The Video Game Thread

I'm not a big fan of what blizzard is releasing the last few years. Take a popular genre and make it easier so we sell more copies. Diablo 3 had the same problem (did that ever get a decent pvp?) Compared to D2, heartstone,..
Now they make a cc of tf2 which in turn was a slower, less deep clone of team Fortress classic.

There's a difference between easier and more accessible. Overwatch is the latter. It's very easy to pick up and play. It is exceptionally difficult to master, with a very, very high skill ceiling.

Like, take a look at Tracer

Or Genji

Or my personal favorite, Symmetra
 
wanna play some hldm ?
or tfc had some nice movement options too :
anyway, overwatch has zero appeal to me, it feels like it's all been done before and blizzard just gave it the Apple treatment
 
Well yeah it's been done before, as you observed earlier that's Blizzard's MO. They take something popular but imperfect and release their own polished, streamlined, accessible take on it. They take your idea and do the definitive version of it.

I quibble and complain about Hearthstone, usually in the context of card design, nerfs I wish for, and changes I'd like to see to the Arena mode. But all the big decisions they've made seem perfect in retrospect, almost like they're rules for the genre now (free-to-play, turn based, including casual modes like tavern brawl). So in a way WOTC will be returning the favor and copying from Blizzard when they finally develop their own FTP mobile Magic game.
 
Well yeah it's been done before, as you observed earlier that's Blizzard's MO. They take something popular but imperfect and release their own polished, streamlined, accessible take on it. They take your idea and do the definitive version of it.

That's not what they used to do. They used to make the baseline of the genre and have others copy them trying to ride along with the success.
Now they are the ones that try to jump on the hypetrain, years after it left the station.
And by doing so, they have to set completely different standards than if they were the ones sitting in the conductors seat.
 
I'm not a big fan of what blizzard is releasing the last few years. Take a popular genre and make it easier so we sell more copies. Diablo 3 had the same problem (did that ever get a decent pvp?) Compared to D2, heartstone,..
Now they make a cc of tf2 which in turn was a slower, less deep clone of team Fortress classic.
I never was that fond of diablo in general, i played them all and enjoyed it when there were new places to go and new monsters to kill, but i never understood the appeal to grind the same places over and over again.
Diablo 3 was my favorite because it took out the useless potion spam, which was great ;)
I know i'm really casual in the diablo universe, but hey each their own...

I liked team fortress 1 back in the day because it was so fast and hectic.
Tf 2 i really didn't get addicted to at all... I guess because most of the time in public games you could get hosed in some maps to players who just spam shit in one corner so you can't really push through.. at least that was the memory that was left after playing that game... spam shit all day and that's it.
Maybe i should have played with only friends so that wouldn't have happened, but i like to play as a lone wolf.

I was really sceptical of buying Overwatch, but i heard so high praises from my friends so i had to try it and i gotta admit it's a lot more fun game than team fortress 2.
I've played thousands of hours of dota, so all the skills and ultimates felt right at home in a sense. The heroes are a lot more interesting than in tf2. Also the spammy nature of the game can be avoided with certain strategies when things get tight. I don't know, i was really really surprised how much fun i've had with this one, can't recommend it enough really.
Again being a lone wolf has it's downsides sometimes.. i feel there are some heroes that are pretty useless if the team is going on their own and not going for the objective, but it's a minor note and also doesn't happen THAT often.
 
Did you like TF2?

If the answer is yes, definitely give it a try.

However, if the answer is no... I'd still give it a try. I was not a fan of TF2, but the pacing and movement of Overwatch really won me over. It's too bad you missed the free beta weekend a month ago. Nothing sells you on the game like playing it.
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
Did you like TF2?

I wasn't like a huge fan of TF2, but had some fun pubbing around as Soldier / Scout. I did love Shadowrun, which was a class-based shooter with a huge skill cap and all sorts of abilities that linked together in creative ways.

Also, I would be a plebe and buy it for Xbox One.
 
I wasn't like a huge fan of TF2, but had some fun pubbing around as Soldier / Scout. I did love Shadowrun, which was a class-based shooter with a huge skill cap and all sorts of abilities that linked together in creative ways.

Also, I would be a plebe and buy it for Xbox One.
That's okay. I'm on XBOne too.
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
I got Overwatch, can't decide if it's good or not. Some aspects I really don't like, but there's no denying it's well made. Still think Shadowrun was a better class-based shooter.
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, for sure. Sometimes it is really fun, but sometimes you get just a turd of a team and feel miserable for the duration of the game. Running back after respawning feels super tedious, especially since I'm used to small Halo maps where you're in the action almost immediately.

