Is Overwatch the Best Shooter Ever Created?

From the granddaddy of game developers that has created insanely addictive games such as the Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft series – Blizzard Entertainment, comes Overwatch.

Well-Balanced Diverse Characters

Welcome to the world of Overwatch, where you can play as one of 23 cybernatically-enhanced characters in a 6 vs 6 player format to complete objective-based missions. The characters that you play in the game are so diverse yet able to blend perfectly together in a team (just like a bowl of salad that tastes heavenly). Where else can you find an intelligent gorilla scientist from the moon, a Japanese dragon turned samurai, a cybernetic zen practitioner, a Bob Marley look-a-like on roller stakes, and a cowboy be on the same team, assisting one another to execute the tasks at hand? It’s a weird gathering of sorts, since they are working together to create peace with their weapons of skill sets (ironic, I know).

The attention to details on these characters are amazing, including their expressions and subtle movements that give them their own distinctiveness. However the characters are categorized into 4 main roles; offense, defense, tank and support – no characters in the same role feel alike. Technically, the hammer-wielding, turret-building dwarf, Torbjorn and the weather-altering, ice princess “Elsa” inspired Mei are both Defenders, but their gameplay could not be more different. One strategically locates a strategic point to build a turret that shoots rocket launchers at enemies, while the latter deploys a weather-altering machine to slow and damage opponents into frozen hell, while looking so innocent.

No One Formula to Win It All

This apparent distinctiveness that exists amongst the characters increases the game play that much more because it adds depth to team composition strategies, preventing them from being merely simple repetitive formulas that you can reuse over and over again for each match like other shooting-based games. There is no perfect team, no overpowering combinations, no character is so imbalanced that can single-handedly win the game. Of course, there are characters that work better together but there is not an occasion where there is absolutely no compatibility. You have to re-strategize for each different combination of team members to make the best out of each character and this is where true beauty of Overwatch lies.

You Will Never Walk Alone

Overwatch’s game play of emphasizing on teamwork and synchronization of skills mean that lone wolves will not stand a chance. The game play and missions heavily rely on cooperation and strategic team play for you to gain a chance of outplaying your opponent. No role is dispensable – everyone has a role to play. Whether you are the offensive character in charge of eliminating the opposition, or you are the support to heal and buff your comrades, you will find that you are in the heart of all the action.

Excellent Graphics for Enticing Game Play

With Overwatch, Blizzard rewrites their legacy as the video game legends that they are. The graphics in this game are brilliant, from the vibrant and vivid colours, to the intricate and detailed characters expressions. Overwatch is well-designed that “just-one-more-game before I get back to harsh reality of life” is completely possible. The maps feature luxuriant visual details that will certainly cause eye-gasm, especially when you are playing on consoles and on high-end PCs, which enhances the graphics even more.

Initially, Overwatch’s roster look so different that they look like they should not exist in the same game – let alone the same planet. Yet, the subtle details and cues embedded in these characters that make us feel that they belong in the same world. The way they interact and how their abilities complement one another makes seem like they were all meant to be in this game together.

The bright and colourful map settings added new dimensions to the overall gameplay and is a welcome sight from the usual dark green and grays that are primarily used in other shooters. With all the chaos, destruction and kills all over the map, Blizzard makes the gameplay light with their trademark humor and the games’ vibrant colours, compared to the dark and gloomy themes, which usual shooters like Call of Duty usually adapt. The bright settings helps you not to squint your eyes just to see what is happening in-game.

Another feature that makes Overwatch amazing is that just each map matches perfectly to the selected game mode. You will not feel like you are playing “secure the payload” on a map that feels like it is more suited for “capture the flag”. All the maps are very well-designed, which makes the game even more fun to play.

All in all, kudos to Blizzard Entertainment for making Overwatch an amazing gaming experience. The combination of uniquely distinctive characters with a common mission, visually-stimulating graphics and strategically-reliant gameplay makes Overwatch a game made for gamers. Is Overwatch the best shooter ever created? The answer is very subjective, but one thing is for sure – anyone who has played Overwatch at least once will want to play again. Damn you, Blizzard drug.

Enough writing, I am heading off to build turrets now to defend against a pig-man (yes, pig man, not just someone obese – he looks like a pig!), a girl who can manipulate ice and a cool-ass ninja who can deflect attacks with his sword.

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This post was written by Jonathan So from iPrice Group.

Jon is an aspiring writer, foodie, traveler and firm believer of “Live. Love. Laugh.” Squeezing life’s lemons one at a time.