In my opinion Planetside is one of the coolest games ever created. They took ideas from MMORPGs (Massivly Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) and made an MMOFPS (Massivly Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter). This was published by SOE so we can expect plenty of expansion packs ala EverQuest. After you create a character by choosing one of three empires to fight for, a face, voice, and name for your character you can get started. The core of Planetside consists of getting into a squad of other people from your empire and capturing bases on one of the 10 continents that are on the planet. You do this by using a device called the REK to hack into the control consle for the base. Once the hack is finished you have to hold the base for 15 minutes until the hack transfers control over to your empire. This can create some intense fun. Don't be afraid of being a newbie, SOE was nice enough to put in a set of offline training tutorials and a practice shooting range to use to learn your way around the game. In PlanetSide you gain levels like an RPG, this is called your Battle Rank, as you kill enemies or capture bases you gain experience towards gaining a new Battle Rank. In a sense PlanetSide is a leveling treadmill. Each battle rank gives you a certification point to spend on different vehicles, weapons, or non-combat abilities such as being a Medic. Once you have a certification you can use that peice of equipment anytime. As for the visual look of PlanetSide it is quite impressive. Now it isn't an Unreal Tournament, but it is very nice in it's own sense. For example, one nice touch is that the ground isn't flat, there is flora, such as flowers, grass, and weeds all over to add a nice look to the world. All the models are nicely done as well. PlanetSide should run a moderate to high gaming system just fine. PlanetSide has a nice assortment of music as well, different music for every ocassion that seems to seamlessly fade in as whats going on in game changes. This is very cool and adds intensity to the game. The guns and vehicles all sound decent as well. Don't expect the ultra realistic gun sounds that you might see in a Rainbow Six game though. The inerface in PlanetSide isn't the greatest in the world, but it is out of the way and non intrusive. On the top you will see your squad members names, health, and armor. You get a radar, a chat box, and your own character status as well. Overall it isn't a bad inerface. Along with the chatbox is a built in voice communication system you can use to communicate with your squad members with. Now it's time to talk about the downsides of PlanetSide. It has in a way a basic concept of capturing, defending, and recapturing bases that may get old to some people, other people it may not. That is the core of PlanetSide, although they will be adding new content to the game via downloadable patchs and expansion packs, this is the state of the game now. I still recommend the game to anyone that wants to play a great online FPS, PlanetSide is a fun game, hands down.
I started out as everybody else back in 2003 but quickly advanced in command rankings and by the end of 2004 i was ranked #2 in the world all servers all empires. Only beaten by my good friend JeffBeefJaw :) So as an ... Read Full Review
In 2003 Sony released this ambitious MMO that puts you in the thick of futuristic warfare. Planetside puts a fully functional FPS game that has a lot of elements of an RPG, and surprisingly enough manages to pull it off ... Read Full Review
