PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (Review)
By: IllusionCruising at 20,000 feet, the cabin is packed, full of ordinarily dressed strangers. You wouldn't dare strike up a conversation about the weather though, or ask the passenger next to you if you were the only one who didn't get their complementary pack of peanuts. These people will all most likely be dead within the hour. You'll most likely be dead within the hour. You'll all jump out of this seemingly perfectly good airplane and only one of the 100, or so, of you will survive. The enemy isn't on the ground though, the enemy is on the plane. The enemy is the guy or girl next to you. The enemy is you.In Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds 100 or so players are pitted against each other in a “Hunger Games” style, all out battle; last man standing wins. Players start with nothing but the clothes on their backs, dropping from a plane into what seems to be a deserted island once inhabited solely by gun enthusiasts. With no time to waste, you better hit the ground running to collect weapons, ammo, armor, and other loot, because if the guy who landed next to you picks up that gun and loads it before you can, your game is coming to a quick end. Use stealth, overwhelming firepower, vehicles, or whatever else can give you an advantage to last as long as possible. Players can join solo, in duos, or in squads of up to 4 players.Part of a recent wave of games sporting this unique game type, PUBG is a fast-paced, no mercy, kill or be killed slug-fest. The game is timed cleverly by using a “safe zone” that slowly gets smaller and smaller forcing players to interact with each other. The plane you jump from always flies from a different direction and at a different angle over the island, forcing players away from routine drop spots. And random gun spawning make sure you never know what you're going to find. Although still in beta mode, the game is impressively fun and addictive with developers at Bluehole making at least monthly updates based on player feedback.
Highlights
Low time commitment: With a total game time of roughly 30 minutes (if you survive and become the last player), you can easily sit down and enjoy a fun shoot out in that 5 minute gap you have before you leave for work. From hitting the “ready” button, the average time it takes to find and load into a server is about a minute and a half. Some of PUBG’s predecessors can take anywhere from 3-5 minutes to load a game. Talk about forever! And lets be honest, how much are you going to get done on ESO in 5 minutes?Weapon customization: One of the funnest part of the game is customizing your weapons. Aside from having a large selection of weapons you can find, from pistols and SMG’s to shotguns and rifles, each gun can be customized with the scope, grip, stock, or mag that will fit the situation you think you'll find yourself in. Share weapon accessories with your squad to have a fully decked out crew.Rare one shots: You will rarely be the victim of a one shot death in this game. Unlike some of its competitor games. You’ll rage less. Your doctor will most certainly approve.Fun: This game is an absolute blast to play. You and your friends will share stories of that time you died in this house, or that time you took out a team in that field. Or the time you missed that grenade and almost killed everyone.
Lowlights
Server performance: Now let’s take into account the fact that this game is still in Beta mode and all players are well aware of this. Having said that, it is no less infuriating when you're in a firefight and have the “network lag detection” error fill your screen and you come back either dead, or running into a wall. I mean, why am I paying for gigabyte internet connection? Lets hope this gets fixed soon.No hit directional marker: unlike most games, when you get shot in PUBG, there is no indicator on the screen showing you which direction you were shot from. Some people like this realistic aspect of the game, but other players just flat out hate it.Jumping: You will jump over nothing. The shortest wall will be your nemesis.You will not regret buying this game. It’s definitely not perfect, and the developers I'm sure would be the first to tell you that. But being in beta mode, it’s a great start so far, and I look forward to the many updates to come. Play on boys and girls.[yasr_multiset setid=2]
