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The free "Smuggler's Run" update came to GTA Onlineon Tuesday, and with it was a new way to play that should be exciting for Playerunknown's Battlegroundsfans.

"Motor Wars" is a competitive mode in the vein of PUBGand other so-called "battle royale" games. At the start of a match, up to four teams of players parachute into the play area, which shrinks over time. It eventually gets to be so small that everyone is on top of everyone else, with the last team standing crowned the winner.

SEE ALSO:Survival shooter 'PUBG' adds ability to honk car horns, chaos ensues

Battle royale games tend to start everyone out on even footing, putting an early focus in each match on amassing some kind of arsenal. In PUBG, for example, you start with nothing at all; one of the biggest strategic considerations, in fact, is where you land, since buildings are the best places to scavenge for gear.

Motor Wars is a bit more forgiving. Players already have a pistol in their possession when they skydive in... but that's it. Much like PUBG, other weapons are scattered around in the play zone, and gathering them is where the fun begins.

Motor Wars also ropes in GTA Online's "Weaponized Veicles," which were introduced in the game's previous "Gunrunning" update. This special class of GTAride is kitted out with weapons and armor, and can be upgraded for more.

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The out-of-nowhere success of PUBGalmost guaranteed we'd start to see the "battle royale" style of competitive online game creep into popular titles. GTA Onlineis obviously fertile territory for this sort of play, since it already has a vast and varied open world environment to lean on.

The Smuggler's Run update also adds a number of other new features to GTA Online, including an assortment of vehicles and customization items, the ability to buy your own aircraft hangars, and player-run Air-Freight Businesses, which let you steal and then sell precious cargo.

While Motor Wars seems like an exciting update, only time will tell how fun it'll actually be in a game like GTA Online. Part of what makes PUBGwork so well is its inherent jankiness.

Battlegroundsis technically an "early access" game, meaning its unfinished and still in active development. It's still very playable, with new elements and needed revisions added frequently, but it's also prone to buggy behaviors and inconsistent physics. They don't break the game, but they do make it 100 percent more hilarious.

GTA Onlineis much more polished, though it's not without its own hilarity. The unpredictable open world has proven itself to be a perfect canvas for completely organic "holy shit" moments. The chaos of four teams duking it out to stay inside the shrinking play area could definitely tap into that in fun and funny ways.

Smuggler's Run is out now, so all you need is a copy of Grand Theft Auto Vand an online connection if Motor Wars sounds like your type of thing.

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TopicsGaming