A couple of us are Overwatch fanatics here at Critical Writ HQ, so we'd like to take some time to have a very important discussion about very important topics concerning Overwatch, Blizzard's amazing new IP.
Adrian: First, let me start by saying, I'm a little angry. I'm angry that I'm not playing Overwatch right now! There's something about when you first launch the game and the theme song starts, soft and quiet, it just makes you feel right and good.
Ivonne: True story! I get angry being at work and not playing Overwatch! My coworkers and I gush about it daily. I actually just put D.Va’s special as my text message notifications, so I am getting “Nerf this!” all day. But yeah, this game makes me feel happy, even when I’m dying a lot. I’ve yet to feel the need to ragequit. It’s just too much fun.
Adrian: Alright, who is your fav and are there any characters you ship? I don’t normally think about ships, but I was recently tipped off that when Symmetra gives Widowmaker a shield, that she says thank you without her normal brand of aggression and condescension towards others. Symmetra is my favorite, so I'm finding myself into this pairing.
Ivonne: LĂºcio is my jam! I love that kid. And can I just say how wonderful it is for Blizzard to give every character a unique back story, and to diversify their characters so much! I’m not Brazilian, but being of Colombian descent, I do carry some pride that there is a South American character in this game. LĂºcio’s back story is awesome and they clearly did some research on the culture, where music is super important, especially to the poor living in the crowded favelas.
Adrian: We've already got so many great characters in Overwatch, but what you do you think of the rumored upcoming character, Sombra (supposedly a support sniper)? What would you like to see in a new character?
Ivonne: #Birst is who I want! No but really, I’ve read the fan theories, and I’m super excited about the possibilities behind Sombra. As I noted above, I’m Latina, and I can assure you that I have never played a game with a Latina protagonist. When you see Latin women in video games, they are either sex workers in a game like Vice City, or mafia women in tiny bikinis at the poolside of the mafia Don. So a Latina hero? Sign me up!
Adrian: I agree 100%, I’m excited for Sombra for mostly the same reasons. I’m also intrigued by the other new characters (Liao and Doomfist are two other rumored additions) but I'm not sure we've all had a long enough time to learn the meta game with the existing characters. Which characters combinations do you like most? And what do you think of the latest nerfs?
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| Credit: markraas.tumblr.com |
Ivonne: All I have to say is that McCree needed the nerf. No, sir, it is NOT high noon! As far as new characters go, in Blizzard I Trust. I was reading an interview with Jeff Kaplan where he talks about how during beta they released Mei, D.Va, and Genji all at once and people kind of hated them. So they want to release new characters one at a time and let the game find balance. I think that’s a great way to do it. Release one new character, let people get used to them, let people find their rhythm.
Adrian: I’m not against nerfing and play balancing, but I’m often frustrated by how quickly some of these balance patches hit; again, I feel like we haven’t had quite enough time to make the judgments we do. You can’t complain that five or six Torbjorns are unbeatable when you haven’t tried running five or six D.Vas against them. I think players need to get used to switching up and trying new strats before running to the forums to complain. That being said, the McCree nerf made total sense. Being able to Genji with a stun and right-click make sense, but being able to melt a tank with a right-click is another matter.
Ivonne: There is a twitter account called @reapernames, self explanatory; some of them are kind of gross and misogynistic, I'm afraid, BUT... this one here is one of my favs:
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| Credit: @reapernames |
Ivonne: Because Reaper is TOTALLY the kind of emo edgelord who would drop the hard truth on you about Santa!
Adrian: I'd go further and say being crushed by the truth about Santa is what made Reaper go edgelord in the first place! I'm going to wrap this up with a really sweet 'Pharah saves Mercy' GIF where Pharah knocks Roadhog off the platform with a concussive blast right as Roadhog hooked Mercy, dragging her into the pit with him:
Ivonne: OMG that is awesome!
Adrian: I like to think that they were on voice and the Mercy was like "oh my gad im falling!!" and Pharah was like "noo turn around fly to mee i've got u" and then the rest of their team was "like yaaaay nice save gj everyone" đŸ˜ƒ
Ivonne: I dunno why this game makes me so happy but it does. ❤️
Ivonne Martin is a writer, gamer, and avid consumer of all things geek—and is probably entirely too verbose for her own good.
Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.
