After downloading the 1.5GB Overwatch update released today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, you’ll be able to access all of the festivities wrapped in the Winter Wonderland event, which runs until January 2, 2017.
With Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland, you’ll find holiday-themed loot boxes with over 100 new cosmetic items, the 6v6 Mei’s Snowball Offensive, and the halls of Hanamura and King’s Row have been decked out. Here’s what Blizzard says about the new items and Mei’s Snowball Offensive:
Cosmetic Items
Starting today, all in-game Loot Boxes have been replaced with our impeccably wrapped Winter Loot Boxes, and they’re filled to the brim with over 100 new cosmetic trimmings!
As with previous events, Winter Loot Boxes can be earned or purchased, and each will contain at least one item from our 2016 Winter Wonderland collection – including profile icons, sprays, victory poses, emotes, highlight intros, skins, and more! While the contents of each seasonal Loot Box are random, you can unlock a variety of these cordial customization options in the Hero Gallery throughout the event’s duration.
Once you’ve unlocked an item, it will be yours forever, which means you can get into holly jolly hijinks all year-round. The collection will be dashing back into the vault on January 2, however (when the event concludes), so be sure to fire up your favorite gaming machine and celebrate before it’s too late!
Mei’s Snowball Offensive
During this year’s Winter Wonderland event, you’ll also be able to queue up for a brand new brawl: Mei’s Snowball Offensive! Mei’s Snowball Offensive is a 6v6, single-elimination shindig featuring everyone’s favorite climatologist—and she’s got a few new tricks up her fur-lined sleeve.
In this brawl, Mei’s Endothermic Blaster no longer unleashes a stream of frost or shoots icicles. Instead, it’s been modified to fire a single, super-powered snowball. Taking down an enemy only takes one hit, but a miss can be costly. Once your weapon is empty, your enemies will have the advantage as you search for the nearest snow pile to reload, so don’t forget to cover your retreat with ice walls and cryo-freeze to block their attacks—and when the battle starts to heat up, you can activate Mei’s Ultimate, which turns her blaster into a semi-automatic snowball launcher, allowing you to fire continuously as your enemies scatter.
In the patch notes for today’s update, Blizzard reveals that they added a new ‘Boop’ unlockable voice line for Sombra, fixed some PS4 Pro issues, and more:
General Updates
- Added a new “Boop” unlockable voice line for Sombra
- Players can now select the 1v1 Mystery Duel and 3v3 Elimination game modes from the Custom Game menu
- Added a “Stay as Team” feature, which allows players to remain grouped with their teammates after the match has ended
Bug Fixes
General
- [PS4 Pro] Fixed a bug that could obscure or hide UI elements on a 4K display
- Fixed a bug that allowed more than one player to select the same hero on the Assemble Team screen, but forced one player to reselect after spawning
- Fixed a bug that forced players to join Play vs. AI matches when attempting to spectate a friend
- Fixed a bug causing a black screen to appear if players switched heroes as the round ended
- [PC] Fixed a bug that allowed the “H” key to close the Hero Select screen even after that function had been bound to a different key
AI
- Bots are no longer able to use abilities or attack enemies after a Control match has ended
- [Console] Fixed a bug that prevented Ana from being selected in 1v1 matches
Arcade
- Fixed a bug that prevented players from correctly receiving experience after joining an in-progress 3v3 match
- Fixed a bug preventing BattleTags from being displayed correctly during Highlight Intros and Plays of the Game in 1v1 and 3v3 matches
- Fixed a bug causing the respawn timer to remain visible during 3v3 matches
Competitive Play
- Fixed a bug that allowed more than one player to select the same hero in rare situations
Heroes
- Fixed a bug preventing the nameplate above D.Va’s mech from disappearing while being destroyed, and displaying a “0” instead of the player’s name
- Fixed a bug causing the “You” indicator (which typically only appears during killcam footage) to appear when D.Va looks directly at the ground
- D.Va’s video tutorial now includes changes made to her Defense Matrix resource mechanics
- Fixed a bug causing Genji’s sword to clip through its scabbard
- Fixed a bug causing Junkrat’s Steel Trap animation to play when detonating a Concussion Mine
- Fixed a bug causing Reinhardt’s hammer to become invisible to some players after using an emote
- Fixed a bug that interfered with the accuracy of the alternate fire for Roadhog’s Scrap Gun
