Home Gaming Blizzard show off Hanzo – the Overwatch bowman

Blizzard show off Hanzo – the Overwatch bowman

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44

Hanzo

Overwatch has been getting a bunch of sudden attention over the past month. Just last week Blizzard showed off the game’s gunslinger, Jesse, and the week before that we got to see Zenyatta, the robotic monk. Now we’re getting a taste of the resident bowman, Hanzo, compliments of brand new gameplay footage.

Let’s first take a look at Hanzo and what he can do (via Blizzard):

Bio

Real Name: Hanzo Shimada
Age: 38
Occupation: Mercenary, Assassin
Base of Operations: Hanamura, Japan (formerly)
Affiliation: Shimada Clan

Abilities

Storm Bow

Hanzo nocks and fires an arrow at his target.

Sonic Arrow

Hanzo launches an arrow that contains a sonar tracking device. Any enemy within its detection radius is visibly marked, making them easier for Hanzo and his allies to hunt down.

Scatter Arrow

Hanzo shoots a fragmenting arrow that ricochets off walls and objects and can strike multiple targets at once.

Dragonstrike (ultimate ability)

Hanzo summons a Spirit Dragon which travels through the air in a line. It passes through walls in its way, devouring any enemies it encounters.

Gameplay

Now let’s check him in action (via PC Gamer):

Master bowman Hanzo takes aim against his foes in this complete, unedited match from an early version of Overwatch, captured in 60fps on PC. Here, Hanzo is on the attack in King’s Row, a Point Capture/Payload hybrid map situated in the heart of England.

If I could liken him to anything, I’d say he is the lovechild of the Scout and Sniper from Team Fortress 2. As you can see, he’s a nimble fellow, capable of climbing walls and firing off shots in super quick succession – assuming he isn’t drawing the arrow back longer for maximum damage and distance. He also seems to have more ammunition in his quiver than Hawkeye (basically infinite).

What I really like is his Scatter Arrow ability. See, my reflexes have grown poor with age, meaning I probably wouldn’t hit a damned thing on a normal day. A fragmenting arrow though? That multiplies my odds of killing stuff quite significantly. That or I can rely on his Dragonstrike which seems to guarantee a kill or five.

Blizzard’s Team Fortress 2 Overwatch is shaping up nicely. When will it release? That’s anybody’s guess. In the meantime though, you can apply for the beta right here.

Are you excited for the game? I’m still in two minds, although I will admit I could do with a new FPS in my life.

Last Updated: May 25, 2015

44 Comments

  1. Yeah, Hanzo looks like the character I’ll pick

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      May 25, 2015 at 13:42

      camper?

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        May 25, 2015 at 13:43

        I think he prefers being called a “sniper”.

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief's Adventure

        May 25, 2015 at 13:47

        I never saw this guy camp? I think that is that Widow chick’s MO

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          May 25, 2015 at 13:49

          There’s a few time he just sits and shoots around corners.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            May 25, 2015 at 13:50

            I kinda like the McCree dude, that showdown skill!

      • Trevor Matrix

        May 25, 2015 at 14:02

        I never got the hate for a camper. So you have a guy (usually a sniper) that finds a good hiding spot on a map. He picks of his enemies one by one, all the while causing panic and fear amongst his rivals.
        Instead of admiring the guy for his skills, everyone else goes “Fucking Camper! I hate you more than Jurie Els!”

        Reply

        • Lord Chaos

          May 25, 2015 at 14:06

          Kids. Can you just imagine WW3 and we need to send them in?
          Lying on the floor bleeding to death and bitching about being shot and how the guy is such an noob as he did bad things to his mother

          Reply

          • Trevor Matrix

            May 25, 2015 at 14:07

            I want to see his face when he realizes there’s no respawn…

          • Hammersteyn

            May 25, 2015 at 14:23

            Best day for the world ever!

          • Kensei Seraph - Terran Ghost

            May 25, 2015 at 14:32

            [Documentary voice]
            And thus the majority of human race was eliminated.
            The survivors were able to recover and correct all the mistakes their species had wrought upon their Mother Planet.
            However, the fish industry (especially the cod farming industry) suffered a sever blow and struggled to regain it’s former popularity before finally surrendering to the inevitable river of time.
            [/Documentary voice]

          • Hammersteyn

            May 25, 2015 at 14:34

            ^This

        • The Sten

          May 25, 2015 at 14:07

          ^this

          Stop playing like ur playing so i can facecheck corners ALL THE TIME!!!

          Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          May 25, 2015 at 14:08

          You have a point, few things are hated as much as Jurie Els.

          Reply

          • Trevor Matrix

            May 25, 2015 at 14:14

            I hate your face more than Jurie Els…
            (Okay. That was mean. Even by MY Standards. Trevor! Apologize to the nice man! Aw Hell No! I will NOT apologize to Mr Upvoter here!)

