FORGET THE FUN OF FORTNITE – GTA ONLINE’S MOTOR WARS IS BY FAR THE BEST BATTLE ROYALE GAME ON PS4.
San Andreas will satisfy your battle royale needs
Picture the scene. After the drop, you down three unsuspecting chumps with a scavenged shotgun. You spend the next five minutes tracking down an automatic rifle, and the following 20 making your way to the eye of the storm. You’re now inside the last ten, crouching behind a self-crafted barricade and pondering your next move. It’s do or die, and you break cover, John Rambo-style. BANG. You’re slain by a bush camper. Again. And now this numpty is doing the Running Man over your lifeless corpse while hoovering up your hard-fought loot. Another Victory Royale squandered.
Unless you’ve had your head buried under a Party Bus for the last several months, you’ll be familiar with the battle royale genre. Popularised on PS4 by Fortnite Battle Royale, the megahit’s meteoric rise has seen it break out of gaming circles into popular culture. It’s even welcomed the likes of NFL pro JuJu Smith-Schuster and rap superstar Drake to its warzone in recent weeks. With Fortnite Battle Royale now making the leap to mobile, it’s harder than ever to ignore the growing scene. GTA Online’s Motor Wars Adversary mode is, however, the best battle royale game on PS4.
Launched in August 2017, Motor Wars pits four teams and 28 players against one another across seven maps. Giving you 11 weapon types and putting you behind the wheel of nine different weaponised vehicles, it’s fast, frantic, and fun. Now picture this scene. Before the drop, you’re given a pistol. You’re in full control of your landing, and race to secure a vantage point. Your minimap is littered with colour-coded blips that identify vehicles, combatants, and weapons at all times – the latter of which come with a full complement of ammo. You ascertain and stalk your foes as the arena shrinks at an alarming rate. You open fire and watch the world burn around you. No forced stealth. No hapless scavenging. No aimless pilgrimaging. No superfluous crafting. And no bloody bushwhackers. In essence, Motor Wars streamlines the battle royale process. Its wave-based bouts unfold at pace, removing the tedium of the genre’s early sneak-and-survival stages. Knowing your enemies’ locations throughout demands refined strategy and deft execution. Knowing the whereabouts of specific weapons makes you balance risk and reward. And all of this against pockets of the gorgeous San Andreas playground, whereafter players vote for the next map in turn and are rewarded with RP and GTA$ that can be carried over into GTA Online itself.
BATTLEGROUND ZERO
The enduring appeal – and, perhaps more importantly, money-making potential – of the battle royale genre suggests it’s here to stay for the time being. What was once confined to PC mods has now bled into console gaming, with everything from Call Of Duty to Star Wars Battlefront II rumoured to be in line for lastperson-standing side-modes down the line. Daybreak’s H1Z1 [see p10] is gunning for PS4 too.
The jewel in the royale crown, though, might turn out to be GTA’s cowboy counterpart Red Dead Redemption 2. Imagine the controlled chaos of Motor Wars but with horses, revolvers, and wagons rolled into makeshift camps and Wild Westinspired maps – from bar room shootouts to gold mines. The thought of lassoing an enemy gunslinger from their mount, before having a teammate finish them off is all kinds of exciting.
Will RDR2 become the new battle royale sheriff in town? GTA Online’s Motor Wars has certainly set the tone. I guess we’ll find out either way in October, pardner.