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OVERHYPE 2: THE HYPENING Continues With News Reports

by - 9 years ago

In addition to re-jigging the Overwatch main site to help showcase their blog entries, it looks like the Overwatch team is also looking to start writing some news articles from an in-universe perspective. That’s what brings us this news report from Atlas News, which seems to go hand-in-hand with the teaser image we saw weeks ago.

In related news that should surprise no one, Team 4 is going to be at gamescom 2015 in Cologne, August 5-9th. The timing of these teasers definitely indicates that we can expect to hear some big news out of Blizzard.

Without further ado, let’s get to the Atlas News piece, with some commentary from yours truly after the article:

Experimental Weapon Stolen from Watchpoint: Grand Mesa

WORLD

atlasWeb_hdr3.pngOfficials Confirm Connection to Earlier IncidentsGRAND JUNCTION, CO—A masked intruder has attacked a former Overwatch facility, injuring a number of private security guards and stealing military equipment.
map_square.pngAccording to United States government spokesperson Marc Guerra, the incident occurred around 4 a.m. local time on Monday at Watchpoint: Grand Mesa, a remote facility in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Helix Security International personnel who were stationed at the former Overwatch base engaged in a firefight with the attacker, but they failed to apprehend him.

One of the guards, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the assailant possessed speed and strength beyond anything “a normal person” should be capable of. “He was a professional,” the guard also said. “Confident. Surgical. Had all the hallmarks of someone with advanced military training.”

No deaths were reported. Several Helix employees are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

This event comes after a week during which multiple former Overwatch bases were targeted. In each case, the intruder stole experimental weaponry and other military equipment from the facilities. Guerra has confirmed that similar items were taken from Watchpoint: Grand Mesa, including a prototype for a heavy pulse rifle.

rifleImage_760.jpg

“This is a highly advanced weapon, originally developed by Overwatch,” Guerra said. “We believe the assailant intends to sell it on the black market. Our greatest fear is that it could end up in the hands of a terrorist group or a rogue nation.”

Guerra would not comment on the intruder’s identity, which remains a mystery. However, he stated that the assailant is connected with a series of recent attacks at financial institutions and corporate buildings around the country. “Multiple US government agencies are working together to track down this dangerous individual,” Guerra said. “Rest assured that we will bring him to justice.”

The emphasis on the location of Watchpoint: Grand Mesa and showcasing the pulse rifle tells me one major thing: we’re going to see at least one new map in addition to a new hero in play.

The other thing that’s clear at this point is that it’s probably not the cyborg ninja, but instead a character that hasn’t been seen in artwork before, much like Zarya was completely unknown before her reveal.

What do we know about this character? The article goes out of its way to characterize the assailant as male, possessed of advanced military training and superhuman speed and strength. However, all of the injuries sustained were non-life-threatening, which suggests that this is more likely to be a heroic character rather than a heartless killer like Reaper or Widowmaker.

For now it’s hard to speculate on exactly what the pulse rifle will do, but that cylinder at the front end under the barrel is likely to be a grenade launcher for alt-fire purposes, while the pulse rifle’s primary fire will likely be more sustained, like Widowmaker’s fully-automatic rifle mode.

I feel like there is some misdirection at play here that’s worth pointing out: to an extent, the fact that the Colorado/Grand Mesa map is the only one being specifically identified certainly implies that it’ll be the map revealed, but the fact that multiple locations have been attacked suggests that there may be other locations revealed. It’s reasonable to assume that the “mainframe” area will be part of Grand Mesa but reading between the lines, Team 4 could have two maps rather than just one.

Aside from that, the constant reiteration that the assailant is male feels like it might be overemphasized. At PAX East this year, Kaplan was quoted as saying that Zarya’s design was in direct response to feedback from BlizzCon 2014 where fans wanted heroes that didn’t fit into the same female bodytype that the currently-revealed heroes fell into, and Zarya’s physique certainly breaks that mold handily. Having another female character, one that approaches a more androgynous appearance, would be another step in that direction for inclusivity.

At the same time, it’s entirely possible that it’s a dude, and there’s really nothing wrong with that option either.

We’ll stay on top of these reveals as they happen, so stay tuned. gamescom will be here before we know it, and all will likely be revealed.


JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


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