The walls have all come down as the online shooter takes on global proportions! Richie Shoemaker gets kitted out and dives into this massively multiplayer frag-fest to see if it really is the next big thing in online gaming
I have just received a message from the leader of my Outfit (Planetside's version of a guild) telling me my services are required as a matter of urgency. It seems the Vanu Sovereignty are sweeping across the continent of Hossin in force, having taken the stations of Voltan and Bitol in quick succession. A well-balanced and organised foe, they seem poised to surround the NC Sanctuary warpgate, which if successful would mean our armoured reinforcements will be effectively cut off and the pink armour-wearing mutherlovers could be controlling the entire continent within a couple of hours. The question is, do I log into this massively multiplayer online shooter and do my bit for kith and kin, or shall I make my excuses and ensure I get my review in on time? (Don't break the habit of a lifetime on our account - Ed.)
Driven... It is of course an easy choice to make. As any freelancer for PC ZONE will tell you, lateness is a virtue secretly admired (as the great Paul Mallinson once said, 'You can't rush genius').
Armed with the necessary ammo to stall my baying editor, I make my return to the war-torn planet of Auraxis. Once again slipping into the guise of my trusty alter-ego, a specialist combat engineer, I re-emerge at my faction's Sanctuary.
Back in the warm confines of the game, my reviewing duties are the furthest thing from my mind. Even so, it occurs to me that the graphics are somewhat underwhelming, with garish uniforms and a rather generic range of vehicles. However, criticising the visuals would be a little harsh, given the that the number of players and the size of the environments are both huge. And being both a little chunky and generic myself, who am I to judge?
So back to the game, and a quick message to my Outfit finds most of those online are already engaging the enemy under different squad leaders across three different continents. Now, I could immediately take the HART shuttle and drop down into the thick of the action in a pod, Rogue Trooper-style, but seeing as I'm not much good in a one-on-one firefight (HART pods have a knack of inviting local patrols towards them), I decide to hitch along with a gang who might be going in my general direction. Within minutes I've found a likely bunch.
Now the thing about Planetside that will undoubtedly frustrate a great many people is, that while playing alone as a soldier either side of the lines is possible, it is largely pointless, utterly frustrating and terminally boring. The only way to play is with a temporary squad (or better still an Outfit), and there are always a few in need of semi-experienced players. Unfortunately a fair percentage of them are either led by dimwits, or are made up of a poor selection of player classes. Or both, meaning it can be somewhat of a lottery who you end up fighting alongside, a fact that has a massive influence on how much or how little you'll enjoy the game.
Squd Bikes Sadly, my new squad seem pretty clueless. Without the foresight to have enlisted anyone with the necessary skills to pilot any sort of transport vehicle, my new squad mates are consigned to trudge to the front line. More worryingly, our squad leader has neglected to recruit any MAX units (heavily-armoured walking tanks), which are absolutely essential for assaulting and holding capture points for the necessary 15 minutes before a facility comes under the control of your faction.
We do however have three guys in stealth suits, which means we could easily capture one of the more lightly defended installations, we just probably wouldn't be able to hold it for long once the enemy found out. And the enemy does find out, usually very quickly.
Flying away Luckily, one altruistic squad member hops off to trade in his stealth skills for the skill of flying a Galaxy transport plane, and, since we already have a Reaver ground assault pilot hovering in his machine overhead, it is decided after 10 minutes of squabbling that we should take off and, as one squad member succinctly puts it, 'crakk sum skullz'. Quite.
Unfortunately, two people bail out en route (another regular and annoying problem), and our team, lacking the skills or indeed numbers, limps heavily towards the Hossin warpgate. Had we not sorted out a proper form of transport though, this would have been one of the most tedious endeavours in the whole of gaming history.
However, it was all for nothing, as we didn't even manage to get to our target area. Minutes after warping in we attracted the attentions of two enemy Reavers and since our own escort had peeled away to deal with an advancing infantry column below, it was left to our trio of hapless door gunners to vainly prod the enemy (rocket-firing) craft with bullets. Minutes later, my whole team was dead. I only survived because I bailed out in time.
Disillusioned, I started looking for another squad and promtly found one which was clearly far more oragnised than my previous Outfit. It was at this point that Planetside started to improve significantly.
Suits You, Sir After a disorientating few minutes checking the map for nearby friendly outposts, my new squad leader put out a call and assembled a new team. This time, the squad consisted of a wide variety of class types, meaning our skills would complement each other well. Our leader, for instance, could pilot a Galaxy, drive a massive Sunderer APC, and act as an effective sniper. We would also have a hacker who would sneak in and scout ahead, two MAX units, myself, who would patch them up and set up a perimeter of mines once we'd hacked into the base, two Reaver pilots (one also a medic, the other a fine soldier), plus a driver for the invaluable AMS, the Advanced Mobile Station - a vehicle that once deployed acts as a secret respawn point, invisible to the enemy, which would allow us to spring back into battle without having to take a ten-minute hike. All we needed was a couple of grunts and our assault squad would be ready, a squad capable of taking and holding a base against a far superior force, so long as the element of surprise (another essential factor when launching an offensive in Planetside) was on our side.
