LONG BLOG
The Overwatch Double Standard.
Today we're gonna compare Overwatch to a game. Not Battleborn, that's been done to death, this is a game even more far removed than those two. (Let's be honest, if you've played both of those games they're really not very similar at all.) No, instead today we're going to compare Overwatch with Street Fighter V. Two games I personally particularly love. Yes, before we go any further make note of that. I LOVE both of these games.
However, as anyone who frequents this site knows....SFV gets shit on around every corner for lack of content at launch and acusations of releasing in a half-assed state. And it will continue to live within that reputation even a year from now after it has added more modes, stages and characters, it doesn't matter. The internet has spoken. Nevermind the fact that the game has quickly became a flat out amazing competeitive fighting game and just continues to improve in that regard. But instead the internet would rather focus on it's lack of single player content.
Fair enough, I've learend that some people buy these games at launch strictly to play through an arcade mode and against the CPU. It doesn't make sense to me, however when you buy a game you play it however the hell you want to play it, that's fair. And for those I can understand disappointment, even if I don't understand the mentality behind it. But that's all well documented here and everywhere else online.
So let's discuss Overwatch. How about that open beta? It's been fantastic, hasn't it? Did you catch that bit from Blizzard that what you've been currently playing in that beta is exactly the content you'll be getting at launch? Man...there's really not much to the full release then...is there? I mean, yeah the game controls well, looks great, has awesome characters and is fun...but damn...there's really not much there. Hmm...sort of like another game about fighting in the street that released this year. In fact there's even far LESS content than that street fighting game...
I mean, that's ok there's enough meat there to still have a good time. And everyone loves it, so it's ok, right!? But why is it ok for Overwatch and not for Street Fighter V? I mean, let's look at that content. You have quickplay which cycles through 3-4 gameplay mode variations randomly, you have custom match to play and you have mystery heroes. That's that. The game won't even launch with ranked play.
Again, I love the game and I'm buying it at launch, just as I did for SFV. I'm ok with these facts, as I guess tons of others are as well for Overwatch. But I have to ask again, why is ok for Overwatch but generates absolute scorn for Street Fighter V? Is it because SFV forces you to buy a season pass? Nope, you can quite easily earn 3 of the 6 upcoming DLC characters within the first WEEK of playing the game and then still have plenty of time to save up for the rest. Is it because the cast is unblanced? Nope, it's actually so far been one of the best balanced fighters Capcom has ever released. Is it because the cast isn't diverse enough? Nope, for probably the first time EVER in a Capcom fighter there are no clone characters, even Ryu and Ken play drastically differently here. Is it because the game has a lousy, dying competitive scene? Nope, the game is blowing up in the compeitive scene and is continuing to grow by the day with events happening all over the world almost every single weekend, not even including small tournaments.
Oh, that's right it's because the game didn't have a Vs. CPU mode or an Arcade mode. Nevermind the fact that Overwatch has no single player content whatsoever, no story mode, nothing. But that's ok! But again...why is it ok for Overwatch and not for SFV? Because almost every fighting game has had an arcade mode in the past? Well, haven't most all FPS games too? Oh, but Overwatch isn't meant for that, it's meant strictly as a competitive experience. Well...so is SFV. But then I hear the argument, but not everyone is a competeitive fighting game player. Well what if I just wanted to play through a story with the awesome Overwatch characters?
Look, when you really break it al down its one and the same. Overwatch thus far is a fantastic game and deserving of the praise it gets. But so is Street Fighter V. As a competitive fighter is absolutely top notch. You know why people aren't noticing what Overwatch is missing and enjoying it so much? Because they weren't looking for a reason to dislike it and instead were focused on what the game does well and does right rather than what it doesn't feature. People are enjoying what Overwatch has instead of focusing on what it doesn't have. The exact opposite of Street Fighter V. If you view SFV in the same light it delivers in spades. But instead the focus is only ever on what features it doesn't have, rather than how well it handles what it does feature.
Unfortunately this is a common thing these days in gaming. And so is the double standard mentioned here today with the case of Overwatch and SFV. Step back, enjoy your games for what they offer. Quit expecting every game that releases to check off a list for it's genre. Does Overwatch feature an awesome, lengthy story mode? Nope, but it certainly brings a lot of addicting fun and charm to the table. Does Street Fighter have an amazingly fleshed out catalogue of single player modes? Nope, but it has one of the most refined, nuanced and well structured competitive platforms out there right now for it's genre.
Just enjoy your time playing games, man. A game doesn't have to be bad for some features it doesn't have if what it DOES have is excellent. Overwatch proves this, but really, SFV already did, people just weren't willing to see it. This isn't to say you can't be upset that a game is severely lacking in content. A good example of this is The Order. The game lacked in content and substances, and aside from looking amazing really didn't do ANYTHING above a level of mediocrity. Yeah, that's fair to be upset about that. It's not a case of the game missing some features but knocking what it DOES have out of the park...because it didn't do the latter. And then there's the issue that in this day and age so many people have their minds made up to dislike something before even trying it, no matter how it turns out. but that's for another blog entry, and one I'd like to touch on in the near future, one that will probably involve the recently released Battleborn. So...you can look forward to disagreeing with me on that one soon.
Regardless, go enjoy yourselves. But if we're gonna talk about soemthing that's a bummer with the Overwatch beta can it be how crushing it is that I got that badass legendary tier Roadhog (My favorite character) skin from a loot box and know full well that it won't carry over into the full release? Man...crushing.
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