PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) finally releases on PS4
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)was released back in 2017 for PC and it quickly became one of the most popular online games of all time. This is because the game popularised the Battle Royale genre where up to 100 players have to fight to the death until one person is left standing.
After becoming such a smash hit on PC, an Xbox One version of the game eventually came out. 12 months after the Xbox One version came out; PUBG is finally released on PS4. Will PS4 gamers like this game more than Xbox One and PC players?
The Battle Royale genre exploded in 2017 and 2018 as PUBGis not the only game available for gamers to download. The biggest and most recognised Battle Royale game out there now is Fortnite, although Black Ops 4's Blackout mode is slowly becoming a new favourite for many.
I was introduced to PUBG last year when the game was still in Early Access on Xbox One and the game was far from complete. At the time of its Xbox One release, the game offered only one map and several technical issues happened during my playthrough. The game didn't get better until a few months later.
Well PS4 gamers are lucky because they get the full PUBG experience right from the get-go. All of the three maps are available for you at launch with the promise of more free content heading to the game early next year. That being said, my time on PUBG PS4 still wasn't a huge success as many technical issues are still present.
The only type of technical issues I experience with Fortnite and Black Ops 4is a little bit of lag, but overall both games run really well and have decent looking graphics. PUBG on PS4 on the other hand feels like it's still in Early Access as the graphics look horribly outdated and the game runs poorly too.
Network lag is a huge issue for me as the game fails to run smoothly at a stable framerate most of the time. Not to mention the textures of the levels fail to load up and you might be thinking you're playing a PS2 video game sometimes.
Probably the biggest issue I had with PUBG on PS4 was when a fell inside the map and couldn't return to the game! I admit this occurred to me only one time, but it's something I never encountered with any other Battle Royale video game.
In terms of gameplay, PUBG is the slowest Battle Royale game you can play right now. Matches last for around 30 minutes each time and the maps are large so you rarely see anyone else on the map. There were times I was waiting for 20 minutes or more before I saw another human being on the map. Vehicles are here, though they appear too few and far between to make matches feel fun.
PUBG may offer the most realistic Battle Royale experience, but it's usually slow and very boring compared to Black Ops 4 and Fortnite. However, there are some elements that PUBG has that I wish were in the other games as well.
For one thing, I like the fact that PUBG includes three different maps in rotation as Fortnite and Black Ops 4 only feature one Battle Royale map. The other feature I like about PUBG is that you can play the game from both a first-person and third-person perspective. First person is great for the final moments of matches, although the third-person perspective is useful if you want to see where other players are hiding!
When it comes to game modes, PUBG does not offer the many different stipulations that can be played in Fortnite. There's only the usual Solo, Duos and Squads and that's about it. It would have been better if the game offered more match types in order to make matches varied and fun.
Another thing gamers might not like is the fact that PUBG is not free to play like Fortnite. Fortnite's Battle Royale mode is completely free to play as you don't even need to have a PlayStation Plus account to play online. PUBG on PS4 does require a PlayStation Plus account and the game also costs an additional $54.99 in New Zealand.
All in all, PUBG on PS4 can be fun, although it doesn't offer as many modes as Fortnite. I can only recommend PUBG for players that like realism and slower paced matches.
Verdict: 6.5/10
