Well I did say I'd try to post 3 positive articles before another negative one, but honestly I was still mostly thinking about something that is more central to me rather than responding to outrage or rebuttles. I think this is decent enough of a "me" topic worthy of this blog's core focus and effort, and I'm not the kind of person to just fill out a number just for the sake of a quota. Heck I still haven't done my last GOTY list because I have integrity behind the logic that I wont put a game on there that I haven't beat, but Witcher 3 still was my GOTY for 2015... so I'm just not doing it for last year by this point since I haven't sat through a 40 hour game yet.
Anyways this article I apologize about bringing down a beloved game. Overwatch is awesome, don't get me wrong. Heck the only reason I didn't do a beta impressions, is because everybody was already playing it and knows how fantastic it is, and I had nothing new to add to the table save for "aim assist sucks". Oh and I'll get that out right now as well, mandatory aim assist in addition to the rip-off console pricing on that side really sucks. Still the game is fantastic in practically every other way. At least... at the heart. I mean that's why I see it as getting all the 10/10s I've seen thus far, and it really deserves that praise at a central level. However I do feel like there are some issues surrounding the game, and unfortunately most reviews as usual just continue passing on the most shallow details, and the bulk of gamers follow suit. Its kind of why "FPS sucks dude" took over, even though we all really love stuff like Doom and Counter-strike, and why people can't tell the difference between Uncharted and Tomb Raider. Well I certainly can see these things, and I'd like to bring some light to a couple things that I hope get fixed in the future.
4) The microtransactions are unnecessarily annoying for everyone
Okay so I figured and expected there to be micro-transactions, and at first this was all good and well. I heard all about the many characters, how much fans loved them, and how they'd be full of customizable stuff you could unlock and likely buy when the chance arose. However as I've formed a motto for work ethic, it applies here in the form of "expect nothing.". Even though its common sense to assume there'd be something present like a LBP style shop for costumes, and you just know they wouldn't be stupid enough to turn down that influx of money as people put down $4 per hero costume to have all their favorite top 3 picks in the best uniforms, they didn't do that. They even had a fun interesting loot box system in place in the main game. So it'd be perfect! Meanwhile without pay you got a fun little lottery ticket per level in-game, keeping the chance for your specific preference rare, but still fun and free anyways. However they decided that when you put down the not-so-micro $50 purchase, all you're doing is asking to spin a gamble wheel 50 times. Its exactly like leveling up, only you just insert your wallet for multiple boxes of virtual loot crates. Glad to see that culture ramming right into video games... no, no I'm actually not.
However you might also see a good side to this. If micro-transactions aren't worth buying, that just means you get to keep more of your money and just play the game normal, right? Most gamers claim they loath and don't support this stuff anyways, so that's just more power to them. ...Well, no, because they fucked up the simple premise of random loot drops per level as well. You don't get a loot drop per one or two matches, you get a loot drop based on classic RPG Beginners ease, to snail pace end- game. According to both players of the purchased game, as well as what I was suspicious of from the beta, levels get incrementally harder to achieve and all you're still getting is just one loot box. So for some stupid reason, you've got to turtle your way to getting even a chance to get anything worth your while from the game once you've been playing for a while. Tell me again how this isn't a F2P model where they give you just a taste of the system, and then expect you to pay up front for that next dose of cosmetics? This is exactly a system straight off of games that range from $0(F2P)-$15, and out of the first ones to come to mind most only established those in updates in addition to the base game (like CS:GO) people were content with. Here its a brand new shooter that I have to go and pay $40-$60 for with all of the skins and cosmetic extras being locked in from the start, save for the 5 you get for the premium $60.
Oh but it gets even better, because lets go over just what is inside a single box. You get like 4 or 5 items per box, and each item has a chance to be one of the many cosmetic enhancements you get. This includes each of the 21 heroe's many skins, each of their handful of highlight and pose animations, their individual sprays, taunts, and then about 20 or so voice lines for each 21 characters. So about one hero out of the twenty-one (at just launch) has at least 50 unlockables, and you only get five items of which can also be duplicates that get converted into less cash points than they're really worth or bits of cash points directly. So if I just had perhaps a simple wish to get the Okami Hanzo skin, and I've played the game a decent amount to get to that point of liking Hanzo, I'm going to be playing through 3-6 matches for one chance to get that out of a massive combinations, where I may not even get a single thing for Hanzo at all until a crate 5 boxes later gets me a spray I don't even want. So this makes me want to go buy it right? Hell no, because then I'm just putting down $10+ for a couple of crates to get the same exact damn result. In the end I will probably get that skin sooner by just unboxing 20-30, and having enough scrap cash points off of all the disappointing duplicates to buy the skin by a point system that should be in place from the very start as a normal micro-transaction. But is that skin worth the price of 20 or 30 crates? Only if you're a lunatic with money to burn. I could save that stuff up for a legit wolf fur pelt in real life rather than spending it on a chance to get it for a virtual character.
