Sony, looking to hype it’s upcoming beta for Planetside 2 have given all past and present subscribers of the original Planetside 30 free days of playtime. I had not played since I tried it out last September so I eagerly hopped back in.
I chose the New Conglomerate and picked up a heavy infantry kit before quickly breezing through the basic training. Once I joined the action I was deposited in the middle of a base under contention between the NC and the Terran Republic. I got a few shots off but died without doing much damage.
This is the map of where I was, and if this makes sense to you then you’re better at the game then me. I’ll just respawn back at the big blue blotch to the west.
Once I did I started to walk back to where I died. No, that’s not exactly true. First I had to solve the epic quest called “Figure out How to Get Out of Your Own Base,” and it’s a tough one. It took me a few minutes and allot backtracking but I completed it. That’s when I began to slowly walk to the enemy base, emphasis on the word ‘slowly.’
Ooh, explosions. That was a nice distraction from the monotony of walking to the other base…
… where I promptly died.
Respawning back at the base again, I saw allot of my faction milling around in here. Well, at least that proves I’m not on my own out here.
Walking (again) to the front lines, I crossed this guy on a Basilisk. I managed to kill him after a protracted circle-strafe duel. Ah, first-person tactics from yesteryear.
After dying again I respawned back at the base and started to wa— whoa, whoa whoa! Does that say ‘vehicles?’ I’m on it!
Wheeeee! I grabbed a Fury and drove all over the place to get a feel for it’s controls. It was great fun until my Basilisk riding buddy came back with a rocket launcher. Ouch.
Ok, once more – with feeling!
Out of my way, Porky. I’ve got some wheels to nab.
This is so much better then walking. I took a Basilisk this time myself and specifically went looking for that other driver. I didn’t find him, but what I did find was more exciting.
A Colossus?? What the heck, let’s shoot at it. It’s busy gunning at an aircraft anyway so I should be fine. I plinked away at him until he finally got irritated and turned his cannons on me. I floored it past him and even though I took a lot of damage I managed to escape alive. I bailed off my broken ATV (who, by the way, made ALT-G the bail-out button combo? That’s so cumbersome) before getting shot down by a couple of Republicans. I managed to respawn at a mobile spawn point and take down a cloaked gunman before I was mowed down again and called it off for today.
Planetside has a ton of rough edges when played today, but it does make me excited for Planetside 2. I’m looking to enter the beta when it starts up soon and if it’s anything like what they’re promising, I may have a new favorite shooter. The original though is quaint, but a little too old school for my tastes.
Alphasim out.
