User Review Computer

Overwatch (Computer)
User Review

Name: Overwatch
Item: Overwatch
Rating: 9.6
Author: ItsKipz

Product Information:

Release Date (NA): May 26, 2016
Release Date (EU): May 26, 2016
Release Date (JP): May 26, 2016
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Genres: MOBA-FPS
Also For: PlayStation 4

Game Features:

Single player

Local Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Co-operative

Review Approach:

I play this game alot, and it being one of my favorite games of all time, i figured i would share with the Temp exactly why that was!

Overwatch is Blizzard Entertainment's latest IP, and for a first game in a new series, it has done pretty well for itself. The game is a "MOBA-FPS", or an FPS with team-based/objective-based gameplay, with a host of different online game modes. The game does not currently feature any distinctly single-player modes, and there is no offline play. The game also features a host of unique maps and 23 different characters, all of which fit well with the games futuristic setting.

Plot
While Overwatch itself doesn't have any in-game plot, it does feature some backstory and lore outside of the game itself. In the future, mankind has created sentient robotic beings known as Omnics, who co-exist peacefully with humans. However, some omnics begin to revolt and begin what is known as the Omnic Crisis. In order to stop these omnics and keep the peace, the Overwatch team is formed. Beyond that, each character has their own individual backstory, detailed in promotional comics and animated shorts, but since it isnt really important to the game, i wont get into it.

Gameplay

On a basic level, Overwatch plays like most other FPS games. You have a health bar (bottom left), an ammo bar (bottom right) and abilities and Ultimate in the center. Your health is pretty self-explanatory: run out and you die, where you respawn after 10 seconds. Ammo also functions the same, but the cool part is Abilites and ultimates. Each character has 2-4 abilities that they can use, each with varying cooldown times. For example, Tracer (character shown above) has 2 abilities: Blink (allows tracer to jump forward up to 3 times, with a 3 second cooldown) and Recall (jump back 3 seconds in time, recover any health or ammo lost during that time.) The other interesting feature is your ultimate. As you play, take damage, deal damage, or just wait, your ult charge will go up. Upon reaching 100%, you can perform a powerful Ultimate Ability. Each character has their own ultimate ability. For example, Tracer can throw a Pulse Bomb, which will stick to enemies and explode after a second. Ultimate abilities can greatly change the direction a team fight might be going in, and make the game very interesting.

Another thing worth mentioning are the game modes. At the time of this review, there are 3 main game mode categories - Quick Play, Arcade, and Competitive. Quick Play features a more relaxed play style, with the only rule being 1 of each hero per team. Arcade features multiple game modes, like 1v1 elimination (arcade style last-man-standing, random heroes) 3v3 elimination (same as 1v1 but with 3 people, also you can pick heroes) all brawls (A playlist of different "brawls" which were unique gamemodes with special rules, like only pick tanks, only play on this map, etc.) and no limits. (quick play but with multiple people on team can be same hero) Competitive, however, is a very serious gamemode. You play 10 placement matches to determine your SR (season rank) and can then play matches to raise or lower it depending on win or loss.

Within these gamemodes, there are a few different gametypes you will encounter.

Assault - 1 team on attack, the other on defend. Attacking team must capture 2 points in succession (standing on the point with no enemies to contest) while defending team must stop them.
KOTH - both teams fight to take a single point in a best of 3 rounds, each round has a different sub map to the map the game is on
Payload - Attack team must move payload to the end point, while taking it through other points along the way, defend must stop it by standing on it.
Hybrid - Mix of Assault and Payload, has a first point that when taken, turns into a payload that must be pushed to the end.

The idea of multiple game types really makes for great diversity in how the game is played, and no 2 matches will ever be the same.

At the end of every match, the best play in the game (had biggest effect on match) will be shown in the Play of the Game, a great way to highlight the best...well, play of the game!

Score: 10/10

Graphics

Visually, the game looks great, even at lowest settings. The colorful, almost cartoonish art style looks great, and fits well with the character/map designs. Above, you can see that setting the graphics to low still has the game looking great, and the game can run decently on most computers. Not much else can be said graphics wise, but one thing to note is different settings look better on different PC's.

Score: 9/10

Sound
The overwatch team has said before that they are very focused on making this game playable by ear, meaning that lots of information needs to be heard. For example, when someone from either team uses their Ultimate Ability, everyone in the game can hear it. If an enemy is sneaking up behind you, you may hear another character say "Watch your Back!" The game also has sound for when the payload is close to its destination, when there is 30 seconds left, and when the Play of the Game is happening. Because of this, using headphones to be able to hear all of this (and your team in voice chat) is recommended.

Score: 10/10

Replay Value
Its an online, multiplayer-based shooter, coupled with the inclusion of multiple game modes, achievements, new characters, and a great loot box system, this game has a great replay value.

Score: 10/10

Overall
After all of this, and over 100 hours sunk into this game, I speak for everyone i've ever played this game with that this game is worth the investment. On consoles, the game goes for $60 USD, while on pc $60 USD gets you the Origins Edition, which just contains some character skins exclusive to that version. The base game is only $40 USD/39.99 EUR (not sure what that means, taken directly from overwatch's site, sorry EUR players)on pc. This game is much more enjoyable with friends, although please note that players on different platforms/consoles CANNOT play with each other, and the game doesn't support split-screen anywhere. That being said, one of the biggest selling points of this game is the promise of FULL free-model play, where the game will feature new content in completely free updates - no DLC or expansions here! Since launch, the game has already gotten 3 new game modes, 3 new maps, and 2 new characters, plus countless balance patches.

Verdict

What I Liked ...

Fun Gameplay
Accessible Multiplayer

What I Didn't Like ...

No offline/splitscreen
No crossplay

Gameplay

-Fun, fast gameplay -Online only, no offlline/splitscreen

Presentation

-Great Graphics -Great sound design

Lasting Appeal

-No 2 matches are the same -Endless free updates, no DLC/Expansions -Fun maps/characters

9.6

out of 10

Overall

Overall, I would give Overwatch a 9.6/10. While it may be one of, if not my favorite game of all time, the lack of cross platform play may be a downside for some, and the large split between console and PC is pretty evident. This game is also not very solo-friendly, as the objective-based gameplay makes teamwork key, and means that communication is needed and may not be easy with random people online. With all of that said, thank you for reading my first review on GBATemp ever! If you have any other questions about the game/comments/notes for me, let me know in the comments below!

Reactions: T-hug

Deleted member
Dec 13, 2016

Woah, a 9.6....that's a little to much for any arena shooter in my eyes but whatever. The game gets repetitive too often and me and my friends just ended up trashing the game after 10 hours or so.

ItsKipz
Dec 13, 2016

VinLark said:
Woah, a 9.6....that's a little to much for any arena shooter in my eyes but whatever. The game gets repetitive too often and me and my friends just ended up trashing the game after 10 hours or so.

When did you last play it? There's been a lot of new content added recently, and the new seasonal event starts today as well!

pew pew 9,6

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