Final Verdict

In a way, the basics of PlanetSide are nothing new. Warbirds, a flight sim, has been doing this same kind of thing for five years, using similar technology. But PlanetSide’s innovation is to put it into a readily accessible sci-fi-themed Tribes-style first person shooter. Vehicles, weapons, bases, and factions are all inter-woven into a system of balanced and sophisticated combat, even if it does feel like fighting for fighting’s sake.

Equipping up

Which button do I press?

The LFS squad

Sony will be folding in some new features over the next few months to encourage more long-term gratification, but for now, you’re going to have to ask yourself a hard question: are you willing to pay a monthly fee for this sort of short-term gameplay? Personally, I’m not. There are too many similar online games that don’t require a monthly fee. Right now, the servers have plenty of activity from people enjoying the first month they got with the retail purchase. It’ll be interesting to see where it stands in another month. But even though I probably won’t be playing, that doesn’t change the fact that PlanetSide is ultimately successful at something no one else has done this well.

Fresh off the implant terminal

Hall monitors

Hack here please

84% for a game that requires a $13/mo payment? That’s just like Tribes with a few skills that only limit your ability to do what you want, and throw a thousand players together across entire islands? Has Tom taken too many shots to the head from the feedback to The Firing Line #1? Was Brett’s rebuttal in The Firing Line #2 a little traumatic? Or are those gigantic battles full of aircraft, tanks, exo-suits and infantry truly so thrilling? Has PlanetSide succeeded against all odds? Sound Off! and let us know!