Bear with me, because I'm not entirely sure how to explain this. Here goes: Planetside 2, the superb free-to-play MMOFPS that's currently one of the most intense shooters out there, will soon be available to buy in shops. Even though it's freely downloadable, for nothing, and you'll need to have a decent internet connection to play it.
At least you'll get a few bonuses, one of which might actually make it worth buying for existing players.
£7.99 (12.29 US Dollars) will net you the client and its latest updates, along with the following extras:
- 24 Carat Power Pack: Exclusive to the retail version: Golden SMGs for each of the three empires; Vanu Sovereignty Eridani SX5-G: The Eridani SX5 fully automatic submachine gun excels in close quarter combat situations; New Conglomerate AF-4 Cyclone-G: The AF-4 Cyclone is a fully automatic submachine gun that has a higher damage output than most weapons in its class; Terran Republic SMG-46 Armistice-G: The SMG-46 Armistice fully automatic submachine gun features a fast rate of fire and larger than average ammunition capacity.
- A 7-day +50% XP boost: increases experience gain by 50% for 7 days on your character.
- 1000 SevenCash / Station Cash (worth £7.99), redeemable through PlanetSide 2 accounts from ProSiebenSat.1 Games and Sony Online Entertainment.
- Battle Buddy: This 3-day +50% XP boost code can be given to a buddy or squad mate to increase experience gain by 50% for 3 days on their character.
The bundled SevenCash might make this a reasonable purchase for Planetside 2 players, though many will probably hold out for sales or promotions. More to the point, you really don't have to spend anything.
I recently nominated Planetside 2 as one of the best F2P games out there, since it has provided my most memorable gaming moments of the year thus far. Well worth checking out if you like the idea of thousands of players duking it out with multiple classes, vehicles and aircraft.