Check out Overwatch’s giant hammer wielding Reinhardt in action

Blizzard need to calm down… they’re releasing gameplay videos for Overwatch a little too quickly for my liking. How do they expect me to keep up with this new fast-paced approach of theirs when I’m so used to them ordinarily taking their sweet time with everything? It’s video after video after video! Not that I should be complaining mind you – this constant flood of new content is a welcome change. Here’s the latest which shows Reinhardt in action. He wields a hammer large enough to make even Thor a little jealous.

Bio

At first glance, I thought Reinhardt was a robot. Turns out he is a German soldier who likes wearing crusader Armor to get the job done. Here’s his bio and a brief snippet of his history:

Real Name: Reinhardt Wilhelm
Age: 61
Occupation: Adventurer
Base of Operations: Stuttgart, Germany
Affiliation: Overwatch (formerly)

Reinhardt Wilhelm styles himself as a champion of a bygone age, who lives by the knightly codes of valor, justice, and courage.

Over thirty years ago, Overwatch was founded to counter the threat of the robot uprisings around the world. Reinhardt, a highly decorated German soldier, was inducted as part of the original Overwatch strike team that put an end to the Omnic Crisis. After the conflict’s resolution, Overwatch grew into a global institution, keeping the peace in a war-torn world. Reinhardt proved himself to be one of its most stalwart champions.

Abilities

Rocket Hammer

Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer is an exemplary melee weapon, able to deal punishing damage in a wide arc with every swing.

Shield

Reinhardt projects a broad, forward-facing energy shield, which can absorb substantial damage before it is destroyed. Though Reinhardt can protect himself and his companions behind the shield, he cannot attack while sustaining it.

Charge

Reinhardt charges forth in a straight line, grabbing hold of enemies in his path. If he collides with a wall, foes he’s carrying suffer extreme damage.

Fire Strike

By whipping his Rocket Hammer forward, Reinhardt slings a flaming projectile which pierces and damages any enemies it touches.

Earthshatter

Reinhardt forcefully slams his rocket hammer into the ground, knocking down and damaging all enemies in front of him.

Gameplay

Now that you know what he can do, you’ll understand what the heck is going on in the video below. Here’s Reinhardt in action:

Reinhardt charges hammer-first into battle in this complete, unedited match from an early version of Overwatch, captured in 60fps on PC. Here, Reinhardt is on the defense in King’s Row, a Point Capture/Payload hybrid map situated in the heart of England.

The amount of shield-wielding taking place in front of the checkpoint doesn’t excite me at all. What does though are all Reinhardt’s other abilities. I can’t imagine anything more satisfying than charging in, using earthshatter, and mopping up the leftovers – something that is showcased in the video above several times.

That being said, I myself do not favour melee-focused characters. What about you? Does Reinhardt seem like the kind of character you’d play when Overwatch launches? Would you use him to make your enemies nice and Thor?

Last Updated: June 11, 2015