Game Commentary: Overwatch (OverHYPE?)
So, I've locked in around more than 200 hours into Overwatch. And I know, you didn't come here to read about OverHYPE but I enjoy playing it and I think it's worth talking about the game.
I pre-ordered the game a few weeks before release and soaked myself deep when the open beta was running as well. Some of you may recall that I mentioned I was playing Overwatch a few weeks (months?) back now and I've been thoroughly enjoying it since. Though admittedly, I play with my friends 95% of the time. I only ever play by myself when I want to kick back and relax with a nice podcast in the background. For those sessions, I usually either play the current event brawl or play heroes that take minimal effort.
But why do so many people hate it? Simple. It's overhyped. Any game that gets hyped to the point of the implosion of a dwarf star will most definitely attract an unusual amount of hate. A form of passive jealousy kicks in whenever someone (in this case, company) other than ourselves achieve fame, fortune and success. This happens all the time and can usually be brushed off by us actually feeling good for the other party. But, as with all things, this changes depending on the situation.
You can feel good for a company selling a huge game but things can get out of hand when said game takes over the media, when said game takes over the discussion topics and when said players begin praising the game like a deity from the heavens above. It gets annoying, it gets obnoxious and of course these would lead to negative emotions toward the game. It doesn't matter if the Rule 34 is great, the problem that impacts the normal life of an anti-social gamer is far too big to ignore! So we hate.
Even after release, Overwatch has been getting hate though not as much as pre-launch. The initial inferno has but burned down to a mere kindle and the only complains about Overwatch range from Twitch viewers to Genji haters.
Paying for Overwatch means that any future content added to the game will always be free. Most people seem to not understand that when challenging why the game isn't Free-to-Play. A constant argument brought up is that if Dota or League can be F2P, why can't Overwatch? After all, it can make money through microtransactions which it introduced anyway in the form of loot boxes. The thing is, Dota's cosmetics can ONLY be earned through microtransactions. You used to be able to get occassional cosmetic drops but never any of the new ones and never anything incredibly rare.
Overwatch allows you to level up to gain loot boxes. Sure, you can buy those if you really want to but I honestly think levelling up is good enough. You pay to support the efforts of the team and the future development of the game. People pay streamers to support their channel to provide entertainment, people pay Netflix to support their favourite TV shows to provide entertainment, people subscribe to Playstation Plus to provide themselves with great benefits. I don't see why we can't pay Overwatch to provide us with entertainment with many future free updates to come.
So far, we've already gotten a new hero, a bunch of new cosmetics, a new event, a new brawl for said event and even patches that completely change how certain heroes play. A new map has also just recently been announced. There will be more to come as this is only the beginning.
I have a friend who started Overwatch but got over it around 30 hours or so into game. Like, he literally quit and cannot bring himself to play more than 3 games every time I asked to play. He said he got bored with it and that it simply is too repetitive with poorly developed characters and a deteriorating community. So far, he has less than an hour locked in for half the hero roster, around less than 6 hours locked in for his most used hero and his top picks are almost all the supports.
I can understand if someone who has played Overwatch like me came up to me and told me he was bored. I would believe him. My least played hero is Bastion with 2 hours and Widowmaker ranks my top with 17 hours. Those two heroes represent the more basic choices in Overwatch but the other two heroes that rank my top 3 are Tracer and Hanzo. Going down that list is Pharah, Genji and McCree. I' have spent a lot of time on each hero, enough to gauge not just the feel of the hero. I know how to play each hero quite well and I can use any hero when the situation calls for it. My repertoire isn't limited to healing. I can damage, I can tank and I can snipe.
