Over the last week I've put in about 15 hours on Overwatch. Impressive considering I've also changed the oil in my car, done 4 loads of laundry, painted a wall, organized a shitload of comics AND mowed the lawn. Or maybe it's not impressive. I have no idea how you binge play games. 15 hours in a week might be chump change. With everything else I had going on this week it felt like 100 hours.
Overwatch is a team based, multiplayer, first person shooter. There's a big emphasis on teamwork. There's no deathmatch or even a team deathmatch. Players that go to work for themselves will find themselves on the losing end of most matches. There are no RPG elements either. You can tinker with how your character looks and sounds a bit, but there's no leveling up for increased firepower or better weapons. Matches are quick and if you don't work as a team they will be even quicker. It's a lot like Team Fortress, TF2 or TFC, take your pick. In that aspect the game feels like a bit of a throwback. It's the anti-Call of Duty.
The graphics probably aren't going to drop any jaws, but the worlds and the characters are bright and vibrant. Everything is sharp and crisp, regular attacks look cool and special attacks look cooler. Each character feels like it has it's own personality. It doesn't just feel like you're switching guns or load outs. There is no one unbeatable character. It reminds me a lot of SFII in that regard. Sure some characters are easier to pick up, but everyone has a bad matchup. Everyone is vulnerable and everyone is potent at the same time. You might find yourself stuck in a match where one character feels invincible but a new game and a new map and it's like everyone starts over as square one. After playing for a few hours you discover that certain combinations of characters can work better than others. It's not just enough to have a "tank" and a "healer" on your squad but you need to have the right tank and the right healer. There are a couple tweeks I'd like to see down the road. But Overall I feel like Blizzard has developed a very balanced game.
If there's any criticism to the game it's the lack of maps and game types. There are 4 different game types, and each type has 3 maps. That's not a ton. Especially since games are in the 10 minute range, if you play for a few hours you will see the same map a lot. Also the maps themselves don't hold a lot of secrets. They're probably a bit too straight forward for their own good. Still, Blizzard has promised that new characters and maps are coming and they're included in the cost of the game, not DLC. Hard to beat that for a game that's only $39.99.
Final Verdict: Overwatch is a must buy. Everyone should have a copy. I might get one for my parents.
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