Biggest Video Game News Of The Week

Square Enix revealed the next Final Fantasy 14 expansion during a livestream event yesterday. Called Endwalker , the expansion is set to conclude the current storyline and move the MMO into the next


Overwatch 2 will likely be a success. The original game was just too big of a hit for the game to suffer a Battleborn- esque failure. Even if a lot of players have fallen off in recent times, the allure of a sequel will be too tempting for most to res


Fans were excited to explore the lunar playground of one of Overwatch 's premiere heroes when it hit the scene as one of the first new stages added to the game. Yet, aside from its cool outer-space theme and its zero-gravity area (which is largely useless anyway), there isn't much this map has going for it. The enclosed region where point B rests is frustratingly tough to capture, and the open, somewhat barren layout of everything makes for a pretty bland experience more often than

We also need to talk about loot boxes, since Overwatch was responsible for increasing their popularity outside the mobile space. Ultimate Team was already a thing, but Blizzard showcased how easily cosmetic items could be monetised through random packages of goodies earned by either levelling up or buying them outright. I had friends who would set aside entire evenings during seasonal events to grind for boxes, hoping that Blizzard would be kind enough to let a legendary skin fall into their laps. None of them were playing for fun, instead waiting for that brief hit of serotonin that comes with a rare drop. Or they could spend money, and as the profits have long shown, so many of us went and did just that.


Compare that situation to that of games like Apex Legends . As someone who hopped over from Overwatch to Apex, I can say that it feels much more alive at the moment thanks to seasonal updates. The maps are always being altered and updated ( and sometimes there's a new one! ), there's a new character every season, and there's plenty of new events, modes, and rewa

It was the biggest shooter in the world for a long time. Blizzard eagerly celebrated new player milestones on social media, while seasonal events became an all-encompassing occasion in the shooter space before the days of battle passes and live service updates. It was both ahead of its time and constrained by the formula it existed within, as additional game modes introduced as part of big updates and quarterly events never lived up to the base experience it was built upon. Junkenstein’s Revenge, Overwatch Archives, and Winter Wonderland were great fun, but fighting against bullet sponge AI wasn’t what this game was about, and hoping to expand on this universe only served to highlight its shortcomings.


This was popularized by games like Team Fortress 2 , which introduced a line of iconic heroes in a Pixar-esque cartoony style. Nowadays, the genre is best represented by games like the hero shooter/battle royale hybrid Apex Legends , or the subject of this article, Overwat


By the merit of the title alone, Overwatch 2 would seem to be an outright sequel , rather than a marginal expansion or batch of DLC packs. Yet, the fact that we currently only have the reveal of a single new heroin Sojourn (with the potential of the robotic Echo as well), it tends to look more like the latte


Although the focus of the new OW2 reveals has been on co-op romps and PvE story missions, one of the big announcements was the introduction of Push. This is a more traditional PvP mode that seems to resemble Escort in a se


This bizarre map doesn't have a ton going for it outside of the sort of self-congratulatory Blizzard themes that permeate the area. Once you've gotten past the amusing StarCraft nods and the subtle, cheeky references to The Lost Vikings , there's really not much to love about this st

Overwatch’s corporate identity was clear to see through its diverse cast and clear attempts at inclusion, made worse by queer characters who were never given any strong narrative within the world itself. On the surface it was a bold statement, but dig any deeper, and you were left wanting so much more as Blizzard chased demographic approval. Its universe had so much potential for excellent stories and worthwhile sociopolitical commentary, but this clear ambition was brushed aside as the years went on in favour of recycled seasonal events and development of a sequel that is only now lumbering towards the finish line. I once looked up to Overwatch 2 events, but now I can’t help but view its failings and cynical business practices for what they really are. I still love so much about it, and the warm memories it brings to the forefront of my mind are clear proof that Blizzard struck gold with this one.


Even getting past the heavy use of Blizzard gimmicks, the layout of the map itself can also be annoying. With its narrow passageways and higher-level paths that criss-cross it, any defending team worth its salt tends to have a huge advantage; especially near the bottleneck that makes up the beginning/Assault portion of the game. The only real advantage for the attackers tends to be the indoor portion at the end - but good luck making it th