Sometimes, it’s the random things that you come across or see in an open world game that are the truly memorable moments you cherish. I still remember multiple occasions in the Far Cry series where I was attempting to sneak in a base and ghost every person without them knowing I was there only to have a random tiger stroll in and do the work for me; or in Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain when I would be trying to pick off people from a distance using a sniper rifle, only to miss and hit the largest fuel tank known to man, decimating the entire base. While I still remember bits and pieces from the story, these are the parts that really stick with me. These are the moments that happen frequently and make Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds shine.

The premise is simple and does not feature any narrative or single player content at all. The game is you (or your partner/team if you choose) against 100 other players. You’re given the choice of where to jump out of a plane and parachute your way into a gigantic map that is probably the size of your nearest suburb, and are then set loose to scavenge what you can as quickly as possible. Guns, as well as other weapons, health, armor, and new cosmetic items for your character can all be found fairly easily, and must be done quickly, as other players can and likely will arrive in the area you drop into fairly soon after the game begins. I can speak to this first hand, as a few rounds I was greeted in one of the first areas I visited with someone who beat me there and already had his shotgun loaded and pointed at the door. While you can attempt to take the player down using your fists, it’s not recommended. I was able to kill off a few attackers in this manner, but only a small number of the encounters resulted in success. The melee combat is currently kind of broken and plays out more like a slap fight between toddlers, with hits regularly missing their target. This is even more troublesome when both characters are unarmed, as it can take a solid 2 minutes for a victor to emerge. That is, if no one intervenes. If you are the lucky individual to witness this, a well-placed grenade makes light work of them (memorable moment #1).

While guns and supplies are important, vehicles are the real game changer; in most cases you are done if you can’t find one after lasting a few minutes. You’ll find a decent variety of vehicles if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon them, and these will be needed due to the way the game manages to drive the players into a common area and prevents the matches from taking eons to complete. After a few minutes of the game being live, a large area is marked on the map, which all players have to make their way to or else they die from a poison gas that is unleashed. The spaces will eventually get smaller until a victor emerges, and if you drop too far from them, getting there on foot is a bit of a long shot. While I’ve only died a handful of times from this threat, it is a definite struggle without a means of transportation. Not only are vehicles good for getting from point A to point B, they work well as a tool of destruction, since enemy players (or your team) can be ran over pretty easily if they are wandering around in the open, such as the unlucky team of 4 who were conveniently bunched up when my group was heading to the rally point (memorable moment #2), or when you randomly land on top of someone after jumping a hill (memorable moment #3).

While the game is a hell of a lot of fun, it’s plagued with a number of visual, audio, and network bugs. Rubber banding is a regular occurrence, especially when you are close to other players. The large map is impressive and looks decent when it’s working, but it can be a bit of a nightmare otherwise. I have entered a number of buildings to find the weapons are invisible yet can still be picked up, or to find the building’s interior loaded after I entered it, thus locking me into a wall or part of the level. The game is also prone to crashing and kicking me back to the Xbox home screen. Luckily the load times and matchmaking are pretty quick so this doesn’t take you out of the game for long, but it’s a bummer when you’re having a good match.

While I have not played the game on an Xbox One X, the new system’s additional processing power and visual fidelity does give those with the new console an upper hand. While playing duo’s with a friend, he was able to spot enemies at a far greater distance than what I could see. I feel like this may be a bit unfair, but I rarely ended a game without a single kill.

The game’s controls are a bit of a nightmare and I am still learning nuances and new tricks regularly, such as the option to play in first person by hitting the right bumper twice. Managing your inventory is also a bit of a chore, requiring you to go into a menu and fumble with the blades. There is also a pretty severe delay when trying to use a health item. You’ll definitely need to be sure it is clear before even trying to heal.

The game is not perfect, but I am hopeful that once it leaves early access it will be a worthwhile experience. Meanwhile, I will continue to rubber band my way across the battlefield in search of the coveted chicken dinner awarded to the last man standing.

 

Player Unknowns Battle Grounds was developed and published by PUBG Corporation. It was released on Steam and Xbox One Early Access on December 12th, 2017, for $29.99. The game was not provided to us for preview on X1. For more on Player Unknowns Battle Grounds visit its official site.