PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS | (Early Access) Video Game Review
Note: I did get this game for free. I got it for free because I took part in the Pre-Alpha that happened (I think) in July of 2016. Getting the game for free doesn’t affect my review at all.
PUBG is truly a tactical, strategic and skill based Battle Royale game that no other game can replicate.
#1
Q: Is it another H1Z1?
A: No.
#2
Q: Is PUBG a contender with Arma 3 BR and H1Z1: KotK?
A: Short answer, yes and no. PUBG blows Arma 3 (except for guns) and H1Z1 out of the water. Play Arma 3 BR if you want a more Hardcore BR, PUBG if you want a mix of both games, play H1Z1 if you want an arcadey BR. Each one has it’s own design and characteristic.
Now here’s my Early Access review, it gets nit and gritty towards the end.
For those wondering, why is this so familiar?
- Well, because the person behind this game is PLAYERUNKNOWN (as stated in the title of the game). It’s his standalone game. He first started his Battle Royale work in Arma 2/3 as Mods. Than Daybreak licensed Battle Royale gamemode from him and they implemented that his game mode in their game called ‘H1Z1,’ later on they saw the potential of Battle Royale and they split the game into 2 games with one game that only has the Battle Royale game mode called H1Z1: King of the Kill.
What does BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) feel like?
- It’s a mixture of Arma 3 and H1Z1, but more or less it feels like Arma (but not clunky) since it’s not arcadey like H1Z1 and it actually takes skill to learn. It’s not just about getting kills. It’s about surviving. If you like tactical’ness, outsmarting your opponent, a non-clucky engine like Arma 3 and just an overall fun time. This is the game for you. In Arma 3, it’s slow pace and walking everywhere, sometimes taking a vehicle. In H1Z1, almost everyone is in a car and if you get near someone they jump out (while the car is going full speed) and they try to shoot you. In this game, it’s medium pace, the vehicles in BATTLEGROUNDS will get you killed if you randomly jump out to kill someone at full or half speed.
In BATTLEGROUNDS, you have servers where you can go Solo or find a teammate(s) in Duo and SQUAD, just like in H1Z1. Unlike in H1Z1, but like in Arma 3, if you team in Solo servers you will get banned. PUBG also has Mod support for custom servers. Sadly, this Mod support won’t be available until full release (when it gets out of Early Access, 6 month from now). Mod support… H1Z1 doesn’t have that. Mod support where you can create your own Battle Royale game mode (and publish it to the Steam Workshop), host it (maybe rent a server like in the Battlefield series) and have your own community or group of friends play it.
I mentioned above that Mod support is coming. Mod support in what way? Well, instead of having only 4 player teams, you can create your own custom server and for example, have 10 player teams or more. If your a Content Creator, you can have battles against Followers Vs. Subscribers. If followers win, sub-mode gets turned off, if subs win, sub-mode stays on. You can literally create your own Battle Royale. Truly unbelievable.
I can’t compare weapons with this game to Arma 3 since Arma 3 is a military simulator game (so it has countless of weapons). So I will have to compare it to H1Z1. In H1Z1, you’re only limited to 2 assault rifles, 1 sniper rifle, 1 shotgun and 4 pistols… 8 main weapons in total and 0 attachments. All these weapons have predictable weapon recoil. In PUBG, you have 4 assault rifles, 4 sniper rifles, 3 Submachine guns, 1 LMG, 4 shotguns and 4 pistols… 20 main weapons in total (with more weapons to be added in the near future, stated by the Devs) and every weapon can have an attachment. All these weapons don’t have predicable weapon recoil, they’re all different, as well with the bullet drop and travel. Attachments like forgrips, compensators and more all can decrease the recoil and change the final outcome of the game when it comes down to that 1v1 at the end. You can’t use 3rd person shooting all the time, it’s not accurate as 1st person shooting (like in H1Z1, both 1st and 2rd can be used at medium/long). Only one weapon is the mostly deadliest in close combat… And it’s the Frying Pan. One hit kill no matter where you hit (back when the Alpha was playable).
Back when Alpha 2 Testing was going on in November/December, 9 months after development of PUBG, PUBG was more powerful and more optimized than H1Z1. Later came Closed Beta came about and they added new content, new animations w/ MoCap, weather, etc. FPS wasn’t that great but it was still playable. Now it’s in Early Access and it’s getting somewhat better with optimizations. How is that even possible? With H1Z1 being in Early Access for 2 year+ of development… All Daybreak really added was a new map, new cosmetic items to buy, season ranks (which don’t do anything), Twitch tournaments and that’s it? Sadly, that’s pretty pathetic. I think the team stopped caring about their own game.
- Are you getting low FPS? Be sure to check out my guide on Steam on how to get better FPS. — http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=889507168
As I mentioned in the beginning, getting the game for free doesn’t affect my review at all. But because this is a review, I have to be unbiased and review all aspects of the game, even the company behind the game. I give the score what I gave it because of one issue. Due to the fact that the Community Manager/Community Team of the game, Sammie and FWG. They were very disrespectful, closed minded and banned me on many platforms to censor me. I would have given this game an 8 if this situation didn’t happen/taken place.
In the end, I’m glad PU made the Mod in Arma 2/3 and Daybreak licensed the Battle Royale mode from PLAYERUNKNOWN. He got rid of the clucky’ness from Arma and understood all of H1Z1: KofK mistakes, downfalls, lack of communication/game updates and made his own game. And to be honest with you, this game is pretty badass and worth the buy. I’m glad that I was able to see this game grow when when Pre-Alpha was going on.
It’s one of those games that you will come back and play each day just because how fun it is, H1Z1 (or other BR related titles) can’t do this.
How can the game improve?
- More optimization. I know that this is a key task that the team is trying to fix and make better, but just adding it to the list.
- Bring back the Frying Pan at being a One Hit Kill anywhere on the body. Sadly, this game can’t get a 10/10 if this doesn’t get put back, not even if they add all the missing features that I stated in #3 and better optimization in #2, it will probably be like a 9.5 or 9.8. This is what made the Alpha tests enjoyable (always on alert and checking corners).
- Features like a new settings UI (it’s kinda ugly), video memory box to see how much each graphic setting takes up, better rain and thunder sounds to mask gun shots, and free fall to the ground (have the possibility to die or get badly hurt) with pulling the parachute late or not pulling it at all.
My Review Score: 7/10
