Games I "Beat": Overwatch

Overwatch
Online Heroic FPS
Mostly 12 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: Ongoing

Hi, my name's Adam. I'm an avid video gamer, I mainly enjoy single player games, peruse the sidebar and you'll see most of the games I've talked about are single player by nature. Don't get me wrong, I love playing cooperative games with friends, some of my favorite memories grew out of co-op experiences. When it comes to competitive games, I typically don't get into them. There have been a few stints, but nothing has ever grabbed me for more than a week. Weird shit too. Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare, Mass Effect 3's online mode, Rocket League, and random bits of the "mainstream" FPS games. Then Overwatch had a free weekend.

Holy shit. I really don't get it. I picked Overwatch up immediately after that free weekend and have been playing it almost daily since. That was almost two months ago. This does not make sense, I have never stuck with a strictly competitive game for this long, and I don't even know what keeps bringing me back.

Overwatch looks beautiful. Anyone who's seen a screenshot, or watched a video is well aware of what a pleasant aesthetic the game exudes. The characters are many, and varied, which has helped encourage me to explore different play styles and evolved how I approach the game. As I've observed others play various characters, I've picked up on some nuances which helped me understand how to play better. The game plays smoothly, I don't have great internet, but I've only run into bad lag in a single game. The lore of the world is interesting and growing. New content is free!

There is a lot to like, even if Overwatch doesn't really reinvent the wheel or anything. There are a few standard play styles. Push the payload, capture a spot then push a payload, or just capture areas. Maps are built specifically for one game mode, and they feel well designed. I've never felt like one team had one overwhelming advantage throughout an entire map. There are choke points that can be difficult to get through, but assuming your team knows what they're doing anything can be bested.

Probably the most unique aspect of Overwatch is the ability to switch which hero you're playing anytime you die, or are hanging out in the spawn room. This allows you to adjust to both the opponents team composition and to the needs of your team. As it is now, at least in Quick Play, there are some, what can only be described as, meme team makeups. Like sometimes a whole group will be playing as Genji, and if you're on that team, it usually doesn't go so well. Of course you can try to lead a revolution and mix it up, hopefully leading to the rest of your team taking the match a bit more seriously.

There are currently twenty two characters, with a new character being added in soon, too many to cover here for sure. There are four categories heroes are divided into, offense, defense, tanks and support. I'll just say my favorites from each and move on. For offense I've recently figured out how to play a pretty decent Pharah, flying around and shooting high damage rockets feels amazing. Torbjorn is my favorite defense hero, though I'm still figuring out the best places to hide turrets. Oddly, I really enjoy playing Symmetra, her mini-turrets, teleporter and cool gun that powers up as it deals damage just works for me, though I usually only play her on defense maps. I haven't really found a tank I really like, though I've mingled with D.Va, Reinhardt and Roadhog. I don't know enough about every character to really get in depth with what's great and not so great about each. Especially when there is a wealth of better information out there on the internet. I'm just a filthy casual in Overwatch.

The only progression in the game is unlocking cosmetic items, like costumes, sprays you can leave around maps, emotes, voice clips, etc. As you play maps you earn exp, and after you earn enough you level up awarding you a loot box, containing four random items. These can repeat, but you'll get a bit of gold in that case allowing you to purchase specific unlocks you want. So far there have been two events with timed exclusive unlocks, which can be a little annoying if you miss it, but events are a good reason to hop back on for a few games.

Overwatch plays fast, and feels amazing when you manage to rack up that kill streak, or pull off an amazing play, or, perhaps most satisfyingly, knocking hapless opponents off cliffs to their death. I'm not very good at playing the game, I'm definitely competent and have had some simply amazing fucking plays, but I'm middling at best overall. I've seen videos of some people, and I'm pretty sure there are some robots out there who are hiding in skin suits just to play Overwatch. It's crazy the feats some people can pull off.

If you enjoy playing competitive FPS games, this is an obvious choice. It looks great, plays great, feels great and has a wide enough selection of heroes to play anyone can find someone they like, I think almost every play style is covered. Even if you don't typically enjoy the genre, I really suggest Redboxing it, or if you have a friend who plays asking them to try it out. It managed to pull me in for two months already, and all of my friends can attest to how mind blowing that is.