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Overwatch hands-on gameplay impressions
It's almost standard for us to say a Blizzard title feels ready for launch immediately after its debut. The company rarely shows off a title prematurely, waiting until the game feels good before they even publicly announce the project. Overwatch feels much the same. If it launched today, it would be received as a fun, solid game, if small in scope. The UI feels complete, a simplistic approach that works well for this sort of game. All necessary information is provided in a clean, slick HUD that draws no attention to itself. In my (admittedly brief) play session, the gunplay and ability usage felt intuitive, taking me only a few moments to get a feel for the controls. The only hitch came from my lack of map knowledge, something that can't be gleaned in its entirety in just a few frenetic matches. However, the playable maps were small -- surprisingly small, even -- and it's unlikely hundreds of hours of play will be necessary to understand every hiding spot and back alley of the game.
Overwatch beta starts in 2015, sign-ups now live
Overwatch, Blizzard's freshly-unveiled team-based shooter, is currently playable in Anaheim for the duration of BlizzCon 2014. If you couldn't make it to this year's celebration of all things Blizzard though, there's still hope; sign-ups for the Overwatch beta are live, and all you need is an active Battle.net account. Simply head over to the official Overwatch site and click the big yellow button that says "beta," login with your Bnet account and boom! Done. As for when you can expect to take Blizzard's stylized sci-fi(-ish) shooter for a spin, Blizzard announced that a beta would take place in 2015, but when specifically within that year it'll happen has yet to be revealed. Still, couldn't hurt to put your name in early, right? [Image: Blizzard]
BlizzCon Overwatch Origins liveblog
The Overwatch Origins panel will begin at 11:30 a.m. Pacific. The BlizzCon schedule provides the following description: Supercharged heroes, astonishing super-science, and super-secret syndicates with mysterious agendas -- witness the origin story of Blizzard's first all-new game universe in over 15 years, and explore the vision behind the world and gameplay of Overwatch. We'll be liveblogging the whole panel right here. Updates will be in reverse-chronological order, with newest updates at the top of the page. If you only want the latest update, you can stay near the top. If you missed the beginning of the panel, scroll to the bottom.
BlizzCon 2014 day 1 recap
The first day of BlizzCon is behind us. Blizzard's new IP Overwatch has stolen the headlines, but it isn't all that happened today. Below is all of WoW Insider's day one coverage. Make sure you didn't miss anything delicious! Opening ceremony liveblog Hearthstone's Goblins vs Gnomes expansion announced Blizzard announces new franchise: Overwatch New World of Warcraft charity pet announced for ebola relief efforts Overwatch Unveiled liveblog Warcraft Movie panel Overwatch cinematic and gameplay trailers World of Warcraft Items, Class Changes, and More liveblog The heroes of Overwatch Heroes of the Storm panel recap Hearthstone: Goblins vs Gnomes cards and mechanics WoW Insider's coverage will continue on day 2, opening with a liveblog of the Overwatch Origins panel and hands-on reports of Overwatch and other titles. Hope to see you there!
The heroes of Overwatch
Blizzard has unveiled the first 12 heroes of Overwatch, their newly announced 6v6 multiplayer shooter. Each hero fills one of the 4 roles -- Offense, Defense, Tank, and Support. The goal is to provide gameplay options for all types of players, not just those who enjoy the traditional twitch gameplay of shooters. It's also worth noting that with each life you are able to switch your hero. You are not locked in to one hero for the entirety of the match. Check out our gallery above, and a full list of the 12 heroes by role after the break.
Overwatch cinematic and gameplay trailers, sign up for beta
The official site for Blizzard's newly announced multiplayer team shooter, Overwatch, is now live. With it comes the cinematic and gameplay videos from BlizzCon. In addition, the site features detailed profiles of all the game's heroes, including lists of their abilities. There's also information on roles, gameplay modes, and more. You can also opt in to the beta, which is set to begin in 2015. Overwatch is playable on the floor at BlizzCon, which makes me hopeful that the beta will start sooner in 2015 rather than later. The cinematic announcement trailer is embedded above, and you'll find the gameplay trailer after the break. For more information on Overwatch, check out our liveblog of the Overwatch Unveiled panel.
BlizzCon 2014: Liveblogging the Overwatch panel
If you wanted to sit down and watch the opening panel for BlizzCon 2014, you could without any need for a virtual ticket. If you wanted to watch the Overwatch panel announced shortly after they announced Overwatch itself... well, you can't do that. But if you have the ticket, you can, and you can always just catch up as I blog information about the game down in the comments. As before, important information will be revealed past the break as I post things. So, is Overwatch the redone version of Titan? (Almost certainly.) Is it more than just Blizzard's version of Team Fortress 2? (Um.) Find out down there in the comments and find the collected information past the break! BlizzCon returns to Anaheim during the weekend of November 7th and 8th, 2014! Whether you're anticipating World of Warcraft's Warlords of Draenor expansion or the latest news from Diablo III, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm, we aim to have it covered!
