Yay! Finally! My fangirl time to shine! Anyone who knows me knows that since last year I’ve been pretty much completely indoctrinated by Blizzard. Seriously, Overwatch was a gateway drug to the most dangerous addicting substance known to man: World of Warcraft. Blizzard always tends to bring a good show to Gamescom and I was so excited to be there this year and see it all first hand.
Overwatch
First up, we have the game that (for me) started it all. We ended up getting a tonne of new content for Overwatch over the week starting with a new short for Junkrat, a new map called Junkertown and of course, the latest attempt by the animation team at tugging our heartstrings: “Rise and Shine”.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Mei. Like sure, she’s cute but she’s also a demon who enjoys watching as the life fades from your eyes. That said, I couldn’t help being affected by the short. I’m not ashamed to say when I was standing in the crowd watching the cinematic be premiered, I cried a little. Cos goddammit Blizzard, you’re not allowed to make small loveable sidekicks anymore!
In terms of Junkertown, I loved it. It’s very different to the other maps we’ve played, there’s a lot of lore, a big scrap yard theme and a lot of moving parts to hop between. I think it’ll be pretty epic once it hits live. Then again, the bar is set at “Horizon Lunar Colony” so…
Hearthstone
Despite not having any new game content, I’d say Hearthstone had one of the biggest showings at the Blizzard booth. During Gamescom, they’d unveiled a new massive game mode exclusive to Fireside Gatherings. Basically, whenever a lot of Hearthstone players gather at an event, they’ll have access to an exclusive brawl. For Gamescom, they rallied all noble heroes to defeat the Lich King, an enemy with 1 million health and just as many ways to kill you. As we discovered though, even 1 million health isn’t enough to defend against some very dedicated nerds. The brawl was pretty fun, plus it gives everyone a good excuse to drag themselves to a gathering. I ended up with about 251 damage dealt to the Lich King, which I was told would have been a high score if I’d shown up a few hours earlier. However,
However, in my defense, I started to give up towards the end. I didn’t see myself dying anytime soon and as I turned my head my attention was captured by 2 things. One, Arthas, the Lich King himself was wandering around the play area taking pictures with players. And Secondly, Hearthstones Game Director Ben Brode was chilling at the entrance. Just in case you’re wondering, yes I did get to meet him and no I will not shut up about it. He was lovely, and it made my week.
Last but not least, Hearthstone revealed that it would finally receive the Blizzard cinematic treatment. Coming soon is a full series inspired by Hearthstone starring the adorable little Ava and her magical companions. I love this idea, would be great to put a place and a lore behind Hearthstone beyond WoW and I can’t wait to see it later this year.
Destiny 2
I know, console players are already celebrating. However, I prefer PC, and for the first time in a very long time, we’re getting the short end of the stick. I have to wait 1 month, but at least I’ll be able to aim. I got to play a bit of the Destiny 2 multiplayer at Gamescom and I’ve discovered two things: I suck, and it’s very very fun. Seriously, it reminds me a lot of my old days playing Halo 3, for obvious reasons. And I love it.
Once I got back home I managed to spend some time playing the PC Beta and it basically confirmed a purchase from me. I didn’t even need to play the full mission, I just needed to know one thing: Warlocks get a fire sword! Do you know how much fun it is to walk through a battlefield screaming “AHAHAHA! BUUUUURN!” whilst flinging fireballs halfway across the map? If not, go play Destiny 2, it’s seriously worth it!
I also have Destiny to blame for a newfound interest in Rockstar energy drinks. Of all the promotions Activision could have made for Destiny, they chose Rockstar and Pop-Tarts. It’s like they wanted Mountain Dew and Doritos, but Microsoft already had them cornered. I mean I ain’t complaining, I love a night of gaming and sugar but wow!
Anyway, that does it for my exploits at the Blizzard booth that year. Well, at least the interesting parts. I doubt you wanna hear about all the times I failed at Diablo and Starcraft. I’m excited for the reveals this year, but how about you guys? Let us know in the comments below and on our Facebook.
