"Overwatch" is a new game and a game that has been hyped up to immense levels. The mechanics may not be miles ahead of its peers and its style may not be worth said hype, but it’s still worth trying out; because Blizzard has created a game that is innocently fun and competitively engaging.
Traditional shooters have generally been plagued by faulty story-lines and a limited fanbase. Games like "Call of Duty," "Battlefield," and "Counter-Strike," generally repeat military game tropes - machine guns, air strikes, and camo, to name a few. Variation has been introduced; "Halo" set a shooter in alien environments, "Star Wars: Battlefront" brought a game into one of pop culture’s largest universes, and Blizzard itself tried out a strange, hellish theme for its original 90's shooter "Doom." These variations have succeeded in injecting the genre with a bit of originality and vitality, and some storylines have helped provide more narrative heft, but none seem to have shaken off the air of violence that pervades shooter games.
"Overwatch" has changed that. As a shooter, it’s engaging and easy to pick up - the variety of playable characters provide a welcome array of different choices, from standard rifle shooting, to snipers, to laser cannons. Options include close-range and long-range weapons, low DPS and high DPS strategies, and utility and health options for the less combatant player. Indeed, it’s the game's embrace of friendliness that redefines it as a shooter. The healing and defensive roles allow players more breadth to avoid standard "shoot-better" mindsets, lending the game strategic diversity, and welcoming a broader audience of players, now attracted to a game which allows constructive abilities to create a sense of productiveness for less shooter-friendly players.
Contributing to "Overwatch’s" redefinition of shooter tropes is its animation. Its artistic value is a wonder unto itself; it’s likely that many gamers have already seen some "Overwatch" animated shorts, if not played the game already. The quality of animation is far beyond almost all other shooters. The style of animation is unique as well, the graphics are welcoming, there is no blood splatter or gore; the game focuses on a gentle art that seems more aimed towards the overarching goal of the game than on eliminating the opponent. In a sense, this is a departure from the gore that defined the hell-scape artistry of "Doom." Blizzard has created a game that is softly competitive, and that’s reflected through its animation.
The game’s goals have also deviated from many other shooter tropes. For instance, "Overwatch" has several game modes, including, what is essentially king of the hill, defense, offense, and escort-package games. These are not original by any means, but they force players to work as a team. Goals must be kept in mind, matches run too short to allow players to run around killing each other without concern for the objective, and the objectives often can’t be taken just by killing off enemies. "Overwatch" is not a deathmatch-type game; it obligates its players to perform roles which can excel individually, but also enhance the team when played in unison. In doing so, "Overwatch" has embraced larger communities of players committed to teamwork and strategy, while giving plenty of respect to the individual shooter legacy of its genre.
The game isn’t perfect, and a shooter is still a shooter. The hype is a tad overbearing, but "Overwatch" is a new type of shooter, a child born of the synergy of classic shooters and traditional team-based MMORPGs. I highly recommend you check it out.
