For Shame, For Honor

Torn. It's a perfect word to describe my feelings on For Honor. When I'm not lagging out of a match or getting destroyed by an opponent (including bots?!) who spams the guard break, I enjoy the game. When I'm playing the average--but appreciated, given the lack of single player modes in most online-focused games lately--I'm enjoying the game for what it is.

However, the game has so many issues that it often seems like it doesn't want you to enjoy it. For example: yesterday, I played 10 matches with friends online. I attempted to play 15 matches. In other words, at least one of us lagged out in nearly a third of our attempted matches.

Gear levels also do a great job of quickly unbalancing the game. At least the game tells you that the other team has better gear that you right away, so you can process and come to terms with your imminent death. Or you can leave the match. I won't judge.

I haven't been so frustrated with a game's multiplayer since Gears of War 2. Interestingly, Gears 2 multiplayer is one of my favorite multiplayer games ever. I can't say the same about For Honor. Like Gears 2, the moment-to-moment gameplay is generally intense and a cause for anxiety super frustrating. The high-stakes feel of each duel makes the game's flaws stand out even more. Constant lag (peer-to-peer match hosting in 2017?), cheap tactics and some of the least helpful tutorials ever made make playing the game a pain at times.

Seriously, the game does a terrible job at explaining its mechanics and systems to you. I haven't had to look outside of a game to find information on the game I'm playing since Destiny. It's that bad.

Now, I don't think it's a bad game. It's tough, but I imagine it feels good to master a character--I wouldn't know, I suck--because the learning curve is so steep. It does something so new that it's worth playing just to test the experience. But for anyone who values their sanity or has blood-pressure issues, they may want to look elsewhere.

Almighty Overwatch

Overwatch is a beautiful thing. In so many ways, it takes the things I love about multiplayer shooters and mixes them up with things I hate about playing online. Despite getting as frustrated with the game as I did with Gears of War 2 online, I still can't put the game down almost a year after its release. If that isn't the sign of a good game (or that I like to punish myself), then I don't know what is.

The problem I have with Overwatch--really any objective based multiplayer game--is teammates. If they're not picking useless characters, they're not playing the objective. Now, I know I'm not in a place of power or skill where I can tell people who to play as. Everyone just wants to have fun with their favorite characters. I get that. But no, we DON'T need a Hanzo and a Widowmaker while we are on the attacking side. Few things are as disheartening as breaking through enemy lines, getting to the point, holding your own and taking down a few enemies only to see four teammates fighting on the other end of the map.

NOTE: I don't think I'm above this type of issue. I'll occasionally get wrapped up in killing a guy and lose focus of the objective. I don't do it too often, but I'm still working on it. As Hannah Montana once said: "Nobody's perfect."

Despite the problems that occur within Overwatch, the core gameplay and the uniqueness of each character make the game almost impossible to quit. Every character is usable in certain situations, and the speed of each game means that you'll never be stuck with a losing team for too long.

I think the thing that makes Overwatch easy to get into is that the game never explicitly tells you your kills-to-death ratio. By showing eliminations, you'll always feel like you're contributing in some way to the cause. The events also offer enough new skins to make me want to go back to earn them. Overwatch is here to stay, and we are all better off for it.