Interested in Planetside, but cannot buy & no free trial!

[Delusion]

Hello all, some friends in my CoH guild suggested trying out Planetside with a couple of them having retired accounts. I'm very interested in the game but have the following problems:
1) No free trial, they're all discontinued. The 10-day invite a buddy requires someone who is a subscriber thus locking out new players with no game contacts.

2) My local EB has discontinued Planetside

3) SOE has no Planetside games instock and has been like this for some time.

4) I sent an email to SOE.planetside support but have not received a reply.

Is this game dead or simply that he publisher/developers are neglecting to not only advertise but provide access to the game for new players.

How can I try this game or purchase a copy? An online purchase with download would be a fantastic option. There's about eight of us that would be willing to give it a shot if I can try it out.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or even if you could cut/paste this post onto the official forums. (You need to be a subscriber to post)

Thanks.

[Sniper Eye]

eBay has lots of PS sealed boxes listed. I saw lots of 10 as well for cheap.

-Snipe

[Ghoest9]

Its really weird that SOE keeps spending money on development, yet doesnt offer any way to buy the game.

[Rbstr]

yeah, If you have a store called microcenter near you they have em, Atleast the one here does, must have been 15 copies

[Poopy_Pants]

Isnt there a link on this site to buy planetside??? If not there is definately one at Myplanetside.com.

[TheN00b]

Seriously, eBay is the only way to go. The game is $30-50 in stores, but sells for $10-20 on eBay.

[Delusion]

Ok, I can order from Futureshop online as they seem to have at least 1 copy. I've never used ebay and not too comfortable buying online.

It's too bad the free trials aren't more accessable...

So, before I that "accept purchase" button how would some of you compare Planetside to UT2004? Faster or slower pace? What kind of populations are there?... could you log in at any time and find a good battle or only during primetime?

Some of the lower population DAoC servers only had worthwhile RvR during peak times.. which of the servers is the most populated?

[Rbstr]

Much slower then UT but FARFARFAR more tactical, though indoors it can get VERY hectic. There is also alwasy a battle going on except in the wee hours of the morning.

Also go to a server base on Ping not, pop, as the pops are both good, and Ping matters alot more

[TheN00b]

Rbstr, I couldn't disagree more with the second part of your post. The ping difference between Markov and Emerald is tiny; however, Emerald holds a distinct advantage in population, though that advantage has been lesseing of late.

On topic: You simply can't compare this game to Unreal Tournament, Quake, Doom and their ilk. They are incredibly fast-paced, instagib jumpwhore deathmachines: Planetside is a much slower, squad-based tactical game. I'll admit that at times, indoor fighting gets crowded, but the vast majority of combat is from medium range, with assault rifles, bolt drivers and the occasional heavy assault weapon.

[Delusion]

Wow, perfect timing :) Planetside has now teamed with Fileplanet to allow online purchase of the game! I'll DL it tonight and luckily enough they've also allowed for old subscribers to play for 10 days... so a couple of friends will be joining me.

[snowwolfe]

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/226252.asp :D

[ChewyLSB]

As far as I can tell, there are three types of FPS's, and you can't compare two from different types.

Slow, Methodically based (PlanetSide, BattleField 1942): The most "realistic" FPS's, these mimic what real wars are like.

Medium, Teamwork based (Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Halo): These put an emphasis on teamwork.

Fast, Twitch based (Unreal Tournament, Quake): Twitch gaming, not much more detailed you can get than that.

[Rbstr]

i agree Chewy

[Onizuka-GTO]

There are still instagibs, if you want to play Planetside like UT, play as New Conglomerate..... :rolleyes:

[shameless plug] If you want a challenge, play as TR or VS [/shameless plug]
:p ;)