Overwatch Has Made Me Love Multiplayer Again

When it comes to defense heroes, no one has the potential to rack up kills quite like Torbjörn, the bearded Scottish turret-builder. Armed with the Rivet Gun and the Forge Hammer, Torbjörn is the type of character that requires a small amount of practice to master, but once you understand his mechanics, you really understand his mechanics, so to speak. His main weapon, the Rivet Gun, sports two distinct firing methods. The first is a medium-to-long range single projectile that has a slight arc to it, though it still is highly accurate considering its relatively strong damage output. Torbjörn's secondary firing method functions similarly to a shotgun, firing shrapnel over a short distance with a moderate spread. As you can probably guess, using the primary firing method at a distance and the secondary firing method at close range is going to net you the most damage and kills.


Heroes of the Storm is bringing back the Heroes Brawl as Brawl Mode, opening up dozens of discontinued maps for the first time in almost five years. This new version of the classic Heroes Brawl game mode is available to play on the Heroes of the Storm Public Test Realm now and will ostensibly officially return when the patch goes live in about a mo

Zenyatta's two core abilities are remarkably similar to one another, though they have completely opposite effects. The Orb of Harmony can be thrown onto any ally in the area, and so long as they remain in sight of Zenyatta, they will become the recipients of non-stop healing. However, there can only be one player sporting an Orb of Harmony at any given time, so if you decide to heal another player, this will result in the first orb disappearing. This ability is fantastic for when you need to keep your tank healthy, maintain an ally's health during their ultimate or when a big push is on the horizon. Conversely, the Orb of Discord can be passed onto a single enemy, and while they are in Zenyatta's line of sight, they will receive extra damage from all incoming attacks. If you ever encounter a foe who is wrecking your entire team, or if you simply are looking to take out a tank or pesky sniper, this might just be the best ability for the job. Finally, Zenyatta's ultimate, Transcendence, only lasts for a couple of seconds, but can make the difference between a successful push to victory and a blind bum-rush. For a few seconds, Transcendence makes Zenyatta completely invulnerable and heals all of the enemies in the surrounding area. If you're looking to win an overtime period, this is one of the strongest tools at your disposal, despite the fact that it doesn't do any direct damage.

The thing is, playing nearly one-thousand hours of Modern Warfare 2 during my freshman year of college (sorry mom) burned me out on multiplayer games for a long time. Make no mistake, I've loved a great deal of multiplayer games over the years, but they always seem to either only stick with me during the first couple of weeks or fade out of my consciousness after I submit a review. Granted, this is partially due to the perils of being a multi-platform gamer with single-platform friends, yet there hasn't really been a multiplayer game since 2009 that has burrowed into my brain quite like Infinity Ward's last great game.

Despite what my love of recent independent titles like Hyper Light Drifter , Firewatch and The Banner Saga 2 might suggest, I have a strong history with games of a more bombastic persuasion. My most played game of all time, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, found a way to capitalize on the combination of my love for multiplayer chaos and my susceptibility to addictive feedback loops. Granted, I would never claim that Modern Warfare 2 is some sort of godlike game, but there was something about its complete lack of balance and downright brilliant map design that tapped into a very specific portion of my mind.

Mei's first core ability, Cryo-Freeze, encases her in a chunk of ice, both protecting her from further damage and healing any missing health over time. It's imperative that any Mei players keep this ability ready to go for whenever she is close to death, as it can essentially become a 'Get out of jail free' card during particularly brutal battles. Her second ability, Ice Wall, is one of the most iconic hero abilities in Overwatch Patch Notes, and you've almost certainly come across it dozens of times during your time on the battlefield. This ability allows Mei to place a massive wall of ice (pretty self-explanatory) onto the battlefield, which impedes enemy progress and can save a great deal of lives. If you find yourself capturing an objective and want to give your team a bit of extra breathing room, this is a sensational battle-forcing ability. Finally, her ultimate, Blizzard, is a large area-of-effect ability that functions similarly to the primary firing method on the Endothermic Blaster, only in a much larger circular area. Not only does this do damage over time, but it can freeze enemies entirely, making it really simple for your teammates to come in and finish off the job.