Overwatch Review - Your Watch Has Begun

[elvor0]

I still feel like the game is missing a story mode, the world building is too detailed but has zero connection with the gameplay. such a waste, or maybe just cynical marketing.

To be fair, the community asked for the world building. Blizzard made that cinematic reveal just to set the scene, they weren't planning on the stories and extra stuff that came afterwards, but fan response to the cinematic was so strong that they ended up making all that back story just for peoples enjoyment. The game itself has never really been marketed as anything other than a multiplayer shooter.

 

[Comic Sans]

I feel like this is a game that will taper off real quick without a constant drip feed of content. It's gonna burn hot but burn out fast. If it's one's cup of tea now sure it's a lot of fun, but I'm interested in how people feel about it in a month. That's the real test, once the glossy new game sheen has worn off and you have been playing those maps and characters over and over.

 

[camazotz]

I think these initial reviews are being lifted up by the hype train. Overwatch is really really good at what it does. But what it does, isn't much and there is a real risk of longevity issues, especially with no player progression. Overwatch offers nothing more the the players that put days into the game, versus the players who put mere hours into it.

While you can make the argument that "A game should just be fun and that should be enough", in today's market with fun games coming out weekly, many of which offer a great deal more for the same or even less asking price...I don't think "fun" is enough to keep people for as long as they would hope for.

Even a free to play game like LoL, or Heroes, offers players rewards for putting the time in. Unlocking characters, runes, even badges to show off your commitment to the game.

Overwatch does none of that. The loot crates offer nothing to a long term invested player, that a lucky new player can't also happen to have.

Yeah. absolutely. This is reminding me of some sort of inverted Destiny, which is a game I am still playing....but got crapped on heavily for being short on content by some people. Meanwhile, I've played like twenty games of Overwatch and already feel like I've seen all the game has to offer in about three hours. This feels a lot less to me like a game with genuine longevity and more like the internet picks and chooses its darlings on a random basis.

 

[camazotz]

I still feel like the game is missing a story mode, the world building is too detailed but has zero connection with the gameplay. such a waste, or maybe just cynical marketing.

Given how much lore the game has, I was shocked to find out it had no story mode. It seems like a big oversight.

 

[CritialGaming]

When asked about DLC one of their devs said:"it's going to be a fun summer"

"Not to mention all the additional skins that come out for existing and new characters that will be tied into the rng boxes, which by the way by the time a new hero comes out people will be so high level that they will be FORCED to buy boxes in order to have decent chances at getting the new skins. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

also your point about the rng boxes makes no sense since you get currency for duplicates. so the skins you get for the old characters that you allready have will just give you currency to buy the skins you want. But hey what do i know i only actually play the game.

Two things.

1. I played extensively during the Closed and open beta.

2. I also pre-purchased the game during said beta, more to play with all my friends that are foaming at the mouth the play the game than any actual interest.

Bonus point: You are right. I forgot to take in the currency to account that will allow long term players to buy skins and whatever for any and all new characters that come out. But it you take Jeff Caplan's hint of "It's going to be an interesting summer" as gospel or even a promise of content, you are crazy. Blizzard is famous for talking out of their asses about releasing content.

Here are some examples:

"We are going to release Wow Expansions once a year." Morhiem

"Warlords of Draenor will have more content than any expansion before" -Ion Hozakalafragalisticxpaladoschous

"You think you want Vanilla servers, but you don't." Ion 2.

Yeah. absolutely. This is reminding me of some sort of inverted Destiny, which is a game I am still playing....but got crapped on heavily for being short on content by some people. Meanwhile, I've played like twenty games of Overwatch and already feel like I've seen all the game has to offer in about three hours. This feels a lot less to me like a game with genuine longevity and more like the internet picks and chooses its darlings on a random basis.

Overwatch feels a lot like a multiplayer demo, except it's a game in which the single player will never release, and you paid full price for the demo.

Look I'm not saying that there isn't fun to be had here. Because there is. What little shit there is here, is really fantastic shit. But with two modes and few maps, and you have a game that is unlikely to hold people's attention for long. But then again people still play CS:GO and buy Call of Duty for MP so what the fuck do I know.

Here's a tip my fellow Escapist's, Don't take my opinions as gospel or law. Take them like an anal bead, fun sometimes....otherwise painful.

 

[AstaresPanda]

I still feel like the game is missing a story mode, the world building is too detailed but has zero connection with the gameplay. such a waste, or maybe just cynical marketing.

Was thinking the same, they put so much effort into those shorts and making a story then I go into a few games and its like Titan Fall all iover again, a multiplayer game pretending it has a story. It just does not make sense to me.

 

[Hawki]

I still feel like the game is missing a story mode, the world building is too detailed but has zero connection with the gameplay. such a waste, or maybe just cynical marketing.

To be fair, the community asked for the world building. Blizzard made that cinematic reveal just to set the scene, they weren't planning on the stories and extra stuff that came afterwards, but fan response to the cinematic was so strong that they ended up making all that back story just for peoples enjoyment. The game itself has never really been marketed as anything other than a multiplayer shooter.

