| Dispatch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Dispatch is a comedic, strategy, narrative-focused game where you're the manager of a team of dysfunctional heroes. Read on to learn how it plays, what it's about, and everything else we know so far.
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Dispatch Gameplay
Decision Making
Dispatch follows the same format as previous Telltale Games. Thus, here, players influence the narrative through dialogue choices and quick-time events while managing a team of heroes. Unlike Telltale's The Walking Dead and other such games, players do not move Robert Robertson in a 3D environment. Instead, players watch Robert and the rest of the cast interact in episodic, narrative cutscenes where the outcome can be affected through certain decisions and quick-time events.
Episodes often feature gimmicks, such as members sabotaging each other and hacking mini-games (which have their own sets of twists). Ultimately, the overall outcome of a shift, including any branching interactions, is shaped by player choice.
Dispatching
Outside of interacting with a scene through decisions, players interact with the Z-Team through "dispatching". Players use a city map to track and respond to various incidents. These require characters with certain stats, so success hinges on matching a hero or heroes' skillset to the specific demands of the incident. Z-Team's stats can be upgraded, and their performance can improve based on their synergies with other team members.
Hacking
A key mini-game that takes place during Dispatching is Hacking, where Robert uses his tech skills to assist the Z-Team and other citizens throughout Torrance. Players will control a node avatar through a maze-like grid area to unlock and access information systems, all while avoiding anti-virus software and being mindful of the timer.
Dispatch Story Plot
Dispatch Story
Dispatch is an episodic, interactive narrative game that follows Robert Robertson, aka Mecha Man, a third-generation superhero forced into early retirement after his high-tech mech suit is destroyed in a battle. Now powerless and requiring money to rebuild his suit and pursue his father's killer, Robert takes a seemingly mundane new job at the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN). His role is no longer fighting crime directly, but sitting at a desk and dispatching a roster of misfits to various emergencies across the city.
Robert's real challenge, though, revolves around managing Z-Team, a group of rehabilitated ex-supervillains who are working off their penance through the company's Phoenix Program. The story is influenced by player choice, as Robert strives to earn respect, keep the city safe, and ultimately return to their calling as a hero.
SPOILER WARNING: This article discusses plot points from Dispatch Episodes 1-8, including some potentially major spoilers. If you haven't played or haven't caught up with the game yet, proceed with caution!
Episode 1: Pivot
Dispatch's first episode follows Robert Robertson as Mecha Man, investigating the death of his father at the hands of Shroud, the leader of the Red Ring. A few months after his defeat and retirement from being Mecha Man, he's saved from a group of thieves by Blonde Blazer, who recruits him as a Dispatcher in the Superhero Dispatch Network after a few rounds of drinks. In exchange, Blazer promises Robert that SDN can help repair the Mecha Man suit.
Episode 2: Onboarding
In Episode 2 of Dispatch, Robert joins SDN as the Z Team’s dispatcher, a crew of reformed supervillains under the rehabilitative Phoenix Program initiative. We meet important characters such as Chase, a former superhero who now serves as a supervisor and Robert's mentor, Royd, a dispatcher who helps Robert rebuild the Mecha Man suit, and Invisigal, a former supervillain who is now an underperforming member of the Z Team.
Robert leads the Z Team, which consists of Flambae, Prism, Malevola, Punch Up, Coupe, Sonar, Golem, and Invisigal, through a day of superhero work. This culminates in the Granny's Donuts incident, where Invisigal fails on a mission.
Episode 3: Turnover
Episode 3 sees Robert trying to get the Z Team together for a more coordinated, focused team effort, trying to motivate the team despite their cynicism and apprehensions towards Robert. The stakes are raised as Robert is asked to cut the worst-performing member of the Z-Team.
Invisigal, currently the lowest-ranking hero on the leaderboard, disrupts one of Malevola's missions to take the credit for herself, but climbs back up in the rankings after apprehending Lightningstruck.
