Overwatch’s single most iconic character is also one of the toughest to master, as Tracer’s time-bending skillset is quite unlike anything we’ve seen in a first-person shooter. Armed with two automatic energy pistols, she has the ability to completely empty a clip in around a second, with her reload time taking roughly the same amount of time. For this reason, accuracy is key, as her roster-low health count of 150 makes her squishy to the point where any moment spent not shooting has the potential to cause an untimely death. Luckily for those who choose Tracer, her abilities focus on a combination of speed, confusion and evasion to make her one of the most frustrating characters for newcomers to go against.
When developer Pixel Titans released a new trailer for upcoming nostalgia-bleeding, fast-paced shooter STRAFE, safe to say what they unveiled could be regarded as material that goes against the tide of contemporary “gameplay” promotion, trailers and all. The decision to take its blocky, pixelated aim at this thematic and quote-unquote cinematic direction modern games have often approached and blindly lavished over worked wonders for two completely opposing and quite ironically-positioned reasons. One: the developers are clearly confident enough to add a an extra flair of presentation and direction to their still ongoing project. And two: they’re more than willing to be the butt to their own joke — opening up the flood-gates guarding not just the industry they’re a part of, but more prudently, of themselves as but one more studio in a grand sum of thousands.
Hanzo’s weapon, the Storm Bow, has a damage output that increases based on the amount of tension on its string, which can be controlled by holding down the fire button. Quick shots, while weak, are certainly great for short range encounters, though it should be noted that effective Hanzo players are going to want to stay behind allies who shoot a bit more rapidly. Where this sniper becomes absolutely fatal is through his fully charged shots, which can take massive chunks off of the health bars of every enemy they come in contact with. However, this power comes at a price, as Hanzo’s shots have an arc to them, so long range shots must be aimed above their targets in order to make contact.
Winston’s second ability, Barrier Projector, creates a bubble shield that absorbs a small amount of damage before cracking and breaking. This is best used as a way to temporarily slow down or distract enemies, rather than as a pure defensive ability like, say, Reinhardt’s shield. Finally, Winston’s ultimate, Primal Rage, not only fills his health bar up to 1000 hitpoints, but it allows him to punch enemies for massive damage and use his jump pack every three seconds. Simply put, Winston should be used as a distraction whenever possible, and then as a tool of destruction once his ultimate meter is totally full.
By offering players something that goes against the grain or, taking it one step further, warps the entire establishment prior into nothing short of practical tomfoolery, you help keep the notion that for all this medium’s praise, PR, pretentiousness and pointless gratification at its own numeric sales figures…video games are still just video games. That you yourself are more than happy to let either yourself or your own creation be the punchline, rather than the one delivering it. The kind of punchline that takes the appearance of a cute-and-cuddly, child-friendly platformer yet winds up dishing up a brilliant bait-and-switch, as much a cleverly-written pot-shot at what games represent (with quite the ending while I’m at it). It’s up to developers and publishers from hereon as to how far they’re willing to go, if at all. And for those willing to swallow their pride, they’ll realize that, albeit a short-term distraction, satirizing and giving joke to this medium, culture or indeed industry is what’s needed (among many more pressing issues) at this present time.
Now, heroes Of the storm Anniversary of the Storm has rolled out another patch – and this time, it has added a feature back to the game that has been gone for almost five years. Heroes Brawl, originally introduced as Arena Mode, is officially back in Heroes of the Storm as Brawl Mode . This game mode features special maps with drastically different rules, ranging from the all-Nova Ghost Protocol snipe fest to the Escape from Braxis PvE map. Brawls will rotate every two weeks, on the 1st and 15th each month, with the first one, Lunar Rocket Racing, available now until mid-Febru
Perhaps the slowest character of the bunch, Roadhog is a tank in every sense of the term. With 600 hitpoints, Roadhog has the highest health count of any of Overwatch’s heroes, and he puts that to good use with his Scrap Gun, a shotgun-like weapon with diminishing power based on range. If you choose to play as this beer-gutted savage, you’re going to want to be right up in the action at all times, as one shot from point-blank range will take out pretty much any other hero. Of course, this also means that he’s fairly vulnerable to snipers, as he’s a massive target that can’t really fight back against enemies that are out of range of his weapons and abilities.