Duty calls: Final ‘Overwatch’ short focuses on the gruff Soldier: 76

By Gabe Gurwin May 23, 2016

Overwatch is finally out today — kind of. Retailers have moved the launch of the physical game up by a day to allow players time to install the game before the servers go live in a few more hours. And of course, the occasion would not be complete without a new CG short.

Titled “Hero,” the final Overwatch short focuses on the mysterious and menacing Soldier: 76, as well as the young girl who witnesses his heroics. Traveling through empty streets to pick up flowers for her family, she witnesses a gang beating an Omnic, who, even without a face, appears to be pleading for her help.

After the group steals the girl’s money and taunts her for refusing to attack the Omnic, Soldier: 76 springs into action, showcasing a master of close-quarters combat. But it’s his firearm prowess that’s truly put on display as he leaps into the air and effortlessly takes out three targets with three shots.

“These. Aren’t. Your. Streets. Any. More!” he yells as the rest of the gang makes an escape. The girl looks at his actions in horror, but changes her tune after Soldier: 76 tosses back her stolen money.

Soldier: 76 is portrayed with the level of gruff heroism we’ve come to expect from Michael Ironside’s Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell, mercilessly beating his enemies while showing nothing but kindness for those in need. The character has attracted some criticism for being too generic and the “Call of Duty character,” but that’s what makes him so fun; in stark contrast to the gorilla scientists and time traveling heroes is a dude with a gun, and he knows how to use it.

Overwatch is out today for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. You can see when the game is going live in your region right here.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is getting a new mode and overhauled DMZ in Season 3

Characters parachuting in Warzone 2.0 Season 3.

Activision published a massive new blog post highlighting what to expect from Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 3. The upcoming season, which will launch on April 12, has plenty in store, including new Warzone 2.0 modes, a DMZ overhaul, new weapons, and plenty of additional features.

On the Warzone 2.0 side of things, expect the new Al Mazrah Massive Resurgence mode to drop as soon as the season begins. This will allow players to respawn continuously as long as at least one player on a team remains alive on Al Mazrah, just like Ashika Island. You can also look forward to Plunder and Warzone Ranked to launch as part of the midseason update later on.

Gaming

Overwatch 2’s newest hero Lifeweaver is a game-changer for support players

overwatch 2s new hero lifeweaver 2

Overwatch 2's next hero has officially been announced: The support-class hero Lifeweaver will debut in season 4 of the free-to-play shooter in mid-April. Lifeweaver will be the 37th hero on Overwatch 2’s roster, and the ninth support hero following Kiriko's release when the game launched in the fall of 2023.

Blizzard has yet to release specific details on Lifeweaver's abilities or backstory, but players can catch a glimpse of the hero's playstyle in a short gameplay trailer released today.

Gaming

Counter-Strike 2 could succeed where Overwatch 2 failed

Soldiers in Counter-Strike 2 key art.

In 2023's most surprising news so far, Counter-Strike 2 is coming. The competitive shooter isn't just a follow-up to the massively popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but an upgrade to that game using the new Source 2 engine. A beta is already underway, with the full game scheduled to come sometime this summer. With how Valve is handling the project, I can't help but think of how Blizzard rolled out its own recent shooter sequel: Overwatch 2.

Both games are highly popular, competitive, and live-service style games with a heavy emphasis on cosmetics for monetization that have highly dedicated communities. The biggest similarity -- and also criticism in the case of Overwatch 2 -- is the fact that both sequels retroactively replace their predecessors, forcing everyone to upgrade to the sequel whether they want to or not. This is a relatively new concept in gaming, where older versions of online games become entirely inaccessible and Overwatch 2 didn't inspire a lot of confidence in it being a beneficial trend. That said, Counter-Strike 2 is already in a perfect position to succeed in all the ways Overwatch 2 failed.
If it ain't broke
In normal circumstances, a sequel is a developer's opportunity to iterate and make alterations to the core of the game that came before. Obviously, there's a limit to how big these changes should be -- a shooter shouldn't suddenly become a 2D fighting game -- but a combination of new features being added and old ones being removed is expected. That becomes a much trickier proposition in this new age of sequels where the new version is the only option. In the case of Overwatch 2 and Counter-Strike 2, players don't have the luxury of being able to keep playing the old version they loved.