Tencent's Ace Force is Overwatch for mobile

By , on July 30, 2019

Ace Force is Tencent’s none-too-subtle take on Blizzard’s megahit hero shooter, Overwatch. It’ll be launching in China on August 13th for iOS and Android devices, with its western release set to follow. There’s been a fair bit of gameplay shown off previously, but the game’s latest trailer highlights its characters, maps, weaponry, and game modes.

First off, the weapons don’t look too reminiscent of Overwatch’s more cartoony arsenal. The guns typically look like guns, albeit colourful and almost nerf-like. Some of what we see in action includes an assault rifle, submachine gun, shurikens, a flamethrower, a rocket launcher, and a nice, punchy shotgun.

Similarly, the characters don’t look too similar to the type you’d see in Overwatch. They’re, well, a little more stereotypical, or perhaps even dull. One area of Ace Force that seems largely indistinguishable from Blizzard’s megahit is the look of its maps. It took me a second to realise that I wasn’t looking at straight rip-offs of some of Overwatch’s most famous locales.

In terms of game modes though, Ace Force seems kinda interesting. You’ve got standard Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Invasion, and even a battle royale mode called Barking Royale, which seems to be dog-themed, somehow. It’s weird, but I like what I see.

This one’s set to launch on August 13th for both Android and iOS. Unsurprisingly, Ace Force is free to play, so expect a fair amount of cosmetic IAPs. Tencent doing its own Overwatch is hardly surprising, though it does feel a little late in the day, with the hero shooter genre having slowed down considerably since its heyday in 2016.