Yesterday, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds launched in Early Access on Steam. Many sources are already predicting the action title to be a big hit right off the bat. To coincide with its release, we will discuss the features awaiting you in the battle royale-esque world.
All Players to the Battleground!
‘Battle Royale’ is a well-known term in this day and age. It gained popularity among Western audiences with The Hunger Games book series. However, Suzanne Collins’ novels were actually inspired by Japan’s gory action film, Battle Royale – derived from Koushun Takami’s 1999 novel. Both films emphasize survival of the fittest and force groups of people into fight to the death scenarios. The unlucky participants relinquish their morals for the purpose of sustaining their own lives. There always seems to be an audience, cheering on the bloodshed and loss of innocence that the tributes experience. We are wrongly entertained while watching the protagonists’ fate play out on the big screen.
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In PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, you along with other players will decide what the best methods of survival are? Will sticking together keep you alive longer? Who should you trust? Or do you trust no one and go this battle alone.
Since the game doesn’t include a story feature, players are encouraged to create and roleplay their own story arks in a similar fashion to DayZ. In the midst of a desperate fight for survival, players will learn not only about the vulnerability of the human species, but the fears and burdens they themselves bear.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
The Developer
Brendan Greene AKA PlayerUnknown, has previously worked on the Battle Royale mods for Arma 2 and Arma 3 titles. He also recently had a hand in the hit MMO arena shooter, H1Z1: King of the Kill. But it seems that Battlegrounds, Greene’s collaboration with Bluehole Inc., will be the most unique and promising ‘Battle Royale’ title to date.
Gameplay
You land via parachute onto a large remote island along with 99 other players. In a game like this, the rule of first come first serve will reign supreme. Players will scramble to gather weapons, vehicles and supplies in preparation for the imminent battle ahead. Both guy and girl gamers alike will appreciate the diverse characters to choose from. You can play as either a male or female with varying races.
However, if you’re worried about missing out on seeing everything the massive island has to offer, there is a feature that allows for vehicle exploration within’ the game. As the game progresses, you find yourself being pushed deeper into the battlegrounds as a result of a shrinking map. The competition only intensifies as eager survivors attempt to remain the last man standing and win the round. Of course this will be no easy feat as strategy plays as big a role as marksmanship. Avid players of shooter franchises such as COD and Battlefield will probably have the biggest skill advantage in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
The gun mechanics are highly detailed in their accuracy regarding recoil, aiming, reloading and shooting ballistics. Another plus is the vast selection of weapons available for use in the game. There are several options for marking your target such as the compensator, lasers, scopes and silencers. Also, players have the option to create custom game modes and mod their own content derived from the game’s assets with the Unreal Engine devkit.
Getting Techie with It
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was developed using Unreal Engine 4 and its impressive graphics are showcased in the gameplay videos above. The hardware requirements aren’t too intense and are actually pretty tame compared to other titles who have used Unreal Engine. These are the system requirements as listed on the game’s Steam page:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i3-4340/AMD FX-6300
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: nVidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB/AMD Raedon HD 7850 2GB
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- Storage: 30 GB Available Space
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is currently available on Steam for Early Access play. We are intrigued to see whether or not it will be a hit or miss.
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