Source? Because I'm skeptical of that because:

a) Considering that Overwatch originated from Titan, a lot of the lore would have already been developed.

b) The shot itself shows too much worldbuilding to be written off at random (the Omnic Crisis, Overwatch's disbandment, etc.)

Anyway, the reaction to Overwatch lore from some corners of the net has been weird. Like, really weird. At first, it was "they're copying TF2! (multiplayer-only, lore detailed through shorts, comics, etc.) Now it's switched to "lore in a multiplayer only game? I find that offensive!" Which makes me wonder what people think/thought of League of Legends, Dawngate, Strife, Hex, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer (all three branches), etc. I mean, okay, I can understand being put off by a lack of a singleplayer mode, but lore existing for a multiplayer-only game goes way back before Overwatch, and the concept of an expanded universe, even in games, goes back even further. Yet it's Overwatch that's dumped on for it.

 

[elvor0]

I still feel like the game is missing a story mode, the world building is too detailed but has zero connection with the gameplay. such a waste, or maybe just cynical marketing.

To be fair, the community asked for the world building. Blizzard made that cinematic reveal just to set the scene, they weren't planning on the stories and extra stuff that came afterwards, but fan response to the cinematic was so strong that they ended up making all that back story just for peoples enjoyment. The game itself has never really been marketed as anything other than a multiplayer shooter.

Source? Because I'm skeptical of that because:

a) Considering that Overwatch originated from Titan, a lot of the lore would have already been developed.

b) The shot itself shows too much worldbuilding to be written off at random (the Omnic Crisis, Overwatch's disbandment, etc.)

Anyway, the reaction to Overwatch lore from some corners of the net has been weird. Like, really weird. At first, it was "they're copying TF2! (multiplayer-only, lore detailed through shorts, comics, etc.) Now it's switched to "lore in a multiplayer only game? I find that offensive!" Which makes me wonder what people think/thought of League of Legends, Dawngate, Strife, Hex, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer (all three branches), etc. I mean, okay, I can understand being put off by a lack of a singleplayer mode, but lore existing for a multiplayer-only game goes way back before Overwatch, and the concept of an expanded universe, even in games, goes back even further. Yet it's Overwatch that's dumped on for it.

Elements of Titan surviving to Overwatch doesn't necessarily mean they intended for /Overwatch/ to have a narrative, or at least not in the form it has now taken. I'm also not saying it's random, just that it's not supposed to be much more than a contextual device. Since the project was moved to Overwatch, it was /always/ intended to be MP only.

I will try and find the interview and I'll quote you when I find it, but for the moment I can give you context; I'm pretty sure I'm not remembering it wrong, as I asked my wife if she remembered it too and she was like "yeah I remember that, it was really sweet". Obviously that's not a source or a proper argument, but you get my drift.

It was a break interview with Metzen at Blizzcon last year I believe, just one of those candid ones on the couch, where they were talking to Metzen about how the storyline was developed for Overwatch and he said it wasn't something they were initially planning on, they created the cinematic to give context and as a set piece for the world and characters, and Metzen said that was surprised about the massive amount of positive response about the cinematic and said that a moment that really touched him was a young boy saying that he got really upset about Winston having his glasses broken, and he wanted to know more about him. And he was like "we've gotta do this guys, people really love what we've done here, we really need to build on what we've already got".

Obviously hazy memory should lead that account with a touch of salt, but I will try to find the interview as I could very well be remembering it wrong.

I mean Metzen does say [link]http://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-story-chris-metzen-interview/1/[/link] here that they're basically making it up as they go along but I cannot for the life of me find where he said that the decision to expand was due to fan response. Bah.

 

[camazotz]

Here's a tip my fellow Escapist's, Don't take my opinions as gospel or law. Take them like an anal bead, fun sometimes....otherwise painful.

OMG I cannot get that image/analogy out of my head now!

 

[CritialGaming]

After playing Overwatch off and on over the weekend I have come across another problem I have with the game. Playing alone fucking stinks. Pugging into a group seems to bring the Call of Duty out of players and people go running off in random ass directions only to get their shit kicked in by a team that has even 1% of an idea of what they should be doing. Playing as Mercy I can't tell you how many times I've had to switch to my pistol to kill fuckers, because my team just decides to charge through a group instead of...I dunno...shooting the red people. I had 15 kills as Mercy one game because people wouldn't kill anyone, just shoot them until they were low health and then leave it be.

Then there are the folks who have no concept of my trying to help them. I'll started healing them from critical and then, thinking they are immune to all fucks, run into the main pack of people and die. Then they ***** at me!

So fuck it, I'll be Pharrah or Solder 76 alone now. The experience is only slightly better playing a dps class with no responabilities to the group. Point and kill classes have it easy, and it is no wonder that people tend to run off alone as a dps class, because it is very easy to get caught up with chasing a random reaper or tracer.

Still the solo experience is absolutely shit. To the point of not being worth playing if your friends aren't available to play with you. It is easy to see how quickly LFG sites for OVerwatch have popped up even before the game launched, because it was disgustingly clear to people that playing alone is something akin to shoving frozen daggers under your fingernails.