- Fixed a bug that allowed players’ Ultimate ability voice lines to play uninterrupted, even if they were hacked by Sombra during use
- Fixed a bug preventing the sound effects from Torbjörn’s hammer from being played when his Ultimate ability was activated
- Fixed a bug causing Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook to begin its cooldown after going through Symmetra’s Teleporter
- [Console] Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to receive Ultimate charge when using her Caduceus Staff to increase teammates’ damage when they’re not damaging enemies
- [Console] Fixed a bug preventing Reinhardt from deactivating his Barrier Field after being hacked by Sombra
- [Console] Fixed a bug preventing Sombra’s Hack from cancelling Soldier: 76’s Sprint ability
- [Console] Sombra no longer receives credit toward her on-fire meter when her EMP ultimate hits Symmetra’s turrets
- [Console] When multiple Sombras attempt to hack a health pack, the player that initialized the hack first will now control it
- [Console] Fixed a bug preventing Sombra’s Opportunist passive ability from seeing practice bots through the walls on the Practice Range
- [Console] Fixed a bug preventing Sombra’s reticle from consistently expanding while firing her Machine Pistol
Maps
- Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to reach unintended locations on Watchpoint: Gibraltar
- Fixed a bug that prevented Mercy from using Resurrect in rare situations on King’s Row
You can learn more about the Hero balance changes over here.
Will you be playing Overwatch this holiday?
[Source: Overwatch (1), (2), (3), Reddit (1), (2)]
Shooter Showdown 2016
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Shooter Showdown 2016 - Which Should You Play?
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Battleborn
Unfortunately overshadowed by Overwatch’s release, Battleborn is in no way a bad multiplayer/MOBA hybrid. And given how it’s cheaper now, and there’s no shortage of post-launch support, giving this a try might not be a bad idea. Just remember that it doesn’t play nearly the same as Overwatch as some people might make you believe.
Get This If You:
- Want an alternative to Overwatch
- Like a shooter/MOBA on consoles that has LOTS of characters to choose from
- Want something different than your standard shooter
Don’t Play This If:
- You’re addicted to Overwatch and you’ll compare Battleborn to this
- Don’t like learning a ton of characters and their ultimates
- Not a fan of MOBA-ish shooters
Read our review!
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Battlefield 1
With Battlefield 1, DICE went back in time to World War I to give the game a modern edge. Sound weird? Yes, it is. While it has a decent single-player campaign, it’s in the multiplayer where it really shines. Prepare for all-out warfare with 32 vs. 32 matches with vehicles, planes, tanks and of course, infantry. There’s even a new mode called Operations that could very well be the franchise’s new go-to game mode.
Get This If You:
- Like pretty graphics and audio work (seriously, they’re damn impressive!)
- Love multiplayer matches with vehicles and lots of people in each match
- Have been a fan of the franchise
Don’t Play This If:
- You want something that you can just pick up and play (it has a bit of a learning curve)
- Can’t play multiplayer matches that are longer than your standard team deathmatch rounds
- Hate vehicles and want scorestreaks and other boosts for getting a lot of kills
Read our review!
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Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Infinity Ward’s latest entry in the Call of Duty franchise is once again going to the future, and seems to be borrowing quite a few things from Treyarch’s Black Ops 3 in terms of multiplayer game design. Once again, players will be able to equip a gun, their preferred scorestreak setup, the Combat Rig of their choice and just go to town. It’s easily the most accessible shooter in the list because let’s face it, who hasn’t played a Call of Duty game, right?
Get This If You:
- Love Call of Duty’s kind of multiplayer
- Want super deep progression and unlock system in multiplayer
- Liked Black Ops 3’s multiplayer but want something fresh, but not too different
Don’t Play This If:
- You can’t stand Call of Duty’s kills-first multiplayer mantra
- Prefer your multiplayer experience to be more objective-focused
- Didn’t like Black Ops 3 or don’t want double jumps, and futuristic stuff
Read our review!
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Destiny
One of the biggest IPs in gaming to launch this generation, Destiny might possibly be the biggest MMORPG on consoles of all time. It’s certainly one of the most famous, and it’s hard to deny that it’s a fun experience — especially with friends.
