Your parachute deploys, and the sounds of enemy chutes surround you. Your feet hit the ground and you take off in a mad dash for loot and weapons. You’ve landed here numerous times now, you know the area well. You burst into the first building, hoping to find anything to defend yourself with. You can hear footsteps, and a lot of them, very close. You open the first door you see and grab a sub machine gun and it’s corresponding ammunition laying on the ground. Good, now you have a chance.
The footsteps are right on top of you. You turn and aim, and a moment later your first enemy sprints into your room. You open fire and drop him before he can react. You stay motionless for a moment, listening intently to your surroundings. Gunfire pops and echoes in the distance, but as far as you can tell you are alone for the time being. But you know it won’t last.
Over the speakers, a familiar voice booms “Circle collapse incoming, get to safety”. You check your map and cringe. You have a long way to go and a short time to get there. You loot your first kill and find armor and a backpack, along with a few meds and an assault rifle. Nothing fancy, but it will suffice for now. Running back outside, you quickly spot a four wheeler and race to the next circle.
As the game progresses, you lay low. Looting small and obscure areas, gathering throwables, attachments, and ammunition. By mid game, you feel confident and well equipped. You abandon your vehicle, figuring you can outrun the circle collapse and it’s best to stay quiet. Gunfire continues to pop off in the distance, but nothing too close. After checking the global head count, you see only fifteen players remain out of the initial one hundred to deploy. You’ve only made it this far once. Deciding to play it safe, you rush to the middle of the circle and hold down a small barn on the outskirts of a farm.
The final two circles are all that remain now, along with six enemy players. You’re so close, and excitement and adrenaline keep you alert. Footsteps are close, probably just outside the barn. You have an advantage here, as you hold second story high ground and there is only one entrance to cover. You wait silently as the footsteps grow louder, and you can feel the sweat on your hands and brow. The enemy player finally peeks the corner, and you fire. You land a few bullets but this guy is smarter, he slides around the corner. You wait, and a moment later the area only feet to your left burst into flame as he begins throwing molotov cocktails at you, forcing you to move. He lands a few shots on you as you reposition, and you realize you’re dangerously low on health. As you pop a med kit, you can hear him rushing you, taking advantage of your weakened state. Deciding to meet him head on, you rise from your cover and return fire. Trading bullets back and forth for a few seconds, you finally down him. In the process, he dealt enough damage to completely destroy your armor. This leaves you at a disadvantage going into your next fight, and you know it.
You glance at the global head count.. there is only one player left. It is you against him, a 1v1 for the win. You quickly heal up and loot a few throwables from the last guy’s stash. The final circle is about to close in. This is it.
You cautiously exit the barn, and all that remains in the vicinity within the circle is a small shed and a section of corn. He has to be in one or the other. You quietly flank to the shed, staying low. No sign of him, he’s got to be in the corn. You peek the corner and aim your rifle. You see nothing. You hear nothing. You realize the only way to flush him out is to force his hand, and so you do just that. From a safe distance, you lob grenade after grenade into the the dark depths of the cornfield. Shrapnel flies and ground explodes into the sky. Finally, you land a hitmarker on him. You can’t see him, but you know he’s weak. Lobbing one final cluster grenade into the void of crops, he finally emerges, shooting wildly in your direction. He lands a couple of shots, but the advantage is yours now. You unload into him, sending hot lead and a prayer downstream, and he drops.
The screen fades away, and finally, after days of playing, you see it. “#1, Victory”.
Call of Duty’s new battle royale mode, Blackout, is taking the gaming community by storm. A first person shooter that brings elements of both COD and The Hunger Games straight to the player’s hands. While other battle royale games such as Fortnite or Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds have found huge success, Blackout is the new kid on the block that is quickly gaining popularity. The player base is growing tremendously fast, and for good reason. It plays much smoother than PUBG, and is a far more realistic shooter than Fortnite. Personally, I can’t wait to hop into a lobby on a nightly basis, hunting for the high of a 1% chance at a win. It is a game that truly keeps you coming back for more, time and time again. It will be a lot of fun seeing what changes are to come and what additions will be made, and seeing just how much this great game will grow in the coming months.
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