I thought it'd be fun to let the vets make fun of me and all, so I thought I would give my impression as a player of a few hours (and having missed the previous free OW weekend):
I had fun. I barely eked out nine wins for the extra loot boxes in the 6v6 rando mode before free weekend went to die. I won my lone 1v1 5-0. Of course, half my brief time was spent in tutorial + target range trying all the heroes out.
Tutorial doesn't even tell me the basic controls? I mean yeah,
I didn't need to be told to use WASD to move around and shit but I imagine there are people out there that maybe haven't PC gamed before that need all the handholding they can get. Do it right, yo. Nice try, but improve it. Honestly, I think it'd be really awesome if every hero had their own unique tutorial that could teach you some more advanced tricks and that seems more doable in a game with OW's hero total.
The target range definitely needs some improvements, but it was workable just to get a feel of gun ranges and shit I suppose. Ults should charge faster or be always-available, need to be more aggressive bots for testing defensive abilities, arena needs to be set up better to test mobility options, etc. Then I found the in-game descriptions on the hero list page which also helps, but again it's a little incomplete in that it doesn't adequately show you the full range of utility of many abilities. The full Ability Overview on the website I'm looking at right now is more complete in that regard, the newer ones anyway that actually show your damage potential and stuff, but I don't think that's in-game.
Replays all having that retarded Overwatch fade outro is snore-worthy.
Seriously, this one really pisses me off though. I want to play with my settings IN GAME so I can, you know, see how changing graphical options directly affect my display and get a feel for any controls I change. The first time I entered the target range, automatically after finishing the tutorial, I WAS KICKED OUT AFTER WHAT, A MINUTE OF "INACTIVITY" WHILE I WAS READING THE FUCKING SKILL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW HERO I PICKED. WHAT THE FUCK, BLIZZARD? Are you fucking retarded? Who is the idiot that thought this was a remotely good idea? Why would you kick people out of a local practice area for inactivity and not leave that setting to strictly matchmade games
anyway? I think it's a bit of a strict timer at that. And that was before I even discovered that also applies to futzing with game settings too.
I enjoyed the character variety. Not every character follows the same format, the same number of abilities on the same buttons like MOBAs. Specialists are wildly dependent on the situation, like Reinhardt is a slow moving wall of "good at holding a point or payload" but "slow and does ass damage offensively." I don't have much of an opinion on the individual maps though.
Offense:
- Genji: No real opinion on since I never played him in a match. Kinda genericky with the reflect gimmick though, and his ult seemed pretty weak against at least the sentry bots in the target range. Restricting yourself to melee range and you're barely faster than anyone else should score you with consistent one-shots at least. I find his weapon clunky too.
- McCree: Super-generic shooty mcshooter who is totally alright with a sick ult.
- Pharah: Super-generic rocket mcrocket who I hear is OP. She's pretty cool though, I love high-mobility heroes that let you utilize flanking paths to the enemy team.
- Reaper: Speaking of which, I love his teleport ability and the fact he can two-shot squishies. Edgy McEdgerson aesthetic be damned, I really like him.
- Soldier76: Super-generic shooty mcrocket, and what's with the super lame ult?
- Sombra: Really cool spread of abilities. Aggressive support is kind of a unique role, she has invisibility and a teleport and shit. I didn't get to play her but I love the concept. Doesn't seem very strong though, weak weapon (for teleportation assassination ala Reaper) and hacking is a far cry from killing.
- Tracer: Jesus Christ she hits like a wet noodle, why am I playing her over Reaper? Double-tapping squishies with two discrete shots is a hell of a lot easier than training her machine pistols on someone for a solid second, and I value his long-range mobility over her doofy short-range teleport which is more analogous to his invulnerability cloak and disorients the user as much as it does anyone trying to shoot her.
Defense:
- Bastion: Thought his minigun was kinda OP, till I realized while using him in a real match that he can't transform while someone is shooting at him cuz his recon gun is kinda ass. He's okay though.
- Hanzo: Oh boy it's a Huntsman Sniper. His ult looks pretty sick though.
- Junkrat: Literally Demoman. Theoretically that means I really like him, but the only time I played him I was just really annoyed I couldn't kill the Hanzo camping the roof on Route 66 that nobody else on my team seemed to acknowledge existed because I didn't have a hitscan weapon (until I died and became Reinhardt and basically carried the payload to victory on my own).
- Mei: Her slow is aggravating in close quarters, though understandably I suppose that's kinda her specialty.
- Torbjorn: Engineer with a lame ult and his turret kinda sucks a lot more.
- Widowmaker: Super-generic sniper mcsnipy with an ultra-lame ult since it doesn't actually let you shoot opponents through walls. That said, I do like her mobility, self-protection ability, and her quick charge time makes her somewhat of a reasonable mid-range fighter as much as she can stand as far back as possible too.
