14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Blizzard is announcing that the closed-beta period for its Overwatch title is now live and that a range of major changes have been made to the core features of the multiplayer-focused first-person shooter.
Gamers can now play an entirely new mode called Control, which has two teams fighting over a series of objectives using a round system, with the maps featured for it so far named Lijiang Tower and Nepal.
The first is set in the middle of a Chinese city, which means close quarters engagements are the norm, while the second one takes gamers to a monastery in the Himalayas that's the home of a group of omnic robots that had a spiritual awakening.
The new version of the closed beta for Overwatch also allows players to start battles against the Artificial Intelligence of the game, which offers them a good way to learn when engaging with new characters or to hone their skills before facing other humans.
Blizzard has also fixed some of the issues that players have been reporting and says that it has plans to introduce more changes to the game once it sees how the fan community deals with the new tweaks and how matches progress using the new mechanics.
A larger number of players are now engaged with the Overwatch testing period, and according to the company, the plan is still to launch the 1.0 version of the title before the end of spring on the PC, the Xbox One from Microsoft, and the PlayStation 4 from Sony.
Blizzard is delivering a new player progression system
The company says that it wants gamers to have fun during matches of Overwatch but also understands that some of them want long-term goals that they need to work towards.
The new system allows them to get experience by playing both against other humans and the AI to gain levels and then get access to loot boxes, which are filled with four random items that can be used to tweak the appearance of a character in cosmetic terms.
The range of loot that can be found includes icons, skins, emotes, sprays, voice lines, victory poses and highlight intros, each of them crafted to reflect the personality of the 21 characters.
Blizzard states, "In Overwatch (as in many Blizzard games), different colors are associated with different item qualities. Blue is rare, purple is epic, and orange is legendary. These colors will appear in several locations throughout the game - even unopened Loot Boxes will glow in a color corresponding to what items are inside."
If gamers get a duplicate item in a loot box, they will automatically be offered credits that can be used to unlock character-related cosmetic tweaks in a new Hero Gallery.
Blizzard says that the progression system is still in development and that more features will be added to it as the beta for Overwatch progresses, with gamers invited to offer their feedback and explain what they want it to deliver in the long term.
