Overwatch 2 Review - Terrible sequel, though thankfully a terrific game
- By Ash
- in Reviews
[Update]: I'm afraid I have some bad news. Overwatch 2 will be drastically downscaling the scope and amount of its long-awaited PvE missions.
When Blizzard first announced Overwatch 2 back in 2019, their vision for the game included a plethora of co-op focused missions that would finally let us learn more about the world and its characters, an MMO-style talent tree to help us customize each hero and their playstyle to our liking, as well as more of everything we've come to know and love from the original game. It was exactly what me and a majority of the playerbase were asking for ever since the first PvE event arrived alongside the Halloween Terror update, so how could this possibly go wrong?
Well, as it turns out, in a myriad of ways as the freshly released version of Overwatch 2 is not even close to what was promised three years ago. It can barely even be considered an expansion, let alone a sequel, as all it really brings to the table is three new heroes, a new game mode alongside a couple of new maps, a new monetization system and an assortment of balance changes - all stuff that we could've received through the usual seasonal updates had Blizzard not prematurely abandoned the game.
Yet despite the disappointing amount of new content, I still found myself falling in love with Overwatch 2 as the core gameplay is so incredibly polished and varied that it's hard to stop playing once you really get into it! So if you're curious about what exactly makes Overwatch 2 so enthralling, as well as how it all compares to the original, allow me to share with you my thoughts after quite a few hours of exploring all of its game modes and characters.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero has now landed onto PC alongside numerous improvements
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure will be following suit and launching onto PC, PlayStation and Switch on March 14, 2023.
Given the rising popularity of The Legend of Heroes series in the west, it should come as little surprise to hear that NIS America and Nihon Falcom have started going through their back catalogue in order to bring the rest of the series to PC and modern consoles. As such, the previously PlayStation Portable exclusive The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero has now been re-released for PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch alongside an English translation.
The new version of Trails from Zero also brings with it a variety of visual enhancements, an improved UI that comes with customization options, increased draw distance, support for 144 FPS, and the list goes on. Most importantly, Trails from Zero has added some extremely welcome quality-of-life features like a message log to help you keep track of everything and a high speed mode to help you get through some of the more tedious sections.
Moonscars is grim and dreary, yet still highly atmospheric Souls-like Metroidvania
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
If you're in the mood for slicing and dicing your way through hordes of enemies as you explore a nonlinear 2D world, you might want to take a peek at the recently released Moonscars. To put it quite simply, it's a grim and dreary yet highly atmospheric Souls-like Metroidvania that will task you with overcoming countless challenges in an effort to save yourself from the relentless darkness.
What all of this looks like in actual gameplay, however, that you can get a pretty good idea of through the launch trailer below. Have a gander, it's a rather stylish one:
MTG Arena's Alchemy: Dominaria mini-expansion has arrived with 30 new cards and Historic 'unrebalances'
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: MTG Arena is getting a whole bunch of new cards on December 13th with Explorer Anthology 2 and Alchemy: The Brother's War.
[Update]: MTG Arena's big artifact focused expansion The Brother's War is launching on November 15th.
After a brief round of teasers, MTG Arena's Alchemy: Dominaria mini-expansion has now arrived. It brings with it thirty new cards to mess around with, many of which have been designed to complement previously underpowered or simply underutilized mechanics. Naturally, there's a bunch of entirely new ideas in the mix as well, the most exciting of which is Oracle of the Alpha that conjures and shuffles the entire Power 9 into your library!
You can check out the full list of cards, all neatly sorted by color, over at the MTG website. And if you would like to kickstart your collection, make sure to enter the currently ongoing free event that offers three packs, as well as to put in the "PlayDMUAlchemy" code in the in-game store for another batch of freebies.
Overwatch 2 is removing the phone number requirement for all veteran players
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: As a small apology for the post-launch problems, Overwatch 2 is giving away a Legendary skin and planning double XP weekends
[Update]: My Overwatch 2 review is now out, and to put it simply it's a terrible sequel, though thankfully a terrific game!
As a part of its anti-cheating and anti-smurfing plan, Overwatch 2 made it so all players must link a phone number to their account in order to play. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a bit of a mess as some phone carriers throughout the world didn't seem to fit into Blizzard's plans, and so a large swathe of players was left unable to explore Overwatch 2.
In an effort to correct this, at least partially, Blizzard will be removing the phone number requirement for veteran players later today. What this means is that any Overwatch player with a connected BattleNet account, and this includes everyone who played since June 9, 2021, will be able to simply dive into Overwatch 2 without having to do anything else.
Following some rough previews, Company of Heroes 3 has now been delayed to February 23rd, 2023
- By Ash
- in News
As you've most likely noticed throughout the recent previews, Company of Heroes 3 was looking somewhat rough around the edges. With the November release date fast approaching, there was genuine concern that Relic would push the game out too quickly and that we'd end up with another Dawn of War 3 situation. Thankfully, it looks like that won't be happening as Relic has just announced that they're going to leave Company of Heroes 3 in the oven for a few extra months to ensure it launches in as finished and polished of a state as possible.
"As we approach the November 17th launch date for Company of Heroes 3, our team has decided the game is not quite up to our players' or our own high standards," reads the brief update. "There are still bugs to squad, pixels to polish, gameplay to adjust and feedback to address.
After an eternity of waiting, Overwatch 2 has now finally launched as a free-to-play game
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: My Overwatch 2 review is now out, and to put it simply it's a terrible sequel, though thankfully a terrific game!
[Update]: Overwatch 2 is removing the phone number requirement for all veteran players.
It took far longer than anyone could've ever expected, but Overwatch 2 has now finally been unleashed. The free-to-play sequel brings with it three new heroes to mess around with, a brand new game mode and a variety of new maps to explore, a Battle Pass and in-game store combo instead of loot boxes, and most importantly of all, 5v5 matches with only one super-powered tank on each side!
What all of these maps and heroes look like in action, that you can get a pretty good idea of through the launch trailer below. Have a gander: