostly out of reflex in case an enemy was already there. Seeing no one, I move forward to block the enemy advance. Roadhogg launches his hook which is basically a death sentence, as there's no getting away normally if it hooks you. However, knowing that he was coming, I ready my boosters. The moment I get the ability to boost, I do so, launching the enemy Roadhogg into the abyss, insta-killing him. Using my defense matrix to get back into cover, I meet up with my team's Mercy, who heals me enough to recover the little damage I lost. I then advance enough to take out their Mercy, who was always going to hide around corners, being as squishy as she is, and force their Soldier 76 to retreat (he's powerful, but I have the defense matrix which would essentially neutralize him). I then help take out a retreating Genji, and we take the point in basically optimal amount of time. Obviously I couldn't do it all alone, but I feel like this represents what is truly special about Overwatch, the ability to figure out new strategies (like knocking Roadhogg off the ledge for me) and being able to learn from them and use them in future games.
I don't always main as a D.Va anymore, she's fun, but she's too easy to counter in the current meta, with all the Zaryas running around. I also utilize Mercy, Lucio, and other situational heroes depending on the situation, because that's the type of player I've chosen to be.
And the beauty of Overwatch, is that you can choose to be anyone you want. You play as heroes, but it's like you yourself are the hero. You get to choose what type of hero you are. Are you someone who likes containment, and keeping people squished together? Zarya is your girl. Like the flexibility of movement, attack, and the ability to heal? You deal with the fact there are two pretty decent counters for him, and just play Lucio. Do you suck at avoiding damage? You probably just take a spin with Reinhardt and his insurpassable shield. Want a character who is annoying and good at keeping opponents spinning around? Tracer is amazing for this.
And you aren't even locked into a character. Once the match has begun, if you find your hero is countered, you can switch, and force the opposing team to adjust. This game of advanced rock paper scissors, featuring six people on each team keeps the game fun, long after you've become proficient with it, in a way Call of Duty and other prototypical shooters can't.
But the best part of Overwatch is how fun it is to play with your friends. Anyone can pick it up and play and mess with friends, and find that six or seven hours have gone by. And this is fine, because it doesn't feel like you wasted time.
So what about the numerical breakdown?
Graphics - 10
There's something about Overwatch's simple but beautiful graphics that make everything seem perfect. All the character models are made with loving care, and with the exception of Zarya, every character has at least 2 or 3 really awesome skins that you should aim to have.
But none of this subtracts from the experience. Mei's freezing walls, or Mercy's yellow/blue buffs, all of it fits into the overlay and world so perfectly, that you can't help but appreciate the care that Blizzard put into the game.
Going into the overlay, it all fits and is not obtrusive. Often times you'll forget it exists, but if you look for it, you'll find it, and this is the perfect example of what an overlay SHOULD look like.
Sound - 10
The voice acting in this game is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not even kidding. The best characters in the game to play as can be the ones you like hearing the most. And even better, the characters dialogues all fit what they should say. Mercy, the doctor, always talks about "the doctor being in" and Tracer is just so hyper and adorable that it warms the heart.
The sounds of firing your guns sounds really satisfying, especially playing as Bastion, who just mows down everything in his path with no regard for human (or non-human) life.
Ambient noises can be hard to hear, because of the constant firing and action, but the music in the game is also pretty top notch, especially in character
selection screens and on the main menu.
Addictiveness - 10
This is seriously one of the most fun games I've ever played, and if you still don't understand why, re-read my first bullet point.
This is a game I picked up on a spur of the moment, months after it was popular, and I got competent enough within a week to play against prestiged (level 100+) players and higher with no real difficulty. I win roughly 50% of the time, and have a ball doing it.
Depth - 8
I'm not going to give Overwatch a free pass, however, because while the game is insanely fun and you can play for years and never get bored, the lack of a single player campaign is apparent, and so is the lack of other game modes. There are a couple worth trying, like the mode where your hero switches randomly on deaths, and the occasional holiday events like soccer, etc. But for the most part, you aren't yet finding too many different options other than "kill the other guys and get from point to point". It's repetitive. It's fun, but it's still repetitive.
This is one score I will definitely upgrade if the CTF mode is actually any good (haven't played it yet).
Story - N/A
There's a lot of lore in the Overwatch universe worth checking out, but it isn't really relevant to the game, and there's no story as of now, as a result. There's not a whole to discuss here, but seek out the official Blizzard comics/etc, and you'll find a lovely world.
Difficulty - 4
It's a very easy game to get into, and even easier to to logic out. The biggest issue is going to be your initial learning curve to each hero, so I just suggest trying one out until you get the hang of that one character, and move on to the next. Each character is unique, so each is worth trying for 2-3 hours a character.
GRADING FOR OVERWATCH
Graphics - 10% (10% of 10 is 1)
Sound - 10% (10% of 10 is 1)
Addictiveness - 35% (35% of 10 is 3.5)
Depth - 20% (20% of 8 is 1.6)
Story - 25% (25% of NA is NA)
Difficulty - 0% (0% of 4 is 0)
Total - 7.1/7.5 = 9.4
Bonus Points - Glitchless for the most part, so let's give it a 9.5
Overall - 9.5
Overwatch is simply one of the best games ever made, end of discussion. The community is large, and ever growing, and the game is getting constant attention from Blizzard who
updates the game on a frequent basis. If you've never heard of it somehow, buy it. Console/PC, doesn't matter. Just buy it and someone you know will likely play on the same format as you.
Just... play it.
Graphics
10 Sound
10 Addictive
10 Depth
8 Difficulty
4
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