There was a time when I was able to accurately tell
my teacher that The Sims was the
best-selling PC game of all time. Near
as I can tell, that’s no longer the case.
I would’ve thought that Overwatch had
taken the crown by now, but I forgot we live in a world where Minecraft exists. That’s not to say that Blizzard’s big shooter
hasn’t done well on the charts; there’s a
damn good reason why fanart for it has clogged the internet, and it’s not
just because Tracer’s spandex-clad caboose.
Because as you know, Mercy is literally the best.
And man, Overwatch
has seriously been on a tear recently, hasn’t it? Junkertown announced with a goofy new
short! Then you get a REAL short
starring everyone’s favorite character, Mei!
Deathmatch incoming! New ult for
Mercy, because the best must keep getting better! And of course, Doomfist came out not too long
ago -- sans Terry Crews, but I think we can live with that given the nature of
the character. So, how’s the game doing
overall? What’s the hot take on it well
after its release?
Probably pretty good. But I can only speak for myself, and that’s
exactly what I plan to do. Here’s what I
think.
--Not to start off with a tangent, but I’m just
gonna go ahead and gab about the “Rise and Shine” short. Setting aside the fact that it’s clear
proof how much the world
needs an Overwatch movie or TV series
-- or just some kind of in-game campaign mode -- this one is my second favorite
of the bunch, behind “Recall”. I do
think it’d be a bit improved if there were more silent moments (which shouldn’t
imply that I’m saying “SHUT UP, MEI!”), but for what it’s worth there were some
strong images and good moments.
--Weirdly, though, it wasn’t Snowball’s
“sacrifice” that made me tear up, or even Mei’s struggle in the face of
death. It was Winston’s speech and call
to arms. I’d explain further, but I
suspect it’d be fodder for another post in the future. So just keep it in mind for now.
--Are we going to get shorts for everybody? I hope so -- or if not everybody getting a
solo one, then at least have the heroes pile in two or three at a time. Either way, we’re one step closer to Torbjorn going
up against Metal Gears.
--Time to rustle some tail feathers. Here are 4 of my 5 most hated heroes in Overwatch:
5) Widowmaker. A pain in the ass to deal with when they
snipe you from afar, and a pain in the ass when they’ve got terrible aim, but
you still need to handle them somehow.
4) Genji. As an enemy, his ninja shenanigans turn him
into a gnat that won’t stop buzzing around you.
As a teammate, they’ll gladly run
off and get slaughtered all on their lonesome.
3) Tracer. Teleport shenanigans piss me off in fighting
games, where the movement is limited to a 2D plane with fixed, finite space and
perspectives. Now compound that by
adding a 3rd dimension, a full range of movement, and a character
whose damage output is exceedingly high. FUN.
2) Junkrat. No choice but to respect his rapid-fire
explosives, even when he’s seemingly shooting at random. His traps are one thing, but his passive
ability to kill you by dropping bombs upon death is even worse. And boy, that Rip-Tire makes my blood
pressure spike.
--And my number one, most hated “hero” in Overwatch is…drumroll please…
--Okay, real talk: you know how a ton of people
act like Mei is the devil? You know how
Mei gets a lot of hate thrown her way, to the point where you’d think she
waltzed up and burned down an orphanage or something? That’s how I feel about D. Va. You can’t begin
to fathom how much I hate this character.
On her own, she’s not even much of a threat to me -- just an annoying
damage sponge that I have to wear down when it’s time for me to open fire. Can she kill you? Sure.
But it’s easy for me -- me, the slowest of the slow -- to circle around
her and thwart her offense.
--The problem is with the rest of the stuff in her
toolkit. I learned firsthand that her
Defense Matrix shuts down every bullet in her path; I had a clear shot with
McCree’s ult and unloaded an attack that would’ve shut down the enemy team. But then D. Va comes out of nowhere, flies towards
me, and then uses her Defense Matrix to completely
nullify my ult. Salt poured out of
every orifice for a half-hour.
--And then there’s her ult. Every time I hear
NERF THIS, I cringe a little. Yeah, I
know there are counters to it -- like taking cover behind something, or using
character-specific abilities like Mei’s ice moves or Winston’s barrier -- but
sometimes that’s not exactly feasible.
What this means is that NERF THIS will cover a massive range with high
lethality, and if you don’t have a defense or escape route planned -- if you’re
Mercy and everyone scatters to the point where you can’t Guardian Angel out of
there -- then you’re dead. And this
isn’t just me needing to git gud; the other night my team lost after making a
huge comeback because of a last-ditch, PotG-earning NERF THIS on the point that
scored a quintuple-kill.
--How is it that after losing her mech, D. Va
potentially becomes more dangerous
thanks to nothing more than some dinky little pistol? How does that even remotely make sense? And even if she does technically become more
vulnerable, why is this the only character that effectively has to be killed
twice? If you’re lucky?
