Blizzard's New Overwatch Game: 10 Essential Things You Should Know

Overwatch characters in all their glory.
Overwatch characters in all their glory.


Overwatch: A 6 vs 6 First Person Shooter

Overwatch game cinematic trailer

Blizzard is a new contender to the FPS genre with their new hi-tech future shooter Overwatch. Though the FPS genre is new to them it is not in their nature to flop completely on any game. From what I've seen in the trailers and their website I'm excited for this game to release. Here are 10 things to know before we get our hands on it:

1. World

kings row

Kingsrow is one of the maps in the Overwatch game. The setting is based on a futuristic England.

If enough heroes emerge then eventually all the problems get solved. In a tech-laden future Earth, the Omnix robots have run rampant, sections of the planet put together their greatest fighters in order to fight back. After 25 years of fighting the heroes have died off, retired, been replaced but the world is still needing heroes. This is where the player comes in. You are out to help repair the Overwatch hero group that is falling apart to defend the Earth once again.

Though the location of the game is Earth it is a different planet than what we currently know. The tech that exists in this version of Earth is advanced and serves to improve every aspect of life. The cities are sprawling, the weapons seem almost alien, and the characters are not all human. This Earth is Blizzard's take on what kind of future we should be in.

Hanamura is another map in Overwatch. The setting is based on a scenic Japan. It is also the where Hanzo is from.  

2. Heroes


The healer hero Mercy showing off her glow

Winston, the hardy tank

Though the Overwatch game is still in its early stages, it is clear that some heroes are more noble than others. One of the most notable heroes in the current trailers is the gorilla Winston. He is an intelligent, most likely genetically modified ape that acts as a tank for his team. He wields a Tesla Cannon and has the ability to go into a Primal Rage and tear his enemies apart.

Lena Oxton, Age: 26, Codename: Tracer, Role: Offense 

Another great hero that has been featured is Tracer a.k.a. Lena Oxton who was in some sort of temporal accident and can now manipulate time.

Some heroes are less virtuous and have turned rogue. In the cinematic trailer, we see Reaper and Widowmaker laying down a hail of bullets on Winston and Tracer in an attempt to steal a precious gauntlet. Who knows where the loyalties of some of these heroes lay.

Since this is a team-based shooter I believe that alliances will be chosen after the character screens. Winston could find himself being the noble science gorilla he is pictured as in the cinematic trailer and the next he could be a raging ape mercenary. Some of the more chaotic neutral characters include:

  • McCree the gunslinger
  • Reaper
  • Widowmaker
  • the hammer-wielding tank Reinhardt
  • the silent Assassin Hanzo
  • the ominous orb generator Zenyatta

These characters are all former members of the Overwatch program but might have turned to a life less savory than that of a respected defender. On the side of good it seems there are a bit more heroes such as Winston, Tracer, the Russian defender Zarya, security chief Pharah, tech-commander Symmetra, the tinkerer Torbjorn, battle automaton and transformer Bastion, and the angelic healer Mercy.

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Gamer Since: 1997
Favorite Genre: RTS
Currently Playing: Mount & Blade with Fire and Sword
Top 3 Favorite Games:Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, Grand Theft Auto V, The Stanley Parable


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