Tank:
- D.Va: Seems pretty simple but effective at being a frontline fighter with her infinite-clip guns and high base health. The second life bar is a cute gimmick and short-range mobility booster appreciated. also I got the EL OH EL voice line in my last box and that makes me ^____________^
- Orisa: She's like a Mass Effect Vanguard with the Adept's Singularity, love it. Seems really versatile with a weapon that's reasonably effective at all ranges and above average base health, the shield for team defensive posturing, Fortify that lets her muscle her way through chokepoints, and OP Singularity. Too bad her ult is lame as balls.
- Reinhardt: I can't say I particularly enjoy playing as a dude who just walks at people with a billion health and melees them, and he feels really clunky to play because all of his abilities (even his basic melee) are so delayed. I really like his design though, really unique.
- Roadhog: Yeah yeah, hook. He's alright. I kinda like that his weapon makes you think about which button you're clicking, gives him some gameplay depth and also acts as a skill differentiator. His ult is really weird though, seems out of place to stick a utility ult on this guy more so than Orisa who already has other supportive abilities.
- Winston: Don't like him at all. His weapon is short range and doesn't seem to be especially damaging (albeit it mostly aims itself), and he doesn't really do anything. He feels like a crummy D.Va with a slightly better shield but he's fucking useless at range. And what's with his ult? He just runs really fast and knocks people around? He turns into a Pyro spamming compression blast? Yeah, actually, his character does remind me of Pyro, except he deals shit damage and his utility tools don't compare favorably to compression blast at all.
- Zarya: Not a fan of ally-targetted abilities since it means you constantly have to shift camera between allies and enemies... and you can easily shield the wrong target in a group, considering this is a first-person view game. Still, her shields give her a lot of staying power in a different manner than other tanks and her weapon is versatile. She's okay.
Support:
- Ana: "My rifle's getting hotter!" I love her design but I'm not sure I care much for her gameplay. Granted, her stand-back positioning as a sniper means I don't really have to divert my attention from the enemy to aim at allies... but I still have to aim at allies. Her ult is the lamest thing ever and she is pretty bad at actually defending herself. Makes sense for Mercy, not so much for her.
- Lucio: Boring but effective I guess? Movespeed is often low-key OP in these kind of games, and his wide AoE probably makes him the best overall healer to boot. But his support is all passive and his weapon sucks, so mostly he just stands around being a force multiplier. I don't mind it as much as most people probably do, I'm just pointing out the fact.
- Mercy: Quality take on the combat medic archetype. Guardian Angel is a neat, restrictive mobility ability and Rez is pretty unique for an FPS game.
- Symmetra: How the fuck do I control her ult? Is it just I automatically use the spawn teleporter the first time it finishes charging and after that it's the shied, is there a button I can press to switch between the two options? Photon Barrier seems out of place in that it encourages advancing behind it, while the rest of her kit is of the immobile area control variety.
- Zenyetta: I thought I would like him back on release. No, he's fucking lame. Again, I repeat having to target allies is fucking lame because it impacts my ability to focus on enemy positioning. Now, at least I can't miss my allies because his orb aim locks onto people, but his healing is fucking garbage anyway. Not only does it heal like shit, but you don't have the other support tools that encourage you to keep an eye on your allies more to keep moving it around. Orb of Discord is pretty legit against tanks though, and admittedly he is actually a competent fighter unlike a more pure support character. That said, he doesn't feel like a "Support" character so much as an Offense character with a modicum of utility ala Soldier 76. His weapon is also kinda clunky, more so than Genji even, but the ability to charge it makes him good at cover fire.
also whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE
Ultimately, my initial impression of the game was mostly reinforced. It's League Fortress 2. And I still think it's ridiculous to charge $40 for it let alone $60 (for console where I believe they didn't have the choice to buy it cheaper like PC on release), nor did Blizzard receive any media/public backlash for it like the few other multiplayer-focused titles that charged full AAA game price in the past. Not because they didn't deserve criticism over it, of course, but because they're the infallible Blizzard.
The current asking price of $30, considering its polish, should've been the release price... but considering the game has received nothing but praise regardless, clearly the company's businesspeople made the right call overcharging for it.
That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing though. I'd dabble in it if I owned it, but I'm still not paying $30 for it either. Not when Hearthstone is free, HotS and League and DOTA2 are free, Team Fortress 2 standalone was $20 on release (and has been free for years now), etc. I don't think any incarnation of Counter-Strike has been more than $20, though it's hard to find historical pricing data considering their age.
And I wish anyone actually played with me instead of just playing by myself over the free weekend. :(