Mavericks: Proving Grounds vs TIO: Battlegrounds Royale
Mavericks: Proving Grounds
Mavericks: Proving Grounds is an ambitious, 400-player battle royale game that includes some form of virtual world game elements to make it more social. What do we mean by that? Well, basically, there's a central, social hub where you can meet, chat and interact with other players. Similar to a virtual world game or an MMORPG, there are shops manned by NPCs here along with a nice selection of mini-games for you to enjoy during your downtimes outside of the "Proving Grounds". There's even a shooting range for you to test your skills.In terms of gameplay, Mavericks: Proving Grounds provides a massive 16km x 16km-sized map, which is dubbed as the Isle of Dern, that's filled with immaculate details like buildings, forests and the like. You'll then search these locations for chests or boxes containing the weapons or tools you need Considering the vastness of the map, there are vehicles you can drive around too.
Admittedly, it's pretty much similar to PUBG in many ways, but what truly makes this game unique is its physically-sound destructible environments. For instance, let's say an enemy is taking pot-shots at you from a forest but you can't see where he is... all you need to do is light the entire place on fire and smoke him out. There are also special specialist hardware that are powerful to use but can be really hard to find. These items will give you more strategic opportunities to get at your opponents.
The game has a bit of RPG in it mainly due to its emphasis on narrative and how every battle you fight in may determine the fate of the world. Through a unique reputation system, you can fight for the faction of your choice, either The Capital or one of The Factions, by completing achievements or simply by performing well in-game. Naturally, each faction provides you with their own sets of benefits.
Mavericks will be free-to-play once it is officially released, but it will also offer a premium, citizenship program. Likely a subscription program, having a citizenship will grant you some perks, allowing you to say earn more in-game currency and prestige, access to premium cosmetics and more.
So, if you enjoy battle royale games, you'll want to try this game! You can do so right now if you purchase a Founder's pack, or you can try your luck getting into the game's beta testing by signing up as a tester on the website.
TIO: Battlegrounds Royale
TIO: Battlegrounds Royale is the standalone battle royale game mode for the mobile survival game, Thrive Island. Set in a pretty huge open world where you can craft a large variety of items and build shelters or even big buildings as a base of sorts at night. This game has a lot more "survival" gameplay rather than the somewhat intense "battle royale" fights since you are expected to gather resources and scavenge loot just so you can have the best gear to prepare you for the final fight for the title of victor royale!Unlike other battle royale games that have the iconic map-shrinking feature, this game did away with that. Instead, you need to hunt the land for your opponents, which may take awhile, but can be fun when you catch someone by surprise. Interestingly, the game even has a zombie mode where you can turn your slain foes into zombies. Not sure how this fit into the battle royale gameplay though.
All in all, TIO: Battlegrounds Royale feels a lot like a hardcore survival game rather than a battle royale mainly because it places emphasis on building a good shelter, gathering raw resources (as opposed to finding ready-made items) and well, crafting. The game is also a work-in-progress so you can expect a less-polished game that could use your feedback to improve.