There's a number of good explanations as to why Overwatch is such a fantastic game, but none greater than Blizzard's clear emphasis on making a shooter that feel awesome to play. Every character is immediately readable, meaning that the more that you play, the more knowledge you gain and, thus, the more your strategy evolves. Throughout my time with Overwatch, I have yet to encounter a dropped frame or a moment of lag, despite having every graphics setting maxed out and the servers existing in a beta state. Its shooting is as tight as a Call of Duty or Counter-Strike game, and the sheer number of colors on screen at any given moment finds a way to fill me with glee during even those frustrating moments when your team is getting throttled. Outside of playing Overwatch at the past two PAX Easts, it found a way to completely fly under my radar, and I couldn't feel dumber for brushing it off. At this moment, the only negative thing that I can say about it is that I do not want to spend a moment playing it on a console, as Overwatch feels far too good with a mouse and keyboard.

My single biggest complaint when it comes to Battleborn is how annoying all of its characters are to me. Now, this is about as subjective as it gets, and I've had discussions with players that find every inch of its universe charming as can be. To me, it often feels like Gearbox is trying way too hard to be funny, which results in Battleborn's characters all seeming like that annoying guy at your office who thinks he's a stand-up comedian. The fact that the While Overwatch doesn't have a core campaign, there is definitely a fair amount of lore to be discovered by sheer observation, and every character manages to nail that ever so important balance between charm and obnoxiousness. It says something that there is a dedicated way to turn off Battleborn's dialogue; after all, frontline healer Strategies in a game whose dialogue is exceptionally well done, shouldn't including this option not be a possibility?

Overwatch's Tracer is a perfect example of why Blizzard has created a game with a more appetizing personality than Gearbox. With a press of the E key, Tracer has the ability to warp back to a previous position, restoring the health and ammo she had at that point. Around half of the time one utilizes Tracer's Recall skill, she'll use her adorable English twang to drop the line, "Ever get that feeling of déjà vu?" Now, this is the type of quip that could be obnoxious if delivered imperfectly or too frequently, but it actually winds up being wonderfully charming every time. Combine this with her shrills of joy whenever she uses her Blink skill to warp around the map, and it's clear why Blizzard has made Overwatch's first hero the face of the franchise. With Battleborn, each character feels like the cheesiest character in a Borderlands game, and they never seem to be quiet. Add this to the fact that curse words are bleeped out, despite the fact that they're used frequently, and it often feels like Gearbox missed the mark on Battleborn's personality, which is a shame considering that its visual style is so striking and engaging.

Widely publicized, truly open betas for games this high-profile are still relatively new to the video gaming world, but that doesn’t in any way diminish what Overwatch accomplished when it compelled 9.7 million participants to try the game. To put that in perspective, The Division’s record-setting beta had 6.4 million players, and Destiny’s had 4.6 million. Overwatch’s world, characters, and polished gameplay have clearly attracted people that normally ignore other multiplayer-heavy shooters, which is especially interesting becaus

The Sonic Amplifier's primary firing method is a close-to-medium range automatic barrage of soundwaves, and even though this weapon is relatively weak, its sheer accuracy allows for you to pick up eliminations left and right with clever aiming. Lucio's secondary fire is far more interesting, as it's a knock-back blast that operates on a cooldown, making it perfect for taking out snipers that you sneak around. On maps that feature opportunities to plummet to one's death, there's nothing more satisfying (or frustrating) than having Lucio push you off of the stage while you attempt to line up a headshot. Oh, and if you're in a situation where Roadhog, Reaper or D.Va is wreaking close-range havoc, this is an exceptionally useful skill

It seems as though everyone is picking sides in this debate, and after playing extensive amounts of both titles on PC over the course of the week, I can safely say that I'm more fond of Blizzard's newest title. Granted, Battleborn has started to grow on me, which is impressive considering I have traditionally held the most negative opinion towards it on our staff, but there are three important reasons why Overwatch is emerging as the superior product for those looking to dive into a hero shooter this Spring.

It’s not surprising that Overwatch would be multiplayer-focused - it is, after all, from the company that made the most successful online RPG in history - but considering their high-quality single-player experiences offered in Diablo , Starcraft , and past Warcraft games, the complete absence of any single player mode aside from tutorials is a bit of a shock. There isn’t even a way to play multiplayer matches offline, as fighting teams of AI players still requires a whole team of other people. As good as the multiplayer is, the game certainly wouldn’t lose anything from some sort of dedicated single-player mode. If it told more of the story alluded to in Blizzard’s incredible trailers and shorts, it would further cement Overwatch as a phenomenal g