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Blog entry by Luigi Dulhunty

Why I'm Hopeful For Overwatch 2, Despite Everything

Why I'm Hopeful For Overwatch 2, Despite Everything

The most important thing to consider however, is the Overwatch League. The OWL is a big deal for both Blizzard and their corporate overlords at Activision, so there's no way that Overwatch 2 won't be focusing on t

One of the key architects in forming Overwatch was the under-secretary-general Gabrielle Adawe. After the Omnic Crisis, Adawe went on to establish the city of Numbani and worked toward sustaining peace between humans and Omnics. While Adawe was one of the key figures in forming Overwatch, Gabriel Reyes, a former member of the United States’ super soldier program, was given command of the u

Basically, I don’t think a fixed, single-player campaign is going to work for Overwatch 2, if that’s what Blizzard is currently planning. On the flip side, a robust hero shooter with an emphasis on cooperative play could do phenomenally well. I’m thinking of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer, where you get to choose a type of enemy, a map, and a difficulty. After that you consciously work with your teammates to take on waves of baddies while completing a variety of objectives. It’s so simple, and yet so effective, because the moment-to-moment satisfaction is completely tied to using your abilities. I still think playing as an Asari Vanguard in Mass Effect 3 was the most fun I’ve ever had in a multiplayer game - it’s a shame BioWare isn’t bringing it back for Mass Effect: Legendary Edit

I booted up Overwatch for the first time in a few months last night and it wasn’t awful. I mean, it was frustrating, but I had at least one team who genuinely cared about the objective and we won two matches in a row. For what it’s worth, I only really play Competitive or seasonal co-op events - Quick Play and Arcade aren’t for

What Overwatch really needed was the same thing that every live-service game needs: content. While development of Overwatch 2 caused a lengthy drought in the original, Overwatch wasn’t exactly on par with the rest of the live service game market either. A new hero every few months and a rehashed holiday event just weren’t cutting it. There’s a lot of people moaning about the new seasonal model in Overwatch 2, but if they were being honest, most of them would admit Overwatch wasn’t holding their attention. The luster fell off Overwatch after a couple of years, and the quarterly cadence of a new hero or map was not going to keep Overwatch al

After getting annoyed at Competitive, I found myself longing for those co-op events - specifically, the Archives ones where you proceed through a linear level taking on waves of enemies. I realized that, for me, the joy of Overwatch isn’t necessarily tied to competitiveness - it’s about facing reasonable challenges with people who are interested in working together, and playing a character you absolutely love the feel

This is what Overwatch 2 sounds like, a slight iteration that adds improvements and features while not altering the core gameplay. Releasing a sequel that's mostly the same game but with a new Support hero Juno coat of paint is frowned upon by most gamers who aren't into sports. This kind of behavior from Blizzard would be surprising except for one thing: they're owned by Activision, the publishers of the Call Of Duty franch

When it comes to the hero shooter, few have managed to compare to Overwatch. Yet many are now taking the idea of the genre and applying it to other games in other ways. The genre is evolving, so don't be surprised if the next big FPS, or action game has a Tracer or Reaper of their very

The robots immediately attacked across the globe. Cities began to fall, as every country on the planet quickly learned that no matter how powerful their armies were, they were no chance against the Omnic threat. As the hour grew darker, the United Nations collaborated and formed an elite unit of their best soldiers. This super team would come to be known as Overwat

Overwatch 2 comes across as something that could have been a massive patch for Overwatch 1 . It's fantastic that players will get every multiplayer add-on from the new game, but releasing a sequel that's pretty much the same with a few new bells and whistles seems more like a mandate from Activision than an artistic choice from Blizz

Overcoming the Omnic Crisis turned Overwatch into a world peacekeeping force, but soon, even the group fell to corruption. A series of investigations uncovered many skeletons in Overwatch’s closet, and the group disbanded. But with rising terrorist attacks from Talon and increasing tensions between Omnics and humans, several agents got back together and reformed Overwa

The most apparent is the team size reduction. Overwatch 2 features 5v5 battles instead of 6v6, meaning both teams have one less tank in the fight. Opinions will vary, but I think it’s obvious that this is a huge improvement. Half the number of tanks means half the number of shields, which means fights are more active and exciting. Instead of both teams poking at each other from behind cover until everyone fires off their ults, every match is a constant back and forth. Getting picks has a much greater impact, so it’s easier to coordinate pushes with your team, even if you’re only communicating non-verbally. It’s a simpler, easier to follow spectator experience, which will help the Overwatch League reach a wider audience. Resizing the teams has an effect on every aspect of the game, and it’s been overwhelmingly posit

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