...and yes before the "b-but, its only cosmetics guys!" argument is set, well to that I'll point you to all the games doing this a hell of a lot better. Cosmetics exist as a fun extra, and a part of the game that gamers are supposed to care about and look forward to as an exta. Its the best thing to hold hostage by a progression grind since it doesn't pester you with true content being locked, but that doesn't mean you can treat the cosmetics like complete trash. Its still a fun extra, in a game about fun. Here that part of fun and character personality is not only locked behind a gambling wheel, but it is intentionally designed in a F2P way that scales higher and higher with no increased chance of real award. Its an extra piece of the game that isn't working in a functional manor, and an obstacle that stands to detriment a fun extra factor for the sake of money-grabbing schemes (which doesn't even work in cases like mine). I don't appreciate that one bit, and I think people who are letting it slide simply because its cosmetic are missing the point by being that shallow.
3) Bots are barely there in a game all about character diversity
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| lonely bot. |
I know, not a big deal to some people because "Derp, bots don't matter" but I tend to disagree. Its a huge part of the reason I caved into PvZ:GW2 even though it was still online only like some idiot didn't know how to remove their own DRM. Similarly I considered Battleborn, but left it under the same online only DRM logic. However Overwatch as far as I know had offline bots truly in place. So I had hope for it, but then they forgot the very thing that made the game worthy playing in bot mode: the characters. There aren't even enough characters for a standard bot match. You'll be seeing the same 6 or so people over and over again, and cloned for both teams. Bastion will be fighting Bastion, nobody supports you except the monk robot, and I hope you don't need a junkrat unless you're prepared to do it yourself. Its not the world's end, and thankfully they said they're probably going to address this and update the game with more bots. However the thing is its out now, and... yeah, well I can't enjoy bot multiplayer with that kind of roster. Its one of two problems that has me staying back and saying that I can wait for the game to be a bit more complete. My only fear is that the way this has slid off as such a non-issue for the majority of people, is that it will be put so far on the backburner that either its forgotten, or is more like something that gets put in around winter. So consider this a (sadly unread) reminder out there that this should be worked on. I don't necessarily expect all 21 characters to have a bot this month, but it'd be great if they at least had a batch of 3-6 more to throw in as a sign that they're definitely working towards it.
2) Forced matchmaking
No I'm not letting this kind of thing go with an online focused game. If you choose that path, I'm going to call you out on the bullshit that is forced matchmaking. And don't even bring up the excuse that its for competitive play, because that mode isn't even in the game yet, and even if it were I'd tell anyone putting that priority over fun and player freedom to go take a hike. Its a damn shame that we've let this matchmaking junk become so fixed over our gaming that its just normal to have our games behind the times with freedom, longevity, stability, and community engagement that we've had since the late 90's gaming scene.
1) Lets move on from web browser story telling
This is the one I really shouldn't even have to say. In an era where AAA is supposed to mean an extensive lot of detail, craft, and work from a big company, and where we've been given a grand potential story in even our multiplayer driven games, why on earth is all the heart, effort, and care not even given the small effort it would take to link the video file in with the game as something you can watch off in the main menu. Why do I actually have to go and find every video, guessing it by name and place, just to figure out some piece to the story? Why is that outside the video game? Why is there not even a tiny bio text written for a character? And here's the thing, they can't just tell me the lore is extra bits written off the side for those that want it, its actually ingrained in the game. Hanzo and Genji have unique conversations and sprays pointing to each other's existence, and the maps have a history and background somewhere lying within them. The characters have costumes and personalities driven based on ideas that something happened to them at some point, but you'll have to both wait for that story to be developed, and then go find it somewhere outside of the game. All they had to do was give you a teaser text entry, or leave video links like Recall or the Two Dragon's short within the game files, but for some unspecified reason they just don't do that. By now the idea of character driven multiplayer battles are well established enough that we can easily move forward with the idea that there will be plot developments, so please put them in the game.
Its not only making your product less than it really is, but its also hiding the effort that some good money and heart went into. Its a dis-service to your own product. Its weird as well, because I've known several instances of PS2 era games that even put their own trailers inside the game itself, and now we have vital bits of story and lore on these characters we love that can't even be put inside the game just because... reasons? I just don't get it. I hope Overwatch is the last game that decides to do this silly stunt. Have some more self-respect for yourself Blizzard. You're game and characters are far more complete and compelling than you're making it seem by having this stuff kept locked out.
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| Too awesome to be excluded |
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