The episode ends with Robert being forced to choose between cutting two other team members, and the player's choice here has major effects for the story moving forward.
Episode 4: Restructure
"Restructure" sees the Z-Team adjusting to the removal of one of your teammates, alongside the addition of a new face to the roster. The chapter focuses on Robert building closer relationships with his coworkers, specifically with Blonde Blazer, Flambae, Waterboy, and Invisigal. The chapter ends with Robert having to choose between having an intimate moment between two major characters, and the player's choice will have major implications for the story moving forward.
Episode 5: Teambuilding
Dispatch's 5th episode sees Robert and the Z-Team navigating a long day of superhero work amidst blackouts and crime throughout the city, before unwinding at a villain bar and getting to know each other better. The episode ends with Robert choosing whether or not to reveal an important secret to the Z-Team.
Episode 6: Moving Parts
Episode 6 of Dispatch follows Robert and Royd as they try to replicate the Mecha Man suit's "Astral Prime" energy source, much to no avail. The Z-Team and SDN host a housewarming party for Robert at his apartment, but things go awry when a member of the team rushes into action without thinking, and big consequences follow for the rest of SDN.
Episode 7: Retrospective
Robert looks towards his past as the Z-Team grapple with a difficult, unanimous decision. Another character close to him reveals important information about Mecha Man's defeat, which prompts Robert to go looking for some answers with the Red Ring. Things take a turn for the worse as the Red Ring stirs chaos and crime all over Torrance.
Episode 8: Synergy
The finale of Dispatch sees Robert and the Z-Team — or whatever's left of it- face off against the Red Ring in one final showdown. Tensions will rise, punches will be thrown, and the player's decisions throughout the story will heavily affect the outcome of the ending.
Characters
Robert Robertson
Robert Robertson, known as Mecha Man, is a superhero who relies on a powerful mech suit, a legacy passed down through his family for generations. However, after the suit was destroyed in a fight, he lost his primary means of heroism. Months later, he was recruited by Blonde Blazer to work as a dispatcher for the Superhero Dispatch Network. Here, he manages Z-Team, a group of former villains, while also working behind the scenes to get his old life back.
Blonde Blazer
Blonde Blazer is the branch leader of Superhero Dispatch Network in Torrance, Los Angeles, as well as the founder of the villain-rehabilitating Phoenix Program. She personally recruits Robert Robertson to SDN because of Chase’s recommendation, but it’s clear that she sees something more in their kinship. She is respected by both heroes and villains for her strength and altruistic outlook.
Invisigal
Invisigal, formerly a villain named Invisibitch, has the power to turn invisible. As an SDN hero in the Z-Team, she’s got a lot of rough edges and baggage that she and Robert will have to work through together. Being a villain her entire life, she’s snarky, rude, and rebellious, but it’s obvious that there’s more to her underneath her spiky exterior.
Flambae
Flambae is a pyrokinetic villain-turned-hero who was defeated by his nemesis, Mecha Man, before getting arrested and then participating in the Phoenix Program. Now a hero-in-progress in the SDN, he is placed in the Z-Team with other former villains, where he is dispatched on missions with them. Unbeknownst to him, he would eventually be placed under the management of Robert, who is secretly his former rival, Mecha Man.
Phenomaman
Phenomaman is an extraterrestrial working as an elite superhero for SDN’s Downtown Los Angeles branch. He has yet to grow accustomed to human traditions and social cues, so his interactions with Robert and the other characters can lead to quite awkward situations.
Z-Team
The Superhero Dispatch Network has many specialized units, but none are quite as unconventional as Z-Team. This squad is composed entirely of former villains seeking redemption through the Phoenix Project. The lineup includes Malevola, Sonar, Flambae, Prism, Golem, Coupé, Punch Up, and Invisigal. Z-Team, according to Blonde Blazer, has often been difficult to manage, as evidenced by their dispatcher almost always resigning just days after they're hired. This may change, though, under the guidance of Robert Robertson.
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