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Overwatch on console looks incredible and plays well

by on April 14, 2016
 

As a PC gamer, going into the hands-on with Overwatch on console was a bit daunting. I hadn’t played a console game in years (besides Wii with the family) and I was worried my inability to use a controller would dampen my enjoyment of the game. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. As with many consoles shooters, there is an auto aim that makes the controller a little less punishing to use. This allows less experienced players like myself to pick up the game and start having fun immediately.

Another element that lends itself to use with controllers is that there are quite a few Heroes that do not require perfect aim. An example of this is Reinhardt, a hammer-wielding warrior whose role is to tank damage and shield allies. His loadout requires little precision and can be effectively used with poor aim. The same can be said for Winston, whose primary weapon locks onto Heroes within a cone in front of him.

The graphics and audio are still excellent on console (hardly a surprise). Overwatch looks incredible with beautifully animated heroes and wonderfully rendered maps. It’s great to see Blizzard has gone all out on the visuals and sound as they lend so much to the experience. Each Hero (I think I played all of them at some point) feels great with fluid animations and gameplay. One of the core elements is that each Hero and their abilities have unique sounds that tell the players what’s going on around them. An experienced player should be able to tell exactly what’s happening based on what they can hear.

To further my point above, another strong element is the diversity of the cast of Heroes in regards to both identity and gameplay. There’s a wide range of character personalities and ethnicities which also ties into the diverse range of back stories, with each hero having their own reasons for being part of the overarching storyline. The same can be said for the gameplay of each Hero. No two heroes are the same and this can be felt when playing them. Each have their strengths and weaknesses and can be extremely rewarding when played correctly.

Overall, Overwatch feels great on console, with its strongest elements, the characters, gameplay, graphics and sound, all carried over from PC. The controller doesn’t seem to impact the game too negatively and I’m sure for console players it will feel much better than it did for me. I can’t wait until May 24th.