The Waiting Game Which it was. We entered the base of Nuam without incident, found the Command Console and began hacking it without meeting a single enemy. Five minutes into the process the enemy poured in to the area to resecure it. Our Reaver pilots were quickly overwhelmed, but respawned and crept back into the base to join our defensive perimeter of mines and motion sensors, while the rest of us camped behind crates in the hall that guarded access to the console chamber. Both corridors that led to the hall were guarded by our MAXs, while the medic and I occasionally flitted around waiting to heal wounds and repair armour. While we waited for the assault to come, our leader, having hidden the transport among some trees outside the camp, had taken up a position overlooking the base, occasionally picking them off and giving us reports as to the enemy numbers. This guy was playing his role to perfection, and it was then that it became apparent just how important it is to stick to your role if you want your squad to be succesul. His quick thinking had given us a vital edge.
As the battle raged and the enemy assault began in earnest, I realised my arms were shaking and my cursor was jumping across the screen, such was the tension - something I hadn't experienced in a game since the early days of Counter-Strike.
Kicking Off An enemy suddenly flicked into view, a scout wearing an Infiltration suit, invisible to certain classes not equipped with the implant necessary to spot his movement. Fortunately I was properly equipped and cut him down in a second. Behind him pounded an enemy MAX, its chain gun spitting bullets into the hallway around us, and from behind him I saw a dozen soldiers eager to get past his bulk, some with grenade launchers, others with shotguns and laser rifles.
Tick...Tick... Over the next few minutes we must have wasted more than 100 enemies. Some tripped on mines, others were cut down by gunfire and rockets. But ammunition was running low and our AMS had been found and destroyed - if any of us were to die now we wouldn't be able to make it back in time to defend the base before the hack had been completed.
Two minutes remained and one MAX was destroyed - I couldn't get to him to repair him in time - and my health was dangerously low too. I looked around and saw our Medic had gone, marooned elsewhere in the base. Our Hacker was still guarding the command console and the enemy were still attacking in numbers.
Then came a message from the leader outside: at least a dozen friendly tanks and APCs were rushing along the road from the south. Better still, two AMSs had deployed inside the base perimeter, which meant allied soldiers would soon be pouring in. The cavalry was well and truly on their way and the base was all but won - a glorious moment.
This is what Planetside is all about: fighting against the odds, holding out while praying for reinforcements. And when they arrive the feeling of euphoria is indescribable. Add to this the feeling of smugness as you're awarded points to spend on new skills, and you'll be baying for more of the same. At least, for a short while anyway.
The real problem is the value inherent in the game. Had Planetside been released as a regular retail game without the need for people to pay a monthly subscription we would have seriously considered awarding it a Classic score. Expansion packs will add new vehicles, weapons, items and skills and people will buy them and probably be very happy with them. But will it be too little too late? Only time will tell.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, I was hooked for long enough to get my review in late. And when I logged in the day after my side's great victory to try out my character's newly acquired skill for stomping about in MAX armour, I discovered the Hossin continent had been lost, along with half the planet, not to the alien-loving Vanu Sovereignty and their poncy gravity tanks, but to the repressive Terran Republic. All that work was for nothing.
It's clear that despite the persistent way in which people develop their characters, there is no real progression to the game world: front lines shift on the whim of players, but the landscape doesn't fundamentally change over time. The side you join can neither win nor be overthrown and there is no real compulsion to go back to the game once you've taken a couple of days away from it, since you eventually work out that one battle is fundamentally the same as any other.
And that's the thing with Planetside; great fun though it usually is, despite the incredible sense of camaraderie you feel with your allies and especially your squad, and the urgency, tension and incredible scale of some of the battles, there is no real sense of drive to the game, as there is no way any side can really win.
At the moment, Planetside is a fantastically enjoyable experience unique from virtually any other FPS, but one that many people will have trouble justifying subscribing to after the 30-day free period expires.
Though your character advances in skill, a hard won gain today will always be followed by a defeat the next that will be out of your hands. It's a bitter pill to swallow and it's sad that there are no campaign medals to earn, only yet another titanic battle over the next hill. But what a battle it will be...
Richie Shoemaker
// Overview
Verdict
The mother of all online battles
Uppers
First-person combat on an unprecedented scale Squad-level battles are unsurpassed Finely balanced units and weapons Persistent skills and experience systems that complement the action
Downers
Soon becomes a tad repetitive For team-players only - soloing is deathly dull
Unlike online RPGs, where the thrill of improving your character keeps you hooked, Planetside offers no such structure. In fact, progression through the ranks is so swift you can reach veteran status in a couple of days. For this reason we'd suggest that if you're having second thoughts, it might be wise holding off to see how Sony develops the world and structure of the game. After all, as there's no penalty for joining the fray later, why rush in? Hopefully we'll soon see far more scope for the individual player to develop their character, with a wider variety of skills, traits and weapons to pick from and enhance. Hopefully.
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
First-person combat on an unprecedented scale
