10 Q Reviews: Overwatch – the world could always use more heroes!

Games reviewed in 10 straight-to-the-point questions.

Game: Overwatch
Platform: PlayStation 4 / Xbox One / PC
Time to beat: n/a – Overwatch has no campaign to beat, its only multiplayer

Q1: Who’s this videogame for?

Overwatch is a hero based shooter where you engage in crazy fast, fun battles. This is not a Call of Duty or Battlefield like game which are more realistic shooters. In Overwatch there is a genetically modified hamster who escaped a lunar colony and built a massive wrecking ball with machine guns. If you enjoy shooters and are open and willing to embrace the game in all its glorious wackiness, then I can guarantee you will enjoy the game.

If however, you prefer more grounded shooters with a calmer pace, or if you simply don’t like shooters at all, then this will not be up your alley.

Q2: What’s the story like, and does it require any pre-existing knowledge?

Overwatch doesn’t require any pre-existing knowledge, jump right in! There’s a lot of lore that gives each hero more personality and a colorful background, but you don’t need to know it to play the game. Although I do strongly recommend watching some of Blizzard’s animated shorts of the game because they’re all great, like the recently released Reunion that introduces us to Ashe, the 29^th hero:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKYVvPNhRR0

Q3: What’s the learning curve like?

Well, you’re going to have as many learning curves as there are heroes! Each one has a very different set of abilities as the rest. You will want to give them each a go to see who fits your gameplay style best as well as to know what to expect when you are facing them in battle. In the control options for every hero there is a difficulty ranking from 1 to 3 stars to give you an idea of the learning curve for each.

Try to specialize on two or three heroes, preferably one of every class so that you are flexible enough that you can adapt to the needs of the battlefield.

Q4: What are the controls like?

Again, the controls are different for every hero. Zenyatta is completely different than Bastion just as Mei and Mercy only have the first letter of their names in common. All are easy to pick up, but very hard to master.

Q5: Does it have split-screen?

No.

Q6: How’s the online component?

There is only online component in Overwatch! There are three main modes:

Quick play: these are quick 6v6 objective matches. There is no ranking here and you play just for fun or to practice with a hero.

Arcade mode: Arcade offers 5 different game modes which can vary every day and also include special events for the Overwatch seasons (Halloween, Christmas, etc…). You have capture the flag, elimination, no limits, etc…

Competitive: This is where you are ranked against other players. Matches here, for the most part, are far more intense than in the other modes. Everyone wants to rank up!

Q7: How’s the presentation?

Overwatch has a cartoon like presentation which fits it like a glove. Every hero, map, weapon, etc is incredibly detailed. And the skins, voice lines, victory poses, etc allow you to customize certain aspects of your hero that do not affect gameplay and add variety to the game.

Q8: What are similar games / alternatives you’d recommend?

The most similar game to this that I have played would be Team Fortress 2 that is also a shooter and where you also have different classes with unique abilities. The cartoon like presentation is very similar too.

Another game that I usually use to describe Overwatch is Smash Brothers. Both games feature a ton of characters with unique abilities and different game modes, with the core difference that Overwatch is a shooter and Smash Bros is a fighting game.

Q9: Anything you wish you knew before going in?

Yes! I wish someone had written some awesome Overwatch 101 blogs that I could have read before playing the game! 😉

https://random-select.com/2018/08/10/overwatch-101-three-core-principles/

https://random-select.com/2018/08/22/overwatch-101-maps/

https://random-select.com/2018/08/25/overwatch-101-lines-of-defense/

Q10: Should I buy it?

A most emphatic YES!! I can comfortably say that Overwatch is my favorite multiplayer game and in my top 5 list of games of all time. And Blizzard is making a phenomenal job in releasing new free content (heroes, maps, skins…) and tweaking and reworking heroes so that the game constantly improves and feels new and fresh.

I bought for it for all platforms….

Final rating:

10 out of 10 payloads