Blizzard rolls out the second animated short for Overwatch centered on Widowmaker, the deadly sniper.
Dubbed "Alive," this one comes off as a lot less heartwarming compared to the first clip "Recall" that starred Winston, ending things with the omnic monk Tekhartha Mondatta assassinated and the bubbly heroine Tracer defeated on King's Row in London.
It provides a closer look of Widowmaker's backstory while showing off her arsenal, including her sniper rifle, grappling hook, Venom Mines and vision-enhancing visor. As suggested earlier, she goes toe-to-toe with Tracer, eventually ending up triumphant in the bout when she successfully fires a clean shot at Tekkhartha Mondatta.
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time that Tracer and Widowmaker tussled on the big screen, as they were featured in the first Overwatch cinematic trailer revealed at BlizzCon 2014 as well.
Game Director and VP at Blizzard Entertainment Jeff Kaplan even goes into detail in terms of gameplay about the seeming rivalry between Tracer and Widowmaker.
"Tracer can blink around the battlefield so quickly that even the most experienced Widowmaker will struggle to line up a shot in time to stop her from jumping in, dropping a devastating explosive charge at your feet, and then warping backwards in time and away from the blast," he says.
Blizzard is expected to release four episodes in total. That means there are only two animated shorts left, which is a shame really. Fortunately, the company also has plans to further develop the story of Overwatch via digital comics and a graphic novel called Overwatch: First Strike.
Overwatch is confirmed to officially roll out to the PC, PS4 and Xbox One on May 24, roughly a month earlier than the initially set tentative date of June 21. As for the open beta, it will start from May 5 to 9, and those who preordered the game will have access to the early beta on May 3.