Blizzard's next game is 'Overwatch,' an online superhero shooter
Blizzard is breaking out of its role-playing and strategy niches in a big, big way. The game developer has just unveiled Overwatch, a superhero-focused, team-based multiplayer shooter. Details of how it works are scarce, but it's definitely more lighthearted than the likes of Diablo. Think of it as a cross between Team Fortress 2 and The Incredibles, with an added emphasis on high-tech weaponry. Blizzard isn't talking release dates or platforms, but a release is "nearer than you think." BlizzCon attendees will try an early version of Overwatch, and a beta test is due in 2015 -- unlike Titan, there's a good chance you'll get to play this yourself. Itching for just a little more? Peep the BlizzCon trailer after the break!
BlizzCon 2014: Blizzard takes on superheroes with Overwatch
Blizzard announced its newest game today at BlizzCon -- and it might just make you forget all about Titan. The game is Overwatch, a superhero-themed "team-based multiplayer shooter" that is very reminiscent of Team Fortress 2. The studio revealed the new title with a pair of trailers, one giving a Pixar-esque introduction to the world and the other showing off in-game footage. Blizzard said that Overwatch will be "very approachable" for audiences. So when is Overwatch coming out? "It is nearer than you think," teased Chris Metzen, following that with news that the beta is coming in 2015 and the title will be playable at this week's convention.
Trademark filings hint at possible Hearthstone expansions
Gamers love to speculate about expansion titles, and with good cause. If an expansion is titled The Battle for the Southern Ridge, well, you can be pretty sure there will be some fighting and you'll be on the southern ridge. If it's titled Steve Gets a Subpoena, you look for a character named steve. This is why particular attention has been paid to two new trademark filings by Blizzard, both of which seem like perfect titles for an upcoming Hearthstone expansion. The names in question are "Eye of Azshara" and "Overwatch." While the latter could apply to many games, the former seems quite clearly aimed at either World of Warcraft or Hearthstone, and it seems even more unlikely that the company would announce the next expansion for World of Warcraft as players are still waiting for Warlords of Draenor. Is it a red herring or harbinger of things to come? We'll know more when BlizzCon takes place later this week.
Overwatch: a smartphone app that makes airsoft more like a video game
Prefer the physical activity (and force feedback) airsoft, paintball and laser tag provide, but miss the peripheral luxuries of the virtual battlefield? Well, now you can have both -- we found a new app at TechCrunch Disrupt makes physical warfare games a lot more like video games. It's called Overwatch, and it gives any player with access to an Android or iOS device access to player stats, live voice-chat, in-game perks and controllable game modes. One feature stands out in particular, however: real-time GPS-radar mapping the locations of all players on the field.
Blizzard registers "Overwatch" trademark?
We've heard from various recent news sources that Blizzard has registered a new trademark. Of course, we recognize the scepticism, following last years incidents with The Dark Below and the associated silliness, but let's take a cautious look at this one. The trademark is "Overwatch", a term usually used to denote small, supporting military units. Blizzard hired Left 4 Dead developer Michael Booth last year, and it seems like he is directing a small project, with a similar team size to Hearthstone, that isn't Titan. There have been various job listings for positions with this new project, some of which talk about multiplayer experiences and maps. Now this might all be nonsense, but perhaps it points to a new military-styled game coming out of Irvine. There has long been speculation that Blizzard's next franchise would be a shooter, but with Titan ostensibly on the shelf for now, could this new small team production be that game? We're understandably cautious in our presentation of this information, but it's certainly interesting.
Counter-Strike: GO lets community police itself with Overwatch
Valve has introduced a new community discipline program for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that it calls "Overwatch," designed to let players govern themselves when it comes to problem behavior. Overwatch will deputize some players as "investigators" (based on stats like wins and hours played), who are then given a replay of a match from a reported player, and asked to rule on whether "the suspect" was cheating, griefing, or if there's "insufficient evidence" to rule. Once a collective verdict is reached, Valve will then determine if a ban needs to be given, and investigators will be rewarded if their judgments all agree. The process sounds very much like League of Legends' Tribunal program, which Riot Games has been using recently to try and cure that game of toxic player behavior. Valve says the system is currently in beta, and that it will be adding test cases to make sure the program works correctly. Eventually, however, the plan is to make Overwatch completely driven by the community.