          • Hammersteyn

            May 25, 2015 at 14:24

            Hahahahaha! Too bad you have to share the upvote between the both of you.

          • Trevor Matrix

            May 25, 2015 at 14:28

            Oh it won’t be the first thing we share… 😉

          • Hammersteyn

            May 25, 2015 at 14:32

            O_o

          • Kensei Seraph - Terran Ghost

            May 25, 2015 at 14:33

            They share the same birthday.

        • Kensei Seraph - Terran Ghost

          May 25, 2015 at 14:09

          I remember seeing a comic about this sort of thing a while ago.

          A kid/teen/guy was playing CoD on the TV and his grandfather was watching and the kid/teen/guy started complaining about a camper.
          The grandfather asks what a camper was so the kid/teen/guy explains how the campers aren’t playing properly and how they should instead be running around like everybody else and the grandfather responds by saying “But that’s how you’re supposed to be doing it. It’s all those idiots running around like headless chickens who are doing it wrong.”

          Thing is, the grandfather was a war veteran and thus actually knew what he was talking about.

          Reply

        • Kensei Seraph - Terran Ghost

          May 25, 2015 at 14:11

          • Trevor Matrix

            May 25, 2015 at 14:12

            Exactly!

  2. Hammersteyn

    May 25, 2015 at 13:43

    This looks very interesting, cant disagree with that, but I’m not sure if it’s my cup of tea.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      May 25, 2015 at 13:47

      If we get local servers, I can see myself playing this

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        May 25, 2015 at 13:50

        Oh yes. Definitely, I’d pick Pharah first. Jet pack plus rocket launcher.

        Reply

  3. Admiral Chief's Adventure

    May 25, 2015 at 13:47

    Is it just me, or does it look very laggy?

    Reply

    • The Sten

      May 25, 2015 at 13:51

      *excuse
      “The following match is from an early version of overwatch”
      *end excuse

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief's Adventure

        May 25, 2015 at 13:52

        Aye, I get that, but I’ve watched a few of the videos now, and only this one seemed a bit laggy at one stage, so was just curious

        Reply

        • The Sten

          May 25, 2015 at 13:56

          The guy who is testing this in the videos is a bit of a machine though. Maybe he’s just too fast. I cant even seeing what the hell he is shooting at most of the time.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            May 25, 2015 at 13:59

            LOL, you should see the one with McCree! BLAMBLAMBLAM action overload

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            May 25, 2015 at 14:00

            That’s what she said.

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            May 25, 2015 at 14:01

            How would you know?

          • Kensei Seraph - Terran Ghost

            May 25, 2015 at 14:01

            Well I suppose if you release your load early you may as well compensate by having a short reload time @disqus_DoEH3TsffU:disqus.

  4. The Sten

    May 25, 2015 at 13:52

    I wonder if all characters can climb up walls like that, or is it just this guy?

    Reply

    • Kensei Seraph - Terran Ghost

      May 25, 2015 at 13:58

      I think a lot of the characters have some form of 3D movement.
      Some can teleport, others have jetpacks and at least one person has a grappling hook.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief's Adventure

        May 25, 2015 at 13:58

        Yes, the Widowmaker.

        Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      May 25, 2015 at 13:58

      Just that guy. The Widowmaker has a grappling hook, and the medic sort of glides

      Reply

  5. Lord Chaos

    May 25, 2015 at 14:03

    Very fun to play. Just hope we get local servers.

    Reply

  6. Trevor Matrix

    May 25, 2015 at 14:18

    Is Overwatch the newest WoW add-on? Because them graphics look a lot like WoW. Also I vomitted a bit in my mouth after seeing that Hanzo up there.
    So.Fucking.Bland. And uninspired! I fell asleep just watching him for all of 2 seconds!

    Reply

  7. SmurFyZA

    May 25, 2015 at 15:35

    I used to play as the Medic a lot in TF2 days so my main char will probably be Zenyatta, the robotic monk.
    However a quick marksman does seem like the kind of class I will enjoy. Really excited for this game. If E3 doesn’t show off Bad Company 3, then a near future release date of Overwatch will be my next best prize.

    Reply

  8. SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

    May 25, 2015 at 15:53

    Giff key pls!

    Reply

  9. chimera_85

    May 25, 2015 at 16:18

    When I PC gamed proper (last in 2002 or so) Blizzard made mature games. Now it seems their games irrespective of how “mature” they are have these comical, almost child like characters? Is it just me or…

    Reply

  10. Joe Black

    May 26, 2015 at 01:20

    With that name I would have expected Katanas

    Reply

  11. Charl van der Merwe

    May 26, 2015 at 08:47

    have to say that play of the game was pretty cool

    Reply

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