I think it would be a lot more fun if you had friends to play with. Also, maybe it should be noted that my first game online was probably the most fun, when I was just going crazy wrecking with Pharah. After that it's been putting me against much harder players, and I get shut down a lot.
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, here is my issue with Overwatch. I love, love, love Pharah. I just had a game where I went like 28 - 2 with her, all over the place ripping it up. But sometimes the enemy comp hard-counters me, so I switch around heroes. But I'm mostly bored. I haven't learned to love any of the other ones. Junkrat is okay I guess, maybe others are fun too, if given the time. I'm effective as Mercy, but bored at the same time. Maybe I'll watch some streams and try to get inspired.
 

James Stevenson

Steamflogger Boss
Staff member
Okay, here is my issue with Overwatch. I love, love, love Pharah. I just had a game where I went like 28 - 2 with her, all over the place ripping it up. But sometimes the enemy comp hard-counters me, so I switch around heroes. But I'm mostly bored. I haven't learned to love any of the other ones. Junkrat is okay I guess, maybe others are fun too, if given the time. I'm effective as Mercy, but bored at the same time. Maybe I'll watch some streams and try to get inspired.

stream overwatch. even if you don't talk, I'd tune in to see what you're on about (and distract myself from research)
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
I actually really like Overwatch now. I play a mix of Pharah / Junkrat / Roadhog / Lucio, and enjoy them all during different moods. Will probably branch out further as time goes on, but at least I enjoy one of each class now.
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I'm not really a fps player, but if ever it goes on sale, I might just buy it. I like the back stories a lot, and there's an unbelievable amount of character in the cast. Watching streams and vids it looks like there's a huge variety of play styles as well, and despite that it looks like Blizzard actually succeeded in balancing all these characters well enough that there's no obvious superior characters yet (Widowmaker and McCree come closest from what I've heard?).
 
I'm not really a fps player, but if ever it goes on sale, I might just buy it. I like the back stories a lot, and there's an unbelievable amount of character in the cast. Watching streams and vids it looks like there's a huge variety of play styles as well, and despite that it looks like Blizzard actually succeeded in balancing all these characters well enough that there's no obvious superior characters yet (Widowmaker and McCree come closest from what I've heard?).


Yeah apparently the consensus was that Widow and McCree were too good and they've now been dialled back a bit. It's super fun, if anyone plays on PC my tag is Aston#22817.
 
I'm not really a fps player, but if ever it goes on sale, I might just buy it. I like the back stories a lot, and there's an unbelievable amount of character in the cast. Watching streams and vids it looks like there's a huge variety of play styles as well, and despite that it looks like Blizzard actually succeeded in balancing all these characters well enough that there's no obvious superior characters yet (Widowmaker and McCree come closest from what I've heard?).
I don't think blizzard games come on sale. I gotta say that game is well worth the 40€ i spent on it.

Aston i'll add you when i get home. I'm Meltyman#2165 if i remember correctly
 

Chris Taylor

Contributor
I don't think blizzard games come on sale. I gotta say that game is well worth the 40€ i spent on it.

Aston i'll add you when i get home. I'm Meltyman#2165 if i remember correctly

They do, but usually right before an expansion comes out, or when it's been sitting for a while. D3 is 40$ total for base + expansion, rather than I think 60$ + 60$, and all of the WoW expansions that aren't the latest one are about 20$ total

Still though, jump on it, if it goes on sale it wont for a loooooong time
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
They do, but usually right before an expansion comes out, or when it's been sitting for a while. D3 is 40$ total for base + expansion, rather than I think 60$ + 60$, and all of the WoW expansions that aren't the latest one are about 20$ total

Still though, jump on it, if it goes on sale it wont for a loooooong time
That's okay, I got time ;) Really though, with two little kids around me for most of the day, when I'm not at work that is, I don't have a lot of time to spend on adult games anymore anyway. Since fps isn't my first choice in gaming genres either, I doubt I'ld get my money's worth out of it if I bought it at full price. That's not a knock at the game at all, it's pretty rare for a shooter to grab my attention, and Overwatch certainly has! It's just that circumstances and preferences suggest it's not the Best Buy, for me, at the moment. But damn is it fun to watch those "short stories"!
 
I don't think blizzard games come on sale. I gotta say that game is well worth the 40€ i spent on it.

Aston i'll add you when i get home. I'm Meltyman#2165 if i remember correctly


Cool, I'll look out for that. I usually play on Americas servers fyi but I think everything carries over between servers anyway.
 
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