'Soldiers. Scientists. Adventurers. Oddities. During the Omnic Crisis, the people of our world were scattered, devastated . . . but heroes from around the globe answered the call. Overwatch offered a beacon of hope to weary survivors looking to reclaim and rebuild our war-torn world. From the reconstruction, their role expanded to help humanity solve some of the planet’s most dire problems and usher in a new age of hope and prosperity. And yet, just as Overwatch hit its prime, it fell victim to its own power and was disbanded. But if there’s one thing the heroes of Overwatch know, it’s when the world needs them.
'Now you can follow the complete history of Overwatch in this comprehensive volume, packed with mission briefings, splash artwork, weapon schematics, and more. All-new lore straight from the game team threads together the story of Overwatch across its many comics, stories, cinematics, and game missions. Don’t miss this must-have, collectable read for Overwatch fans both old and new.'
There was once a time when video games were somewhat disposable. Not a huge amount of story was put into them, they'd often be quite simple in their execution, such as get to a certain stage and beat the boss, game done. But as technology moved forward, and those that grew up with the first games got older and more sophisticated the desire for games that reflected that sophistication began to grow.
Video games as something to play with little thought or effort are more of a rarity now, and more and more games are embracing expansive narratives that require you to dedicated hours to in order to get the entire story. Games are recognised as a story medium, with awards given for narrative, and popular television and film adaptations of games. One area in which story doesn't always get the main focus, however, is in first person shooters.
Thanks in part to the simplicity of the games that started the craze, like Doom and Wolfenstein and the ever increasing popularity of online multi-player modes, people tend not to think of first person shooters when they think of well crafted video game worlds. This kind of thinking only seems to increase when games become hugely popular; no one is ever going to assume that Fortnite is going to have much narrative depth to it.
Overwatch is kind of in a difficult position. It's a hugely popular shooter game, with a big online multiplayer community and large fan base. People are going to take a look at it and assume that it's something with little to no real depth to it. I myself once thought that bout it. However, there's a lot more there than you'd first think, and Overwatch Declassified: An Official History is a perfect way to start diving into that.
This large, hardcover history book (which has an absolutely gorgeous holographic cover by the way) is written like an in-universe resource. Whilst the cover and title page bear the name Seanan McGuire, once you're into the meat of things Seanan is kind of pushed to the side, with one of the first pages in the book listing the contributors; all of whom are people within the Overwatch world. This is a pretty neat little part of the book, and clearly sets the stage for the kind of thing you're going to be reading. This isn't some kind of behind the scenes making-of, the book isn't going to be showing concept art and character design stages, nor are you going to see images of programmers at their desks working on the game.
Treating this book like it belongs in the Overwatch universe means that it can really dive into the history of that world wholeheartedly. It doesn't have to ease you into things, it just presents that lore and leaves the reader to deal with it however they so wish.
The book is split into a number of sections, each dealing with different eras and specific focuses of the world of Overwatch. The opening part of the book deals with the time before the Omnic Crisis, when the world seemed to be in a golden age. It explores the amazing medical miracles, explains how technology like hydroponics helped eliminate food shortages, clean energy, and how the scientific community came together to tackle the climate crisis. It's a hopeful thing, one that explores the kind of future most of us here in our world would very much hope to happen one day.
But, as with most good science fiction futures, humanity stumbles along the way, and golden ages begin to tarnish. As the book goes further into the future is turns its attention to the disasters that humanity faced, covering the war that eventually came, and the formation of heroic teams of soldiers, the Overwatch.
This is the kind of book that fans of the game are going to find a lot of familiar things in, you'll know a lot of this already, and you'll come across events and characters that you know and love, but the level of detail that the book goes into means that even the most experienced Overwatch player is going to find new stuff here. It's also the kind of book where those who know very little about the game are going to be very surprised at how deep it is. I've played the game before, but didn't really do a whole lot of it. I think at the time I tried it ti just didn't click for me, and as such, when I picked up this book I was very surprised to learn how deep and well crafted this universe was. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Overwatch, and has left me wanting to go back and give it another try.
As well as extensive history and tons of lore information, the book is packed with brilliant illustrations. The credits page at the back of the book lists a lot of illustrators, and just flicking through the pages of the book it becomes clear why the art team is so big. This is a book where you can turn to any page and find multiple pieces of artwork on it, whether that be schematics and designs, character portraits, or snapshots from important events. The art helps to tell the story of this world just as much as the writing does here, and the two blend together wonderfully.
Whether you're a long time fan of the franchise who's played the game to death, or you're someone who's never explored this world before and are just curious to find out more about the game before committing to it, Overwatch Declassified: An Official History is something you're going to want to check out. It not only shows what Overwatch has created, but also how expansive video games can be, and why you should always be willing to give them the chance to impress you.
No comments:
Post a Comment