Summary
Overwatch 2 is a first-person shooter game developed by Blizzard Entertainment that has become one of the most popular games played today. Overwatch became popular because of its well-polished gameplay, a large and varied cast of heroes, bright and appealing graphics, and a strong focus on team-based strategy. Overwatch 2 keeps gameplay interesting with regular updates introducing new characters, customizations, maps, and themed events to keep everyone on the edge of their seats! There is a great balance between easy casual mode and difficult competitive making it appeal to all types of different gamers, so both casual and serious players can enjoy it. As Overwatch 2 is usually played online with others and contains moderate violence and bad language the standard rating is set at ages 12 and up. But if your child is mature and an experienced gamer, we would say that 10 year old's could safely play Overwatch 2 if the voice and text chat settings are managed.
You can play Overwatch on the PlayStation 5, the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch, the Xbox One, Windows PC, and the Xbox Series X and Series S. Cross-play also lets friends who play on different platforms/consoles play together meaning there are no limitations and it doesn't matter what console you own the game on you can still play with your friends. Overwatch 2 does require a lot of quick thinking and knowledge of the different types of characters and roles throughout the game so younger kids might have trouble at first.
Gameplay
In Overwatch 2, players work together to complete different objectives which can involve either PvP (player versus player) or PvE (player versus environment/ or bots). In the PvP mode players generally play 'Quick Match' where there are different maps and objectives to complete successfully to win. In this mode, the two teams are made up of 5 characters per team and each has a specific role. The roles are; Tank, Damage, and Support. Each team will have 1 tank, 2 damage and 2 support to try to balance the teams as much as possible. Throughout the gameplay, you can change your character as long as you stay in your set role making for amazing strategy changes if you struggling in a game! One play-through of quick match will generally take around 10-15minutes. If you are really confident you can take on the Competitive mode which is where you play to earn your way through the rankings against others. The Competitive matches will generally take around 15-30 minutes to complete. The gameplay is exactly the same as quick match, but the stakes are so much higher!
In PvE mode, players take part in difficult story-driven missions that will help them improve their skills and gain access to new hero powers. With new maps and heroes, the intense PvP battles keep going, giving players a lot of chances to fight strategically as a team. PvE games will also take around 20-30 minutes making it a longer option, but just as fun. At the moment there are limited free missions available and you may need to purchase missions to play the whole story. If you are not keen on playing seriously and just enjoy running around and taking it easy, there is the option to play in Training mode. Here you can either play against the computer, or, try out the shooting range to practice and improve on your skills. Overall, there are plenty of options to keep any level of gamer happy and enjoy the game!
Education
In addition to being fun, playing Overwatch 2 can help you learn in many ways. This first-person shooter game that you play with other people helps you develop important skills like conversation, teamwork, and strategic thinking. The game is so fast paced that you need to communicate otherwise you will be left behind! Players also learn to adapt and make quick choices, which helps them learn how to solve problems. During the game, you can even switch out characters depending on what each situation needs. Learning the strategies and practicing to make quick decisions really helps to sharpen young player's minds.
Overwatch 2 is especially famous for its diverse group of heroes. They include many heroes of a diverse range whether it's their appearance, race, culture, or sexuality. This really helps to not only teach inclusivity, but also promote it. This makes people value differences and different ways of playing, which promotes tolerance and understanding.
Violence/ Adult Themes
In Overwatch 2, the main theme of the game is that you are fighting the enemy. So with this, comes a bit of violence to be wary about. Players use a variety of firearms (e.g., pistols, machine guns), arrows, and futuristic weapons (e.g., laser blasters) to attack enemies. However, the violence is cartoon stylized. There is no gore or very minimal blood, each character has a bar on top of their names which you can see go down when they take damage. You may just see some red around your screen if you take a lot of damage or when your health is low. When a character dies, they simply fall to the ground. The violence in the game isn't graphic or real and wouldn't be distressing even for younger players.
When it comes to language, Overwatch is known for having a family-friendly atmosphere with not a lot of rude or explicit material. There is some light language in the game, but it is kept at a level that is appropriate for most people. If this is too much of an issue, there is a mature language filter in the settings menu where you can turn it to friendly to stop anything inappropriate from coming through.
There are a lot of different types of skin selections for characters and some are known to be more revealing than others. It's important to know that important 'bits' are covered and not showing at any time. There are also depictions of tobacco smoked by a hero in particular, but the game is certainly not advertising it. Also, because the gameplay is so quick and intense, it is the last thing you would even be concerned about!
Monetization
Overwatch 2 is free to download through the developer Blizzard Entertainment on PC and available through the store on all consoles. Once you have downloaded the game, you have access to the majority of the game. You will, however, not have access to all the playable characters, their customizations and some special payable only mission modes. These will need to be earned either through gameplay, completing missions, battle pass, or purchasing them in the store. Even though you will have to work your way to get some parts of the game, a large majority of gameplay is available to you initially and you don't really need to go spending your money to play and enjoy the game to its fullest.
There are four main currencies in Overwatch 2. This includes:
Overwatch Coins: You can earn these by completing weekly challenges or buy buying them with real-life money.
Credits: This currency can only be earned through the battle pass system (you can pay to unlock the full battle pass to have more opportunities to get Credits) Credits are used to purchase original Overwatch 1 customizations.
Competitive: This currency is earned through playing Competitive Mode and can be used to purchase unique golden weapons.
Tokens: These are earned by watching live Overwatch League matches watched on eligible platforms or purchasing with real-life money. The Tokens are used specifically for purchasing Overwatch League-related items in the store.
It is also important to know that when purchasing the Overwatch Coins or Tokens, you can only purchase these as bundles so you can only buy set amounts ranging anywhere from $5-$200.
Safety
Overwatch 2 is generally played online. With this, the option of voice and text chat are available throughout the game play. If your child is playing in a team, the ability to chat is an essential communication tool to improve and succeed in the game, especially in the competitive mode. However, if you do have concerns, there is the ability to turn off text and voice chat in the games settings quite easily. Just be aware that to turn off the voice chat and the text chat, these options are currently found under different tabs in the settings menu, so be sure to disable them both.
If you prefer that your child play offline, there is the ability to play against A.I (the computer only). This will however include teammates that are real life people but they will be versing bots. To play in this mode currently, you will need to go into the training menu and select 'practice vs A.I'. If you want completely offline you will need to set up a custom game in the 'play' menu and then click 'create'. Then click 'add A.I' to each individual slot as shown below. This way will mean that your child is completely safe and away from other real life players.
Tips and Tricks
Don’t be fooled by the title, Overwatch 2 completely replaced the original Overwatch so the original cannot be played anymore. This was part of a major overhaul of the game in 2022 when Blizzard Entertainment shut down all Overwatch 1 servers to replace it with the newer Overwatch 2. The gameplay of 2 is essentially the same as the original (with some updates) so there is nothing you are missing out on and you do not need to find, buy, or play Overwatch 1.
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