A few weeks ago, while browsing a website I ran across an ad for a new game. Curious, I went to the website and checked it out. Astounded by what I could find on it, and wanting to sample it before I bought it, I decided to apply for an Open Beta position. A week later, I had the unmitigated fortune to be accepted into Exclusive Beta. Unfortunately, as I found out, this was both good luck, and a curse, because now I was privy to all the wonders of this game, but couldn't tell anyone! Now I can, as Open Beta starts this week, and the NDA is lifted.
Even though the NDA has been lifted, I still the find the quickest way tell people what it's like, is to give them my first impression... Tribes 2 on steriods.
In truth, Planetside, is not a Tribes 2 sequel in any shape or form, primarily because Planetside is being produced by Sony. Secondly, where Tribes 2 focused on specific team vs team combat, Planetside focuses on army vs army combat. Yes, both take place in the future. Yes both involve suits of armor, ground and air vehicles, and bases, but there the similarity stops.
For starters, Planetside is also and RPG game, with a persistent universe where you have a character that gains experience, and obtains certifications to qualify them to use equipment and weapons. Planetside's "maps" are also continent spanning, with a dozens of bases scattered across a globe. Movement is seamless transition from one base to another, although movement between continents is limited by warp gates, or HART transport. Bases are also more complex, with each giving special functions and capabilities to the faction that controls them.
Literally, there are hundreds of differences between the two games, with just enough similarity to attract almost all Tribes 2 fans. Although to mention it, this game has enough similarites to wet the appetite of Unreal, Quake, Battlefield 1942, Mechwarrior, and even some RPG fans as well. So it's less a Tribes 2 game on steriods, then a Bride of Frankstein genre merger, designed to crack barriers and be an instant favorite to a wide audience. And after playing it, even with the occasional Beta problems, I can saftely say it will be a success, and a genre killer.
Because of Planetside's emmense cross genre popularity, many a game will pale in comparison for some time to come. Not to say that not all gaming fans will flock to it, and its safe to assume that many multiplayer games will thrive in the coming years. However, Planetside will be a dominant force on the gaming market, with its First Person Action, on a massive world bending scale.
Or as Doc Brown says at the end of Back to the Future I, "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads."