Brilliant game - Don't be put off!!

13/12/2017 Update:

Just a quick update since writing this review, in this time the game has launched and has 3 new DLC maps (One of which is free)

Each one of these changes how you play ARK.

The latest of the bunch is Abberration which pits you and everyone else inside a broken down over run ARK deep down in a cavern type map which changes how you get around vastly. You will be required to utilise zip lines, gliders, climbing picks and more to get around the new harsh landscape which is filled with even more dangers than any other of the ARKS which range from psychodelic mushrooms to earthquakes and gigantic basalisks.

Not only did they add this whole new ARK with new items / dinos and features but they also reworked a lot of the classic dinos so they look completely different, many of which will glow up at night as on this ARK night time is a massive part of the game play.

Wildcard have out done themselves with the DLC, it's clear to see every time they release a DLC / ARK that it's simply not just something they left out of the base game to charge you extra for as DLC but actually created to give us hundreds more hours of game play; these DLC's are not your typical EA / Ubisoft DLC which is cut content providing you with 3 more hours of missions.

I have just over 900 hours in the base game and scorched earth, I can see myself easily getting a few hundred more out of Abberration and even more hours in on SE due to not getting a whole lot of time to play it when it was released.

No matter what they petty entitled kids say, you won't find a game with more content, more mods or a dev team that listens to the community like Wildcard do anywhere else.

Edit:

Having played the game a lot more now I feel I can say more about it and on top of that I have my own server (195.154.154.88:22516)

The game is constantly getting updated which I absolutely love, theres nothing better than having an active dev team.

I haven't actually seen much griefing, only heard the horror stories, but saying that I now have my own server with timed base protection so that helps.

Crafting is brilliant but like any survival game can take some time to build something strong and large, this soon gets easier when you start a Tribe and get some dinos to take off some of the work load.

The dinos..I love them, there are so many already that all look different, hell I have an albino T-Rex that looks absolutely badass!

The map is beautiful, I have not even come close to exploring it all yet so around every corner it seems I find something absolutely wonderful, for example a waterfall gushing down into an oasis below surrounded by rocks, set back slightly off the beach.

Not only that there are now custom maps and new game mode types getting added, it just keeps growing!

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Original:

I was on the fence about this game for a number of days due to people complaining about the poor optimization, now granted it's not the best but I took the plunge and happy to say I can run it at a reasonable frame rate + almost everything on medium, my machine isn't the best by far.

Anyway the game itself is awesome especially for an EA title, the crafting, leveling and building system just work perfectly together. The dinos are excellent and theres plenty to see and do.

My only gripe at the minute is finding the way back to my little house I have built as the map feature is pretty much useless right now, I built it off the beaten path to avoid general griefers (yet to actually see anyone like that, everyone seems quite friendly to be honest!) so finding my way back to it consists off "I know it was near a rock..." but when getting chased by raptors you pass 50 rocks so it doesn't really help.

Need a map or something functional to find your way around!

Brilliant game though, love it, community seem excellent too.