18th October 2019, 8:38 AM
Overwatch is a pretty fantastic FPS. It's an online-only game with no campaign -- it's just about online multiplayer. It's mostly focused on team-versus-team gameplay, though there are also solo modes most of the time. The key feature that makes it stand out is its hero system -- there are a lot of characters, each with their own weapon and abilities. The game is really fun and is fairly well balanced (though Blizzard is constantly changing things, which can be annoying at times...), and is playable for most any skill level -- it's not one of those FPSes where if you're bad at shooters you're hopelessly useless, which is good for someone like me who has never been very good at shooters. Sure, there is a high skill ceiling, but it's approachable. The characters each play pretty differently, so there should be someone for most anyone. I'm not good at precise aiming, so I like the characters like D.Va and the hamster guy who have a good amount of health and weapons that have some range but you don't need to be super precise with. It's fantastic stuff, one of the best first or third person shooters in a long time -- for me, this gen, it's Splatoon and Overwatch that I like, as far as multiplayer online shooters go. (And the most recent Unreal Tournament I guess, though sadly that game was abandoned far from completion... too bad.)
However, the game has a big problem -- no, not Blizzard's support for China, I mean in the game. No, it's the monetization and progression system. So, this is an online game, and there's no way to actually win, you just keep playing for... loot boxes. Overwatch is all about keeping you playing to get more loot boxes, and it's loaded with things to get you to not just get the free ones you get as you play, but to pay for more. For instance, there are regular seasonal events with time-limited sets of costumes, sprays (sticker things you can place in the levels), and such, and you want them, well, you almost certainly won't be getting them without shelling out a bunch of cash. You cannot just directly buy money to get any specific item you want with; no, you can only buy loot boxes. As great as the game is to play, the whole lootbox thing is so obnoxious that it's a big part of why I stopped playing the game after a few months (after I bought it in '17), and have only sporadicly gone back. It's great... but that whole loot box thing really holds it back. It's frustrating.
And yes, I wish there was a single player campaign too. There is a story, but it's only told outside of the actual game, in web videos and such; there is no plot in the actual gameplay, it's just the Overwatch heroes fighting eachother for whatever reason. Even if the multiplayer was the vast majority of the experience, I wish there was some kind of campaign... oh well.
However, the game has a big problem -- no, not Blizzard's support for China, I mean in the game. No, it's the monetization and progression system. So, this is an online game, and there's no way to actually win, you just keep playing for... loot boxes. Overwatch is all about keeping you playing to get more loot boxes, and it's loaded with things to get you to not just get the free ones you get as you play, but to pay for more. For instance, there are regular seasonal events with time-limited sets of costumes, sprays (sticker things you can place in the levels), and such, and you want them, well, you almost certainly won't be getting them without shelling out a bunch of cash. You cannot just directly buy money to get any specific item you want with; no, you can only buy loot boxes. As great as the game is to play, the whole lootbox thing is so obnoxious that it's a big part of why I stopped playing the game after a few months (after I bought it in '17), and have only sporadicly gone back. It's great... but that whole loot box thing really holds it back. It's frustrating.
And yes, I wish there was a single player campaign too. There is a story, but it's only told outside of the actual game, in web videos and such; there is no plot in the actual gameplay, it's just the Overwatch heroes fighting eachother for whatever reason. Even if the multiplayer was the vast majority of the experience, I wish there was some kind of campaign... oh well.