Check out our roundup of PlanetSide 2 Preview Coverage!
Cinematic Teaser Trailer
PlanetSide Universe Beta Walkthrough
TenTonHammer.com: An updated look at PlanetSide 2
If lack of distinguishable on-screen markers is the biggest mark in the cons column from my hands-on experience, the day / night cycles sit squarely at the top of the pros. I absolutely adore everything about the system, and consider it one of the things that make PlanetSide 2 feel not only persistent, but flat out epic. This works on a couple of different levels; the purely cosmetic, and the impactful environment changes on gameplay.
GameSpy Preview: Vehicle Surfing and Drop Pod Bombing in SOE's Massive Shooter
The one-man Lightning ATV is the speediest method of zipping around the huge map on the ground. But, in a manner similar to one of the classic Battlefield 1942's most famously unrealistic features, a second player can jump aboard and ride along like a heavily armed, physics-defying hood ornament. It looks absurd, but it's also absurdly entertaining. I was also able to ride along on top of other land vehicles, such as the tanks and trucks, so I'll be surprised if the same isn't true for air vehicles (I didn't get to try that). I'm looking forward to some spectacular stunt videos of aerial acrobatics as players ride the wings of planes.
TotalBiscuit PlanetSide 2 Raw and Uncut
PC Gamer Preview: soaring over a free-to-play wonderland
First of all, it needs loads of players to work, so SOE made it free-to-play. Cue “pay-to-win” skepticism. According to Higby, however, no one is going to throw down cash in return for super-bullets that vaporize your ribcage on impact. Instead, he repeatedly brings up “sidegrades.”
“The whole idea of ‘pay-to-win’ as a pejorative term for free-to-play games is something that we’re really, really trying to avoid,” says Higby. “So, things like new weapons you can always unlock through gameplay. You could get the Station Cash, which is our in-game proprietary currency, but because none of them are actual upgrades to each other, you’re never really buying an advantage. You’re just unlocking a different playstyle by using Station Cash to get those.”
Games Radar Preview: A brave new world
We’ve already gushed at length about the ways PlanetSide 2 is proficiently blending the FPS and MMO genres – at this point, that side of the story is well-documented. But while we’ve heard talk from Sony Online Entertainment about the scope of the battlefield, it wasn’t until our recent session of prolonged hands-on time with the game that we could truly appreciate the grandiose magnitude of PS2’s warzones. Think of the biggest multiplayer FPS map you’ve ever been a part of – then multiply that by 16. You’ve now got a rough estimate of what you’re fighting on and for in the three-pronged, Terran Republic vs. New Conglomerate vs. Vanu Sovereignty skirmishes.
Eurogamer Preview: PlanetSide 2 Preview: Tomorrow's Shooter, Today
It's Sunday evening when you get the call. You're putting out the bins, ready for rubbish collection, when your iPhone gives an urgent beep. It's the PlanetSide 2 app, telling you that one of your bases is under attack, that Vanu tanks are within firing range, that your squad has swung into action. A few taps of the screen tells you which squadmates are already en route. A friend messages you, urging you to join them because, hell, you're the most qualified Prowler pilot they've got. You rush to the PC, and you fire up the game.
IGN Preview: Perpetual War in PlanetSide 2
If your assault rifle isn’t getting the job done, order a tank. If someone on the other team uses a bigger tank to blow up yours, respawn and hop into an airborne assault craft. If the enemy locks onto your assault craft with rocket launchers and knocks you out of the sky, switch into an Infiltrator role, apply your cloaking field to sneak into an ideal hiding spot and headshot them with a long-distance sniper shot. If that still doesn’t work, then you can respawn in a different part of PlanetSide 2’s huge open world and work to defend or expand your faction’s borders against on a different front.
MMORPG.com: Bootcamp Exclusive Preview
Now, as for your own individual character, you will be able to upgrade and unlock abilities for your class based on “certification points.” You gain these by killing other players, attacking and defending bases and accumulating experience in the game world.
Curse Interview with T-Ray and Josh Hackney
FPS General interview with Higby and T-Ray
FPS General Beta Gameplay with Matt Higby
Did we miss something? Hit up the comments thread and let us know!