PSA: Modern Warfare 3 fires off 'Content Collection #1' on PSN today
Patient PS3 players can now purchase the first DLC dump for Modern Warfare 3. Non-premium Call of Duty Elite members and stock Modern Warfare 3 players can now download Content Collection #1, which includes a smattering of multiplayer maps and a pair of Spec Ops missions.Content Collection #1 can be downloaded on PSN right now for $14.99. Within it you'll find multiplayer maps Overwatch, Liberation, Piazza and Black Box – plus Spec Ops missions Black Ice and Negotiator.
Overwatch drops on Modern Warfare 3 PS3 March 29; Black Ice, Black Box and Negotiator 'on or around April 12'
PS3 players, you've got some new maps coming your way over the next 30 days. One of Swords reports that Overwatch is set to drop on Modern Warfare 3 PS3 on March 29. It'll be available to premium subscribers of the Call of Duty Elite service on PS3.Then, the multiplayer map Black Box, and two Spec Ops maps, Black Ice and Negotiator, will come to PS3 "on or around April 12." We recently got our hands on those maps, which we wrote about here.If you're wondering about the vague date, it's because the time for posting the DLC on the PlayStation Network is up to Sony -- it could go live in the morning, or it could go live late at night.
PSA: Modern Warfare 3 'Overwatch' out today [update]
Activision is dropping the next Call of Duty Elite content pack for Modern Warfare 3 in Overwatch, a rooftop map for the game's multiplayer component. If you'd like to take a peek at that map, we've dropped the latest trailer just above. The Overwatch DLC map for MW3 is exclusive to 360 for a limited time.%Gallery-146713%
Modern Warfare 3's 'Overwatch' map DLC kills you before you fall 70 stories
We're just gonna tell you up front: you're gonna wanna skip to about 50 seconds into this trailer before you see any gameplay featuring Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's "Overwatch" map in action. And you're gonna want to do that, as the first part is just Rob Riggle talking total nonsense. But the map part? Aces.
MW3's next DLC drops from a skyscraper onto Xbox Elite members on Feb. 21
Call of Duty Elite premium members playing Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Live will receive the next batch of DLC, Overwatch, on February 21. Overwatch puts players in a construction site at the top of a New York City skyscraper, with a very real chance of dropping 70 feet to the sidewalk as an added risk. If you have trouble visualizing that, check out the gallery below.The previous batch of downloadable content, Liberation and Piazza, is set to launch on PSN on February 28, having come out on Xbox Live in January, all in accordance with MW3's exclusivity deal with Microsoft. The next three batches of MW3 DLC will drop in March for Xbox premium members and will include the multiplayer map Black Box and two new Special Ops missions, Black Ice and Negotiator.%Gallery-146713%
Captain's Log: Class spotlight - Tactical
Captain's Log, Stardate 65168.1... Hello, computer (and players)! Welcome to Captain's Log and the second installment in a three-part series focusing on the classes within Star Trek Online. After exploring some of the amazing powers available to those who roll a Science captain, we shift our focus away from support and healing this week to dive into the realm of DPS. While this realm can be filled with members of all three classes, Tactical captains, if specced correctly, take the trophy each and every time. Ever since the game launched early last year, my main toon has always been a Tactical captain. During the time I leveled up, I tested out different types of ships at each rank. While flying a science ship as a Tactical captain was fun during the early stages of leveling, I would definitely suggest flying an escort, or if you must, a cruiser, when you first make it to Rear Admiral. I am sure there are some Tacticals out there flying Science classes, but I feel that the Bridge Officer stations equipped on escorts allow the best Tactical abilities to come into play. But enough about telling you what to do -- let's move onto talking about some of the best attack powers in the game. Ensign, warp 10! It's time to help our reads unload some DPS on their next enemy...
Operation Flashpoint 'Overwatch' DLC on Xbox 360 today, PS3 & PC 'soon'
The second wave of DLC has finally deployed for Codies' Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising on Xbox Live Marketplace, and where the first pack focused on more team-based content, this new DLC addition, dubbed "Overwatch," is -- uh, actually, it's more multiplayer stuff. It's kinda this game's thing, you know? Overwatch adds two new multiplayer modes: Blindside and Supremacy. In the former, PLA players are tasked with accomplishing goals as quickly as possible, while the USMC players are charged with preventing the PLA team from achieving said goals. Supremacy pits players in a race to capture strategic checkpoints featuring "multipliers," including gun emplacements and air strikes. And, just like the Skirmish DLC before it, Overwatch also packs two new Fire Team Engagement missions to play though: Friendly Skies and Hostile Takeover. You can get the new DLC on Xbox 360 today for 400 ($5) -- PS3 players ($4.99) and PC gamers (free download) will have access "soon."
