Sunday 30 April 2017

My Overwatch Obsession (Sorry)

Though a proud member of the nerd community, I've never considered myself a gamer.

Like, I love video games. I always have. But not real video games. Growing up the only consoles I had were Nintendo, while around me my friends would discuss the merits of Call of Duty VS Halo. Next to those 'proper games', Mario Kart and Zelda don't count, do they?

I mean they probably do, but they're definitely different. When I was first exposed to First Person Shooter games, they disgusted me - especially COD. I couldn't understand how you could have fun pretending to shoot other human beings. I only got into Halo because you're killing aliens instead of people.

But then Blizzard made one. And it is everything I thought an FPS could never be.

It has a fertile backstory, but Halo has that.

It's co-operative, but then so is Left 4 Dead.

There are two things that make Overwatch stand out: its characters and its outlook.

Of course, there are other character-based FPS games. Team Fortress 2 has 9 different classes, many of which have Blizzard Counterparts - Demo-man VS Junkrat for example. But all playable characters in TF2 are male, while Overwatch offers 24 (and counting) heroes, almost half of whom are female. This scope and diversity in gender and race means there's something for everyone, even before play styles come into the equation. It also keeps the game interesting, as strategy can alter with a single change in one team's composition.

Outlook is harder to explain, but it boils down to this: most FPS games have quite a negative atmosphere - they're set in a time of war, terrorism or even apocalypse. In aesthetic and atmosphere, Overwatch has a much more positive vibe. It frames its characters as heroes who save the world from rebellious AI, or rebel against authoritarian governments (looking at you, LĂșcio). In short, we don't just want to play as these heroes, we want to be them. If you're interested, this video explains the the game's vision of the future in more detail.

I haven't been this into a video game since Pokemon Sapphire. I watch YouTube videos about it, I track my stats online, and I do my best to keep up with the lore. And I think that's the main thing that attracts me to Overwatch above all other First Person Shooters - the characters are great to play, but they also drive a rich story line and populate a vast, ever-growing world. I love me some world building, and when it comes to video games, Blizzard (creators of World of Warcraft) are the masters.

Sorry to nerd out on you like this, I just needed to get this one out of my system. Normal (and hopefully regular) service will resume in May. Thanks for your time.

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