Overview
Overwatch is a 6v6 first person shooter set in a futuristic earth where some form of robot uprising took place and was thwarted by the Overwatch division. Overwatch was developed by Blizzard Entertainment for Xbox One, PC and Playstation 4.
Instead of being able to customise weapons and attachments Overwatch's customisation is limited to cosmetics only currently, this is due to there being playable characters much like a MOBA.
Instead of being able to customise weapons and attachments Overwatch's customisation is limited to cosmetics only currently, this is due to there being playable characters much like a MOBA.
The game is multiplayer only with no meaningful singleplayer whatsoever.
Characters
There are currently 22 playable characters which are split into 4 categories, offence, defence, tank and support. Each one of these characters has a fleshed out backstory and their own personality that makes them easily distinguishable and memorable, none of these characters are generic or boring. The roster includes things such as ninjas, robots, soldiers and even criminals all of which come with 2 abilities, one ultimate ability and the left and right mouse button for various actions.
Customisation of these characters as mentioned previously is cosmetic only with 7 different categories of things to choose from, skins, emotes, victory poses, voice lines, sprays, highlight intros and weapons. Customisation's are received from loot boxes, these can be earned through just playing or there are micro-transactions for real money if you are so inclined.
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Gameplay
Overwatch is a first person shooter where you play a 6v6 objective based gamemode with maps made balanced around the gamemode they facilitate. Unlike its competitors Overwatch has abilities that interact with the surrounding world and the players in it, some abilities deal damage, others heal and some can even be used to place structures like walls or turrets.
The "ultimate" ability is an ability that charges up as you deal damage or heal friendly players or even just charge over time, these abilities are far more powerful and can be the difference between victory and defeat, some ultimate abilities are things such as reviving all the surrounding dead friendly players or allowing you to see all the enemies through the entire map and there is even one that is a teleporter that friendly characters can use to get back into the fight.
As a quick note, playing the healer in Overwatch is not actually boring unlike some other games. This is due to things like getting assists from healing people who are getting kills and even the odd satisfaction of watching your teammates health bars go up.
There is also the play of the game system where at the end of the match the game plays a replay of what was considered the best play during the match, this is extremely satisfying and lets you see some really great plays you may have missed and/or been on the receiving end of, also after this in the post match lobby you can vote on players for certain categories like damage healed, damage dealt, damage shielded and even some strange ones like players teleported and armour packs created.
As a quick note, playing the healer in Overwatch is not actually boring unlike some other games. This is due to things like getting assists from healing people who are getting kills and even the odd satisfaction of watching your teammates health bars go up.
There is also the play of the game system where at the end of the match the game plays a replay of what was considered the best play during the match, this is extremely satisfying and lets you see some really great plays you may have missed and/or been on the receiving end of, also after this in the post match lobby you can vote on players for certain categories like damage healed, damage dealt, damage shielded and even some strange ones like players teleported and armour packs created.
The gamemodes included are escort, assault, hybrid and control, you cannot choose which one of these you get to play, there is only the option for "quick play", although this helps the speed of matchmaking sometimes its just not fun to play a particular gamemode and its always nice to have choice or at least filter out some maps and modes.
In escort the objective is to move a payload to the other side of the map, to do this you must stand near or on the payload as it slowly progresses, if you are on the defending team all you have to do is make sure they cant push the payload forward to the other side of the map.
Assault is a gamemode where you have to either defend an objective point or attack it, objective points can be captures by simply standing on them for a period of time, the defenders have to stop that from happening.
The hybrid gamemode is a combination of the 2 aforementioned gamemodes where you have to capture a point and then a payload appears for you to push forward to the other end of the map.
There is also the control gamemode this is where both teams fight over a single objective point, the longer the point is held the higher the percentage for your team ticks up, first to 100% wins the round. Every round (up to 3 total) there is a new objective placed in another part of the map.
There is also a ranked system where you play 10 placement matches and are then assigned a number 1-100 which is your rank, the ranked games usually take a lot longer than quick play and change the gamemodes ever so slightly.
Aesthetics
Overwatch has a cartoon like art style comparable to the animations of Pixar whist still retaining stunning realistic lighting and visual effects.
Each characters model fits their personality and the animation quality is top notch and polished, one would expect nothing less from Blizzard.
Characters such as Zenyatta truly show how well designed some of these characters are, he is effectively a monk robot, his animations, the way he moves, his clothing, all of this reflects that in a meaningful way and this dedication is for all for the characters albeit nothing quite as odd.
Verdict
Overwatch is limited by the fact that its only multiplayer and is still full price, the game can get repetitive and boring surprisingly quickly and unless you have friends to play with, you can find yourself frustrated and angry.
But after all that, with some friends this game is a blast, nothing compares to the feeling of pulling off awesome combos with your friends or even doing silly things like all playing the same character, the shooting feels great and you always feel like you are participating with satisfying hit sounds and weapons feeling strong and powerful.
But in the end unless you have friends to play this game with I cant personally recommend it due to how frustrating it can get or just downright boring due to most matches being one sided without a back and forth struggle and due to the game being out for so long you find people end up going the optimal team compositions over and over.
I personally have over 60 hours in the game, most of which were accumulated at launch and I will probably still play from time to time but in the experience of me and some of my other friends playing alone usually ends up as an exercise in frustration, even when winning.
If you do have friends to play with or your going to get the game anyways I should mention that the developers are constantly updating the game with bug fixes, balance change and even new maps and characters, this amount of support is amazing and other developers should take note.
The game is available from amazon or blizzard directly in multiple different editions, prices vary for platform and shop but are around £40 or your regional equivalent.
Amazon link Blizzard shop link
This game was reviewed on pc.
There is also a ranked system where you play 10 placement matches and are then assigned a number 1-100 which is your rank, the ranked games usually take a lot longer than quick play and change the gamemodes ever so slightly.
Aesthetics
Overwatch has a cartoon like art style comparable to the animations of Pixar whist still retaining stunning realistic lighting and visual effects.
Each characters model fits their personality and the animation quality is top notch and polished, one would expect nothing less from Blizzard.
Characters such as Zenyatta truly show how well designed some of these characters are, he is effectively a monk robot, his animations, the way he moves, his clothing, all of this reflects that in a meaningful way and this dedication is for all for the characters albeit nothing quite as odd.
Verdict
Overwatch is limited by the fact that its only multiplayer and is still full price, the game can get repetitive and boring surprisingly quickly and unless you have friends to play with, you can find yourself frustrated and angry.
But after all that, with some friends this game is a blast, nothing compares to the feeling of pulling off awesome combos with your friends or even doing silly things like all playing the same character, the shooting feels great and you always feel like you are participating with satisfying hit sounds and weapons feeling strong and powerful.
But in the end unless you have friends to play this game with I cant personally recommend it due to how frustrating it can get or just downright boring due to most matches being one sided without a back and forth struggle and due to the game being out for so long you find people end up going the optimal team compositions over and over.
I personally have over 60 hours in the game, most of which were accumulated at launch and I will probably still play from time to time but in the experience of me and some of my other friends playing alone usually ends up as an exercise in frustration, even when winning.
If you do have friends to play with or your going to get the game anyways I should mention that the developers are constantly updating the game with bug fixes, balance change and even new maps and characters, this amount of support is amazing and other developers should take note.
The game is available from amazon or blizzard directly in multiple different editions, prices vary for platform and shop but are around £40 or your regional equivalent.
Amazon link Blizzard shop link
This game was reviewed on pc.
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