--In summation, D. Va is stupid and I hate
her. Also her design is the blandest of
the bunch, and her gimmick -- I’m a gamer, LOL! -- is boring. She can go suck a Virtual Boy.
--You know who’s cool, though? Hanzo.
I don’t play him that often because I’m a terrible shot and that’s the
last thing any team needs, but I
think that of the male characters, he’s the best-looking of the bunch. It would be Lucio, but his default color
scheme puts him slightly below the Shimada sniper.
--Stat-wise, here are the 5 heroes I use the most:
1) Mercy, 2) Winston, 3) Lucio, 4) Zarya, 5) Mei. Part of the reason is that my aim is
terrible, so I need to find ways to contribute to a team effort while
compensating for my lack of skill. A
good 80% of those characters can serve me well even if my aim isn’t pixel
perfect. And Zarya kind of has some
overlap given her alt-fire, though part of the reason I like her is because --
thanks to her paladin bubbles -- she has a dedicated defense move that I live
for.
--So since the game’s launch, we’ve gotten two
offense characters, one new tank, and one support. That still leaves space for a defense-type. Who will it be next? Experts in the Overwatch lore, is there anyone who sticks out to you that can fit
the bill? Let me know.
--Of the newcomers so far, I’ve taken a shine to
Orisa. My play with her isn’t
super-optimal, but I’m making whatever strides I can. I pretty much have to, since tanks are the
closest I’ve gotten to being an offensive player.
--You would think that after more than a year,
escorting payloads and capturing points would get boring. But here we are regardless -- and if I had to
guess, I’d say that a lot of gamers are okay with those being the main modes of
play. Maybe it’s like Smash Bros. in that regard; technically
you’re doing the same thing over and over again, but the variables and
moment-to-moment chaos makes for a satisfying gameplay loop. It’ll be interesting to see how things pan
out with Deathmatch modes, though. What
happens when a game built around team play ceases to have teams? I wonder.
--Still, it is appreciable to have the devs offer
some other modes via the arcade. In my
(failed) quest to get Mercy’s Winged Victory costume, I pushed through
Lucioball and 3v3 matches as fast as I could; I think I like 3v3 more because
it feels at least somewhat familiar, but Lucioball has its merits. If only I actually cared about soccer…
--Also praiseworthy? The devs are doing a great job at responding
to and updating players on the game’s status.
I guess that’s to be expected from Blizzard -- and PC games across the
board, I hope -- but you have to remember that I’m basically coming from a
console background. Even if the “games
as a service” mindset is taking over, the service aspect is more than a little
suspect when said service stumbles while aiming to poke holes in wallets. Here’s looking at you, Capcom.
--But just like Capcom, it seems like the business
side of things has had an impact on the actual product. Granted it’s not as devastating for this
company’s bottom line (I was tempted to say “credibility” but I vaguely
remember that Diablo III was a
thing), but it’s set a dangerous trend in motion. I’m talking about loot boxes, of course. In theory, it should work; level up or win
three arcade games, and you’re rewarded with a box that contains in-game goods
like costumes, emotes, victory poses, and more.
But then the problems start cropping up.
--As others like Yahtzee and Jim Sterling have
pointed out, the only feasible rewards for character progression are cosmetic,
and you have no control over the things you actually want. To wit: I wanted Mercy’s Winged Victory and
Uprising costumes so badly, because she’s my main and literally the best and I
want to show my support for my favorite character. But I missed out on both because my luck was
too sour. And even though I managed to
crack open about a dozen boxes during the 2017 Summer Games event, I didn’t get
anything worthwhile. Well, except for a
steampunk Bastion skin. And I’d be
ecstatic about that if I actually used Bastion.
--There’s such an easy fix for this: add an
in-game shop where players can buy the junk they actually want. Make it so that currency is easier to build
up (I don’t think I’ve ever had more
than 1000 credits at one time, yet some skins are priced at three times that),
and let players pick and choose what they want.
Like, imagine: when you level up, you can either choose to get cash, or
get a loot box. It’s the sure thing
versus a risky bet. Risk and
reward. The former might be a slower
process, but at least then you can have some control over the content you
want. I don’t give a crap about getting
a Widowmaker win animation because I haven’t logged a single hour with her; the
fact that she’s diluting the pool is infuriating. Not to mention the pool is diluted even
further by junk like icons and sprays.
--Overwatch is
already a top-seller with armies of adoring fans, critical appraisal, and
gameplay that justifies both. Blizzard
(and Activision by extension) has money to spare, I’d bet. So the only reason for the loot box system to
exist -- the only reason to toss in microtransactions -- is to push people
toward spending real-world cash to get something they desperately want. Only it’s a dumbass system…at least, it would
be a dumbass system if it wasn’t half-motivated by greed and villainy.
