So, I had a long response written out, but I decided it didn't really get to heart of the matter. Here's the short response: Every time you start a new charact

So, I had a long response written out, but I decided it didn't really get to heart of the matter. Here's the short response: Every time you start a new character, it takes a while -- at least a couple hours -- to get to a comfortable level of survivability (by that I mean: food, water, equipment, weapons). Even once well equipped, it's incredibly easy to die. So, when you're scrounging around for some food or poking around a military base for better weapons and you hear a gun shot, the adrenaline rush is like nothing else. The two hours you spent gearing up could literally be wiped out in an instant by sniper that you never even saw on some hill side. Even better, everyone else is in the same situation as you no matter how long they've been playing, which leads to some really intense/scary/funny encounters in game.