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CultureBlizzCon In-Game Loot Is One Of My Favorite Annual Gaming Traditions
People get excited about Blizzard’s annual fan convention for many reasons. Some look forward to meeting up with friends. Others are eager to hear news about upcoming games and expansions. Me? I’m mainly here for the ridiculous in-game items rolled out for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, StarCraft, Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone every…
By Mike Fahey Published October 3, 2019 -
Blizzard Really Wants Overwatch Characters In Smash
With Overwatch due out on the Switch next week, it’s obviously time for fans to start incessantly calling for characters like Pharah and Mercy to make an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The loudest voice among them, though, will belong to Blizzard themselves. In an interview with IGN, Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan was asked which…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 2, 2019 -
CultureOfficial Overwatch Cookbook Lets You Recreate Pharah’s Favorite Childhood Snack
From Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, author of cookbooks for World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Firefly, and A Game of Thrones, comes the first official guide to cooking the delicacies of Overwatch. Who among us hasn’t dreamed of sinking their teeth into Pharah’s Canadian Butter Tarts and washing them down with Mercy’s elderberry liquor toddy, the Valkyrie’s…
By Mike Fahey Published October 1, 2019 -
EsportsOverwatch‘s Bastion Moonlights As Aerial Circus Act
It’s unlikely that, before yesterday, anybody used the words “trapeze artist” to describe Overwatch’s turret hero Bastion. One hype play at the Overwatch League grand finals revealed the hero’s potential as an aerial circus act. Early on in the San Francisco Shock’s 4-0 sweep of the Vancouver Titans, Bastion player Minho “Architect” Park was helping…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 30, 2019 -
The San Francisco Shock took the 2019 Overwatch League grand finals, $1,100,000, and the Vancouver Titans’ dignity with a 4-0 sweep today. The superfast win comes off the heels of a 23-5 season, which includes their completion of the league’s first-ever perfect stage. “We knocked on wood, for sure,” said season MVP Jay “Sinatraa” Won…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 29, 2019 -
Blizzard, Please Put Link In Overwatch
While this animation video looks exactly like something Blizzard would release, as part of some dream Zelda x Overwatch crossover event for the upcoming Switch version, it’s amazingly/sadly just the work of some fans instead. This is actually the third time I’ve posted about this design, imagining Link as a playable character in Overwatch. The…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2019 -
CultureCosplayShowcaseCosplayer Constructs Stunning Shield For Overwatch‘s Brigitte
Now that Overwatch players have stopped complaining about how overpowered the hero Brigitte is, perhaps we can all guiltlessly enjoy some fantastic Brigitte cosplay. On Saturday, Melbourne, Australia-based cosplayer AltF4Cosplay posted her completed shield from Brigitte’s “Shieldmaiden” skin. Here’s what the shield looks like in-game: And here is AltF4Cosplay’s brilliant shield. It even lights up:…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 23, 2019 -
‘Attack Bastion’ Stops Being A Joke When Overwatch Pros Use It
For a solid three years, “attack Bastion” was a meme in Overwatch, referring to the idea of using the semi-stationary hero on an offensive play. Now, it’s a serious strategy for serious pro players for when some serious money is on the line. The turret hero Bastion is not very mobile and does the most…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 9, 2019 -
CultureThe State Of Overwatch In 2019
Overwatch is a game with gravity. Assembled from the scraps of the never-released MMORPG Titan by one of the most trusted game companies of all time, the first-person team shooter was always too big too fail. And since its release three years ago, its publisher Blizzard has continued feeding it, nourishing and fluffing its feathers,…
Cecilia D'Anastasio & Nathan Grayson Published September 5, 2019 -
Overwatch Comes To Switch Next Month
One of tonight’s Nintendo Direct announcements has leaked early: Blizzard’s popular hero shooter Overwatch is coming to the Switch. It’ll be out next month. Word on this one comes from a couple of retail leaks, and we’ve confirmed its veracity with two of our own sources. Last month, Amazon accidentally spilled the beans on an…
By Jason Schreier Published September 4, 2019 -
CultureNew Overwatch Custom Mode Turns Sigma Into A Dodgeball Player
If you think about it, Overwatch’s new hero, Sigma, is kinda like a schoolkid—by which I mean he’s slow, and he likes to throw rocks. This, obviously, makes him an ideal competitor for a large-scale game of dodgeball. Overwatch player Pug has created a custom mode called “Sigma Dodgeball” (code: 0V80F), in which two teams…
By Nathan Grayson Published August 16, 2019 -
Overwatch‘s Latest Update Redeems The Game’s Competitive Mode
Earlier this week, publisher Blizzard instituted a new rule of law in the game’s competitive mode: Teams shall be comprised of two tanks, two supports and two damage-dealers, and each role shall be ranked separately. It’s a rule I long-hoped Overwatch would implement, and right now, it is breathing new life into the game. Even…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published August 15, 2019 -
EsportsOverwatch League’s Role Lock Changes Still Can’t Please Fans
Overwatch League fans asked for change, and they got it. The season’s fourth stage kicked off three weeks ago with the introduction of a 2-2-2 role lock that requires teams to be made up of two tanks, two DPS heroes, and two supports. This change would finally put the long-reviled “GOATS” meta, which involves three…
By Nathan Grayson Published August 13, 2019 -
CultureSigma’s New ‘Asylum’ Skin Raises Concerns About Overwatch‘s Handling Of Mental-Illness Tropes
Overwatch’s newest hero, Sigma, was introduced to the world on a gurney. Though the video was purposefully non-linear, Sigma had suffered a mental breakdown after attempting to harness the power of a black hole. He hollered half-coherently while being wheeled through what appeared to be a psychiatric facility: “Hold it together, hold it together!” Since…
By Nathan Grayson Published August 2, 2019 -
CultureIf Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy Was In Overwatch
Ladislas Gueros is an artist based in Canada, and this is his idea on how Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy would look as a guest-starring Overwatch character. Like Hanzo, basically, only less annoying. You can see more of Gueros’ stuff at his ArtStation page
By Luke Plunkett Published July 25, 2019 -
CultureSigma Is Tearing Up The Overwatch Playbook
Sigma, Overwatch’s newest hero, has descended onto the PC public test server, and already, he’s making a craterous impact. The gravity-manipulating tank has an ult of otherworldly power, but ultimately, it hinges on a simple principle: What goes up must come down. Players are using it to pull off some absolutely devious plays. When people…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 24, 2019 -
CultureThe Internet Reacts To Overwatch‘s Sigma (And His Feet)
So the new Overwatch character is a scientist? And he got feet? The fact that Sigma, the new mad scientist of Overwatch, is not wearing shoes did not escape anyone’s notice. In fact, the internet is talking about it a lot. Meanwhile, a Blizzard character artist’s explanation that Sigma is barefoot to “sell the ‘asylum’…
By Gita Jackson Published July 24, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsOverwatch‘s New Hero Sigma Is Slow But Scary
What would you do if you could control gravity? Would you float everywhere? Hurl boulders at people? Yell all the time about a mysterious melody that haunts your every semi-lucid moment? Overwatch’s newest hero, the unhinged, accidentally evil astrophysicist Sigma, can do all of that and more. He’s fun to play, but he definitely takes…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 23, 2019