The best game of 2017 is now available on Xbox, and it's crazier than ever

The best game of 2017 —"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," or "PUBG" for short — isn't technically complete just yet, and it's only been available on PC. (The game will enter its "1.0" phase on December 20.)

But perhaps you'd prefer to play it on a game console, from the comfort of your barcalounger? Good news: Late on Monday night, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" went live — also in so-called "Early Access" — on the Xbox One.

Sorry PlayStation 4 owners, but the game is an Xbox One console exclusive for the foreseeable future.

That's a pretty big deal: The only living room console that can play "PUBG" is the Xbox One. So what's it like? It's pretty great!

Before anything else, beware: "PUBG" on Xbox One is very much an unfinished game.

The very first screen the game shows players on the Xbox One is a warning about the fact that "PUBG" isn't finished. It even goes so far as to warn players that the game "may not release as a final product." That is indeed a necessary caution, but it's very unlikely the game won't arrive as a finished release.

That said, you should know what you're getting into here: "PUBG" isn't finished, and it feels unfinished. That comes across in the gameplay, in the visuals, and even in the menus. You're going to encounter stuff that feels rough around the edges — that's because it is rough around the edges. Again, this game hasn't reached "1.0" yet. Think of buying an "Early Access" game like paying for a work-in-progress.

That said, let's dive in.

If you're not already familiar with "PUBG," the concept is simple: You're one of 100 people parachuting down to an abandoned island. You're unarmed, as is everyone else, and your goal is survival. Upon landing, the first thing you'll do is scrounge for weaponry. The second thing you'll do? Attempt to survive.

That's the whole game, essentially — a massive, 100-person free-for-all on a massive, deserted island. You've got one life, as does everyone else.

As the game proceeds, the area you can occupy on said island gets smaller and smaller. This forces players together, and results in a lot of murder.

At the end of the round, if you're the last person alive, you win. That's it! It's simple and very effective.

To this end, "PUBG" on Xbox One feels a lot like "PUBG" on PC did about six months ago. There's a good reason for that: The Xbox One version is about six months behind the PC version in development.

Xbox One players expecting to pick up "PUBG" on console as a finished product will be disappointed. That's because the console version of the game feels distinctly less polished than the PC version.

The biggest problem I regularly encountered involves the game's framerate — the speed at which "frames" of video are rendered by the game console. The game often drops to sub-15 frames-per-second, resulting in choppy gameplay. I mean that literally — the game seemingly stutters in an attempt to keep up, resulting in major gameplay problems. 

Imagine you're carefully lining up a sniper shot, and the minute you pull the trigger — boom! — the game stutters. The player who was perfectly lined up is suddenly five feet ahead, and you've just revealed your position to anyone within earshot. It's a non-ideal situation to say the least.

This doesn't happen with enough regularity that the game is unplayable as a result, but it's frustrating regardless. 

OF NOTE: I'm playing "PUBG" on an Xbox One X, and I'm told that performance issues are worse on the standard Xbox One/Xbox One S consoles.