Despite what my love of recent independent titles like Hyper Light Drifter , Firewatch and The Banner Saga 2 might suggest, I have a strong history with games of a more bombastic persuasion. My most played game of all time, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, found a way to capitalize on the combination of my love for multiplayer chaos and my susceptibility to addictive feedback loops. Granted, I would never claim that Modern Warfare 2 is some sort of godlike game, but there was something about its complete lack of balance and downright brilliant map design that tapped into a very specific portion of my mind.

Heroes of the Storm has officially rolled out the first update of 2025, featuring some balance changes, bug fixes, and the return of Brawl Mode. Players can enjoy these special game modes on a rotating, biweekly basis in Heroes of the Storm right now, starting with the Lunar Rocket Racing minig

If there's one constant in video games, it's that rocket launchers are always cool, period. Pharah, Overwatch's resident flying explosive expert, is no exception to this rule, as she has the potential to devastate an entire enemy squad when used properly. Her main weapon, the aforementioned Rocket Launcher, is not only incredibly powerful when it makes direct contact with an enemy, but it also possesses fairly large splash damage, so you don't necessarily need to worry about hitting foes directly. This is a wonderful weapon for taking out enemies that thrive on camping, like Bastion, Hanzo and Widowmaker. In addition to the Rocket Launcher, Pharah also possesses a jet pack mapped to her jump button. Not only does this allow her to reach higher ground for sneaky firing tactics, but it also allows her to hover in mid-air for a limited time when used properly, making all of her abilities all the more surprising.

Junkrat's abilities aren't going to do as much damage as his Frag Launcher, but they're exceptional strategic items when used properly. Not only does his Concussion Mine allow him to place a remote detonated explosive, enabling perfectly-timed kills when used patiently, but it also functions as a super-jump when used underneath Junkrat. Considering most opposing players don't expect to see Junkrat flying a story or two into the air, using the Concussion Mine as a movement device not only functions as a way to throw enemies off their game, but it also allows you to access areas that foes won't necessarily expect grenades to rain down from.

The thing is, playing nearly one-thousand hours of Modern Warfare 2 during my freshman year of college (sorry mom) burned me out on multiplayer games for a long time. Make no mistake, I've loved a great deal of multiplayer games over the years, but they always seem to either only stick with me during the first couple of weeks or fade out of my consciousness after I submit a review. Granted, this is partially due to the perils of being a multi-platform gamer with single-platform friends, yet there hasn't really been a multiplayer game since 2009 that has burrowed into my brain quite like Infinity Ward's last great game.

Lucio's abilities take a little bit of getting used to, but they turn him into potentially the best support hero if used wisely. It's important to note that Lucio emits an aura around him constantly, with its effect varying based on his use of his Crossfade ability. By pressing the corresponding ability key, Lucio will swap his aura frequency to either buff ally speed or health; of course, Lucio also gains this buff himself. The wisest players will use his speed buff on allies who are struggling in battle, or those who need to get back into the action after an untimely death. His other main ability, Amp it Up, allows him to increase both the range and strength of his aura, meaning that you can either heal a significant portion of your team in an instant, or make everyone on your squad incredibly quick. Finally, Lucio's ultimate ability, Sound Barrier, gives a massive, but temporary, increase in hitpoints to both himself and everyone in the surrounding area. Timing your use of all of these skills can take an average team and make it outstanding, but those who simply spam these abilities will find themselves either dead or completely ineffective.

Though Blizzard's multi-franchise MOBA has technically been in maintenance mode since July 2022, Heroes of the Storm suddenly received a balance patch over a year later in September 2023. Every few months since then, Heroes of the Storm has consistently rolled out new patches, with the seventh such update arriving in early December 2

With Overwatch, the charming hero ability Swap shooter from Blizzard, launching this week, we want to make sure that you're as prepared as possible to help your team dominate. Overwatch's main focus is clearly on the interplay between its dynamic characters, so in order to become competent, you'll need to understand how every character works. Throughout the week, we'll be publishing guides on each of the 21 launch heroes, three at a time, with the hopes that you'll be able to recognize certain patterns on the battlefield.