Get This If You:
- Like RPGs and shooters rolled into one with a layering of AAA production values
- Find loots and crafting a fun experience
- Want something to play with your buddies that’s more cooperative than competitive
Don’t Play This If:
- You’re not a fan of grinding for crafting materials or doing tasks repeatedly to level up (or your weapons and items)
- Leaning on competitive multiplayer when it comes to shooters
- Can’t consistently party up to play
Read our review of the base game and the latest expansion!
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DOOM
Who’d have thought that DOOM would be this good? While it does have a multiplayer mode, the latest entry in the franchise has an excellent single-player campaign, with serviceable multiplayer. If you’d rather play a meaty FPS single-player than multiplayer, then this might be the game for you.
Get This If You:
- Like to play a solid single-player FPS campaign
- Not a fan of your typical military FPS
- Don’t see yourself playing too much online multiplayer
Don’t Play This If:
- Would rather have an online shooter with the usual progressions, ranking, etc.
- Squeamish or don’t like blood and guts
- Buy shooters mostly for online multiplayer
Read our review!
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Overwatch
While not really a “shooter” in the strictest sense of the word, Overwatch is Blizzard’s first foray into the crowded genre. Needless to say, it’s a huge success and its influence will surely be felt in other games. If you want your multiplayer super polished, with a regular release of free content (all maps, characters and modes!), and want characters you can master like in MOBAs, then give it a shot.
Get This If You:
- Want “Heroes” in your multiplayer games
- Like the feel of multiplayer shooters but not actual shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield. etc.
- Want a game that’s supported for years to come
Don’t Play This If:
- You’re more a fan of military first-person shooters than anything else
- Want constant unlocks, progression, and the like
- Can’t be assed to work with a team
Read our review!
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Rainbow Six Siege
While Rainbow Six Siege has been released last year, it still manages to crack our list due to just how well supported it is. What other shooter do you know that has managed to hike up its player base more than at launch? If you want more tactics, a slower pace in your shooters, then give this a try.
Get This If You:
- You want a slower, more tactical approach to military shooters
- Want an established player base that’s not as toxic as most shooter communities
- A change of pace and want something more grounded in realism
Don’t Play This If:
- Want arcade-ey, twitch shooters
- You’re not the patient type (seriously)
- You prefer playing the latest multiplayer shooters
Read our review!
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Titanfall 2
While PlayStation gamers weren’t able to experience the first game in the franchise due to EA’s exclusivity deal with Microsoft, the sequel will be available to PC, Xbox and PlayStation gamers. Prepare for a mix of super fast infantry (Pilots) gameplay coupled with mechs (Titan) for something new to the FPS formula.
Get This If You:
- Hate Season Passes (all of Titanfall 2’s post-launch maps, modes and weapons will be free for everyone)
- Want fast-paced shooters but want a break (or an alternative) to Call of Duty
- Want to play as big mechs of death that can put the hurt on other mechs or infantry
Don’t Play This If:
- Want a slower, more “boots to the ground” FPS experience
- Prefer to camp (nothing wrong with that), since the game encourages you to move
- Don’t like double jumps, sliding and the sort in your shooters
Read our review!
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Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
What’s there left to say about Uncharted 4? Easily one of the best gaming experiences available on the PS4, and it has a very competent multiplayer, too! If you’ve finished the single-player stuff, then there’s a surprisingly rather meaty multiplayer experience waiting for you.
Get This If You:
- Like epic, single-player adventure games that are really well done (like, really)
- Third-person multiplayer that focuses more on objectives
- Different kinds of game modes and not just TDM
Don’t Play This If:
- Prefer first-person shooters to third-person ones
- Expect to get lots of double and triple kills (not as easy as in other shooters)
- You want a super robust and super deep multiplayer (compared to full-fledged, multiplayer experiences)
Read our review!
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Warframe
Possibly one of the best free-to-play games available on PS4, which is still getting heavy support presently is Warframe. If you don’t want to spend a dime on any shooter at all, then this is right for you. You can download it, check it out all guilt-free.
Get This If You:
- Are on a budget
- Want a F2P game with an active player base
- Prefer your F2P games be supported for a long time
Don’t Play This If:
- Don’t like F2P games
- Hate micro-transactions
- You prefer Planetside 2, World of Tanks, etc. more (but seriously, they're free, so go try them all out)
Read our review!
