PUBG PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Review

PUBG PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds finds itself in a strange place. In many ways, the game has never been more powerful, with new modes, more maps and evolving eSports - the July 2018 Berlin Invitational is widely acclaimed as a huge success. But there are arguments that the game's popularity has peaked, with concurrent players on Steam dropping from 3.2 million in January to 1.75 million in July, and that there is more momentum behind its free-standing rival, Fortnite. Is PUBG on its way down. PUBG didn't start the Battle Royale genre, but the first is to perfect all the elements and actually make it work. Battle Royale games see large numbers of players thrown into one area, in the case of PUBG, 100 - where they battle it out until only one survives. To increase their chances, they can scavenge weapons, weapon modifications, body armor and ammunition, all of which give them hope of not dying within the first seconds of a firefight.

But that's not all. Cleverly, each map is attacked by a strange electrical storm that surrounds a circular safe zone. It continues to shrink as each phase of the game progresses, and unless players can reach and stay in the safe zone, they will lose health at a rapid rate. This ensures that players are forced to keep moving, and ties them together to create a dramatic and violent ending. What's more, players must avoid dangerous and unpredictable red zones, where a sudden surprise attack can knock them out of action before they get a chance to take a bullet.

One of the beauties of PUBG is that it's not just about combat. You do spend relatively little time shooting a risky business where you might be killed, and more time exploring your surroundings, searching for and booting up a variety of ambush sniper fire. There are vehicles to race and some gear to collect, but your main responsibility is only to get killed, and if you make some weird kills along the way, all the better. It's not like Call of Duty or even CounterStrike; it's tense, tense, unpredictable and immersive, with layers of tactical depth that few other shooters can match. Psychologists and game theorists could write papers on how doors operate in PUBG. The core game was brilliant long before PUBG launched, but the team has made a lot of progress in improving stability and performance (not necessarily strength) and just making it better. The map added, for example, doesn't change the scenery but changes the way you play. The original pseudo-Soviet island, Erangel, gives you the classic PUBG experience, while Miramar, the desert map of Central America, has more challenging terrain, denser urban areas and lots of large empty spaces where you are at the mercy of snipers. . It's a map where you learn to move quickly and decisively, then a few moments to scavenge, always seeing where the circle is moving.

It is the third map, Sanhok, which is a game changer. A quarter the size of the other two maps, it's designed for shorter, more action-packed games, with dynamic circles that shrink faster or slower depending on how many players are still alive. One of the biggest problems the naysayers use about PUBG is that it's half an hour of lurking followed by thirty seconds of combat, repeat, but Sanhok gets players moving and upping the pace. Even if you want a camping, sniping style of play, Sanhok forces you to leave your perch behind and keep rushing to the next circle. On PC, PUBG runs at a better frame rate than usual and appears smoother, although the visuals still look a little dull and usable, the focus on realism robs you of the personality you'll find in the lively cartoon battles of Fortnite. Yet there's something about its three settings that feels weird and surreal. The more friends play, the more the territory becomes familiar and threatening; there is very little time to enjoy the scenery as you scan the scene for movement.

It's also a game where sounds matter, gunshots in the distance give you your first warning that trouble may be approaching, quick steps in the immediate area tell you to be on the lookout. PUBG doesn't try to build suspense but does it anyway, every map is packed at times when the tension rises or is suddenly shocking. And while it can be a lonely experience played solo, it can also be a riot playing Duos or four-man squads, though not as much with random squad mates as with friends. Play it on Xbox One or One X and you're still looking for a second-rate experience, but a big improvement to what we had at the Xbox Game Preview launch. Most of the stuttering, lag, and imperfect texture issues have been addressed or mitigated, although there may still be times when artifacts appear or frame rates drop. Xbox One controls remain heavy, especially when slotting weapon upgrades in stock, but the basics of aiming, moving and shooting seem more fluid, with better weapon handling. One big downside of playing on console is that you currently lose the Sanhok map; arguably the map best suited for the more patient and more eager console crowd.

In other words, no matter your platform, this is the best PUBG PUBG has ever done. Is it the best of Battle Royale games? It depends on what you are looking for. Fortnite isn't very popular just because it's free to play or available on more consoles, but because it's slicker, faster and in many ways more fun. It's more ridiculous, more anarchic, still challenging yet more accessible, makes PUBG look angry and ugly. There's also the argument that H1Z1 is a bigger and better Battle Royale game if you're looking for something more traditional. It's also clear that PUBG is feeling the competition, experimenting with zombie game modes and its own take on deathmatch in an attempt to go beyond the basic formula. The former has potential, pitting a much larger team of unarmed geeks against a small group of humans, but relying too much on players capable of organizing themselves into some sort of raging mob. Second, I don't know much about it, because the server always seems empty when I look.

Conclusion

Not quite the original Battle Royale game, but close and still one of the best. Fortnite is more fun and has more of a sense of personality, but if you're looking for a shooter with suspense, suspense and three great, very different maps, then PUBG is the best.