16th April 2018, 7:18 PM
Perhaps the biggest thing in gaming over the past year, except maybe for the Switch, is the massive popularity of battle royale games. The first one to hit a huge audience was, of course, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, but there are also others that have copied it, most notably the also extremely successful Fortnite: Battle Royale, as well as others like Radical Heights and H1Z1 (though that last one predates PUBG, but anyway).
Has anyone here tried any of them? I've watched a lot of PUBG on Youtube, but never have bought the game and still don't own it. I'm sure I'd be terrible at it, and random groups or single player probably are not nearly as interesting as voice-chat squads look like they are. So yeah, I'd watched quite a bit but not played any.
Yesterday, though, I decided to finally change that, and since have tried Fortnite and Radical Heights, because they are both free. I played both in single-player mode only, and did try Fortnite on X1 as well as PC. And... I can see the appeal of the games and will probably play them a bit here and there, but as solo titles I don't think I'll be playing a lot of these games. They're fine, but the pacing is kind of weird, which is something always commented on about these games -- you land, maybe have an encounter there, then... maybe, like, spend a long time not seeing anyone, if you aren't in a populated area. Even in Fortnite, which is apparently the fastest-paced one of these games, it's still very slow compared to other kinds of games. I know that's the idea and, combined with the no-respawns design, the thing that sets battle royale games apart, but while they're fun, I was starting to get bored after a little while.
Then eventually, someone shoots be from behind and that's it, I lose. That's really fun. I've never exactly been good at first or third person shooters, so getting only one life instead of respawns has always seemed to me to be something that would probably go badly, and yeah, I was probably right. Even so though, there is something here. Between the two games, Radical Heights' map feels smaller and maybe a bit more action-packed. I only played a few matches, but actually managed some kills, including one where I got a punch kill of a guy with a shotgun! In open areas I'm hopeless of course because I'm bad at hitting moving targets in first or third person shooters (and always have been), but ah well. As for Fortnite, its main differentiating factor is that you can collect resources and build walls or stairs with those resources. The mechanic works well and makes the game different, but that alone isn't enough to make me want to play a lot of the game. If I had friends playing too I could see playing more of it, though, sure (and the same goes for PUBG).
As for themes, PUBG is 'realistic modern day' stuff, which definitely isn't my thing at all. Fortnite has a nice cartoonish style which works well. Radical Heights is sort of in between, as it has a neon 1980s gameshow theme, so it's far from realistic... but it does have real weapons and more realistic gun physics than Fortnite, apparently. And then there's H1Z1, which is the most simmish of the bunch I believe, and does not sound like much fun, but I haven't tried it.
Anyway, these games are huge and I get why, but I don't know that I find them as much fun to play as they are to watch... and I definitely don't plan on spending lots of time to get better. Still, they're alright and I'm sure I'll play one here and there. Anyone else here try any?
Has anyone here tried any of them? I've watched a lot of PUBG on Youtube, but never have bought the game and still don't own it. I'm sure I'd be terrible at it, and random groups or single player probably are not nearly as interesting as voice-chat squads look like they are. So yeah, I'd watched quite a bit but not played any.
Yesterday, though, I decided to finally change that, and since have tried Fortnite and Radical Heights, because they are both free. I played both in single-player mode only, and did try Fortnite on X1 as well as PC. And... I can see the appeal of the games and will probably play them a bit here and there, but as solo titles I don't think I'll be playing a lot of these games. They're fine, but the pacing is kind of weird, which is something always commented on about these games -- you land, maybe have an encounter there, then... maybe, like, spend a long time not seeing anyone, if you aren't in a populated area. Even in Fortnite, which is apparently the fastest-paced one of these games, it's still very slow compared to other kinds of games. I know that's the idea and, combined with the no-respawns design, the thing that sets battle royale games apart, but while they're fun, I was starting to get bored after a little while.
Then eventually, someone shoots be from behind and that's it, I lose. That's really fun. I've never exactly been good at first or third person shooters, so getting only one life instead of respawns has always seemed to me to be something that would probably go badly, and yeah, I was probably right. Even so though, there is something here. Between the two games, Radical Heights' map feels smaller and maybe a bit more action-packed. I only played a few matches, but actually managed some kills, including one where I got a punch kill of a guy with a shotgun! In open areas I'm hopeless of course because I'm bad at hitting moving targets in first or third person shooters (and always have been), but ah well. As for Fortnite, its main differentiating factor is that you can collect resources and build walls or stairs with those resources. The mechanic works well and makes the game different, but that alone isn't enough to make me want to play a lot of the game. If I had friends playing too I could see playing more of it, though, sure (and the same goes for PUBG).
As for themes, PUBG is 'realistic modern day' stuff, which definitely isn't my thing at all. Fortnite has a nice cartoonish style which works well. Radical Heights is sort of in between, as it has a neon 1980s gameshow theme, so it's far from realistic... but it does have real weapons and more realistic gun physics than Fortnite, apparently. And then there's H1Z1, which is the most simmish of the bunch I believe, and does not sound like much fun, but I haven't tried it.
Anyway, these games are huge and I get why, but I don't know that I find them as much fun to play as they are to watch... and I definitely don't plan on spending lots of time to get better. Still, they're alright and I'm sure I'll play one here and there. Anyone else here try any?