Each hero plays differently from the next and a person who quits only having tried Soldier: 76 or Mercy is not giving the game a fair trial. I don't care if the initial feel isn't there or you don't like that hero's design or that 'if I don't want to play those heroes, I shouldn't have to'. It doesn't matter. Don't say you've tasted the cake when you've only actually tried the frosting. Tracer requires courage, reflexes, awareness and speed. She lives off adrenaline and can be played to kill, to kite or to annoy. Widowmaker requires positioning, calmness, accuracy and forethought. She can be played to kill, to zone or to support. Imagine this on each hero. Overwatch may be overhyped but there's a big reason it is. It's actually a good game.
I haven't even touched on the maps, the brawls/events/cosmetics, competitive or the gameplay. I've talked only about the justification of the purchase and the diversity of the cast. I did ramble on about why people like to dish out hate but I ramble a lot. I may talk about OverWAIFUS next time. Seems to be a bigger hit with the majority of the audience.
I pre-ordered the game a few weeks before release and soaked myself deep when the open beta was running as well. Some of you may recall that I mentioned I was playing Overwatch a few weeks (months?) back now and I've been thoroughly enjoying it since. Though admittedly, I play with my friends 95% of the time. I only ever play by myself when I want to kick back and relax with a nice podcast in the background. For those sessions, I usually either play the current event brawl or play heroes that take minimal effort.
But why do so many people hate it? Simple. It's overhyped. Any game that gets hyped to the point of the implosion of a dwarf star will most definitely attract an unusual amount of hate. A form of passive jealousy kicks in whenever someone (in this case, company) other than ourselves achieve fame, fortune and success. This happens all the time and can usually be brushed off by us actually feeling good for the other party. But, as with all things, this changes depending on the situation. |
| You're welcome |
You can feel good for a company selling a huge game but things can get out of hand when said game takes over the media, when said game takes over the discussion topics and when said players begin praising the game like a deity from the heavens above. It gets annoying, it gets obnoxious and of course these would lead to negative emotions toward the game. It doesn't matter if the Rule 34 is great, the problem that impacts the normal life of an anti-social gamer is far too big to ignore! So we hate.
Paying for Overwatch means that any future content added to the game will always be free. Most people seem to not understand that when challenging why the game isn't Free-to-Play. A constant argument brought up is that if Dota or League can be F2P, why can't Overwatch? After all, it can make money through microtransactions which it introduced anyway in the form of loot boxes. The thing is, Dota's cosmetics can ONLY be earned through microtransactions. You used to be able to get occassional cosmetic drops but never any of the new ones and never anything incredibly rare.
 |
| Ah, Widowmaker |
So far, we've already gotten a new hero, a bunch of new cosmetics, a new event, a new brawl for said event and even patches that completely change how certain heroes play. A new map has also just recently been announced. There will be more to come as this is only the beginning.
I have a friend who started Overwatch but got over it around 30 hours or so into game. Like, he literally quit and cannot bring himself to play more than 3 games every time I asked to play. He said he got bored with it and that it simply is too repetitive with poorly developed characters and a deteriorating community. So far, he has less than an hour locked in for half the hero roster, around less than 6 hours locked in for his most used hero and his top picks are almost all the supports.
Each hero plays differently from the next and a person who quits only having tried Soldier: 76 or Mercy is not giving the game a fair trial. I don't care if the initial feel isn't there or you don't like that hero's design or that 'if I don't want to play those heroes, I shouldn't have to'. It doesn't matter. Don't say you've tasted the cake when you've only actually tried the frosting. Tracer requires courage, reflexes, awareness and speed. She lives off adrenaline and can be played to kill, to kite or to annoy. Widowmaker requires positioning, calmness, accuracy and forethought. She can be played to kill, to zone or to support. Imagine this on each hero. Overwatch may be overhyped but there's a big reason it is. It's actually a good game.
I haven't even touched on the maps, the brawls/events/cosmetics, competitive or the gameplay. I've talked only about the justification of the purchase and the diversity of the cast. I did ramble on about why people like to dish out hate but I ramble a lot. I may talk about OverWAIFUS next time. Seems to be a bigger hit with the majority of the audience.
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