--I’ve given Street
Fighter V guff for locking its extra costumes behind pay walls (and for the
other content, exorbitant in-game currency prices). But at least there, if you want a new costume
for Rashid, you can spend five bucks to grab it instantly. With Overwatch,
you’re not paying to get Mercy’s Winged Victory costume. You’re paying for the chance to get Mercy’s Winged Victory costume. Buying 20 loot boxes equates to buying 20
spins of the slot machine. Is your
probability higher if you opt for that?
Sure. But you’re still gambling
for it -- and if your luck is truly awful, you could walk away with nothing but
little squares that only a handful of people will ever actually see.
--But to be fair?
It really does hurt the game, and breed resentment that didn’t have to
be there. Getting rewarded for a job
well done and/or perseverance is fine.
It’s welcome, even, given that -- to the game’s credit -- the more you
win, the faster you’ll level. But going
for loot boxes becomes less of a reward and more of a chore when you have to
grind out EXP for the chance to maybe get
something good. There were moments when
I actively started to hate Overwatch and
get headaches from it whenever I was denied my loot…or, honestly, lost matches
in arcade despite my best and constant
efforts. Lucio says it best: “That’s not right.”
--I guess this is just a roundabout, overlong way
for me to say I’M SO BUTTHURT I DIDN’T GET MY MERCY SKIN.
--Let’s get back to gameplay. Even though I’m not a credible authority on
shooters, I’m willing to say that despite being more than a year out from
release, Overwatch is solid. It’s really remarkable how much life the devs
managed to infuse into the game. On one
hand, you’ve got the characters, visuals, and animations; it may be in first person
almost exclusively (Reinhardt in barrier mode is one notable exception), but
you can still get a good read on the cast just by watching how they reload or
wave at others.
--That personality carries over to the audio, as
well. There’s a part of me that wishes
the game had more overt tracks than little jingles here and there, but that
would mean players wouldn’t be able to hear the footsteps, gunshots, and ult
callouts that inundate the battlefield.
It really says a lot when you know who might be coming or who’s on the
enemy team just by hearing one of their shots whiz by.
--On that note?
Since I don’t have speakers with my computer, I play exclusively via
headphones. I wonder how others do with
their setups -- as in, whether or not having the stereo or bass pumping can
help or hinder them.
--Oh shit, I almost forgot -- Lucio has songs in
this game. And they’re -- how do I say
it? Ah, yes. They’re lit.
--Even though I called out D. Va for her pistol
shenanigans earlier, I’ll admit that Mercy’s not that far behind in terms of
damage output. Really, it seems like
everybody in the game has multiple methods of lethality, so that even supports
can (potentially) do some high damage.
Some methods are more obvious than others, and some have a better shot
at landing the game-winning kills, but even Torbjorn can pretend to be a sniper
when the situation calls for it.
--I’d heard the term in passing before, but
apparently there’s a “dive” meta that’s taken root in Overwatch (and to be honest, I completely misjudged what it entailed). Apparently as a Winston player I’ve been contributing
to it: jump in and disrupt the enemy’s rear lines, even if -- especially if --
it means you get killed. The real aces
at the game can probably make it work like gangbusters, but I don’t mind diving
if it means I can wipe out an enemy sniper.
I…kind of have a grudge against them.
--Turrets continue to be strong in this game. Not OP or invincible or anything, but it
seems like there are times when you have to plan for or play around their presence. You’ll have to think twice before making your
approach, unless you’ve got a clear shot or hard counter lined up. It could be worse, though; as my brother and
I discussed, we remember the beta days where Bastion had a barrier to protect
him.
--Also, confession time: before the game came out,
I was super-hyped to play as Bastion because I thought he was the coolest. Imagine my surprise when -- for a while at
least -- it seemed like he was worse than the devil. Or scrubby online Kens.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that’s about all I’ve
got. I’ll admit upfront that right now,
I’m a little burnt out on Overwatch because
of my Ahab-esque quest to get that costume -- so for now it’s going back into
its hole. But even if I’m doomed to be
an on-again, off-again player (as I have been for months now), I don’t mind
jumping back in when it strikes my fancy.
My reasoning for liking the game is actually
pretty simple. Unlike many, many, many
shooters out there, this is a game with actual personality -- where you’re
playing as people, not just guns with hands attached to them. It’s a game that took the best lessons
possible from Team Fortress 2 when it
seemed like no one else would or could.
For that reason alone, it’s deserving of praise. And for all of the other reasons I mentioned,
it deserves to have continued success.
Sans loot box shenanigans.
But even then, I’m kinda-sorta okay with Blizzard
and Activision raking in the money. If
it puts us one step closer to Overwatch:
The Series, then…well, some evils must be borne for the sake of progress.
…Well, not really.
It’s still a dirtbag move and I hate it and they should stop. But they can redeem themselves if they make
that movie, or series, or just give me more shorts. Which, admittedly, is a roundabout way for me
to say “YO, WHEN’S MERCY?”
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