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The Firing Line: Nope, your FPS can't do what PlanetSide 2 does
Earlier this week, SOE released a cocksure trailer that asked viewers whether their FPS did all the things on display in PlanetSide 2. If our comment section is any indication, the clip was perceived as over-the-top and a bit premature due to the game's various launch issues. In my mind, though, it made a legitimate point, and while it's clear that the devs have a lot of work ahead of them, it's also clear they've already managed to create one of the year's must-play MMOs. They've also made this long-time shooter fan question the need to play any other shooter.
E3 2012: Crashing and burning in PlanetSide 2
I used to think of myself as an OK pilot. Then I slid into the cockpit of a Terran Republic Mosquito at E3 yesterday and learned just how inapplicable real-world skill is in PlanetSide 2. In my defense, Sony Online Entertainment's demo stations suffered from a severe lack of joysticks, and the controls were also mapped to that goofy up-is-up and down-is-down standard that's, well, standard on every shooter ever made. This is completely unnatural to my way of thinking, and so I'm going to blame it for the fact that my Mosquito lumbered around the skies of Auraxis like a drunken elephant, listing hard to starboard and eventually porpoising down for the ugliest landing in the history of ugly landings. But hey, any one you walk away from's a good one, right?
E3 2012: PlanetSide 2 trailer pulls you in three directions
"Size. Always. Matters." Thus sayeth Sony Online Entertainment's E3 trailer for PlanetSide 2. The brand-new trailer shows the chaotic flow of battle, both on the ground and in the skies. Each of the three factions -- the Terran Republic, New Conglomerate, and Vanu Sovereignty -- receives a moment in the spotlight during the trailer accompanied by stirring speeches. It's a good opportunity to get a feel for the factions and the gameplay if you're interested in PlanetSide 2, so give the trailer a watch after the jump and let us know what you think!
PlanetSide 2 website features new Terran Republic lore
It's been a while since we've featured a PlanetSide 2 lore update, mainly because more interesting gameplay info was on offer from Sony Online Entertainment. In the absence of new vehicle screens and Matt Higby Q&A's, though, we'll happily tell about the latest story-centric update to the official site (hey, some PS2 news is better than no PS2 news, amirite?). Last night's blurb features one Tom Connery (presumably no relation to Sean, since it's the year 2640). Connery is prone to making holovid records of his life in the Terran Republic, and his latest is a somewhat harrowing account of a collapsing wormhole and the plight of the 40,000 colonists stuck on the wrong side of it. Click over to the official PS2 website for the full report.
SOE reveals PlanetSide 2 Terran Republic character turnaround video
One thing you can't say about PlanetSide 2 info this month is that it's scarce. As the Terran Republic info has been the focus of this week, we get another shiny tidbit in the form of a video showcasing 360-degree views of the Terran Republic military characters. The video shows some up-close and personal details of the characters' armor and tools, from Standard, Light Assault, and Heavy Assault variations to the ominous Mosquito. Check it out for yourself, embedded after the cut.
PlanetSide 2 reveals two new Terran Republic screenshots
Yesterday, Sony Online Entertainment released some new information on PlanetSide 2's Terran Republic. The faction gets even more love today with a pair of new screenshots featuring the good ol' black 'n' red. Show your loyalty to the Republic by heading on over to PlanetSide Universe to check out the new screens.
SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 Terran Republic info
Well, it's not exactly a deep gameplay reveal, but it's better than another lore snippet! What the heck are we talking about? Why, the latest PlanetSide 2 press release of course. Sony Online Entertainment has dropped a new screenshot on the masses, and the exciting image is accompanied by a wall o' text from creative director Matthew Higby. Higby spends a bit of time telling us about the Terran Republic, which is one of three warring factions in SOE's sci-fi shooter universe. The Republic is a professional military organization, and as such its members are equipped with weapons that "have the fastest firing rates, largest ammo capacities, and are generally designed to allow for maximum sustainable damage." The Terrans also have two unique vehicles at their disposal. The Mosquito is "an extremely agile attack aircraft" and boasts the highest top speed of any PlanetSide 2 air vehicle. The Prowler tank is the fastest empire-specific piece of heavy armor, and Higby describes it as "one of the deadliest vehicles in the game." Check out the full article at the official PlanetSide 2 website.
Coloring inside the lines: An interview with PlanetSide 2's Tramell Isaac
I think we're all allowed our moments of pure geek squeeing when we bump into the people responsible for some of our favorite video games of yesteryear. So I had to apologize to Tramell Isaac in advance for gushing over his work on the first two Fallout titles, games that are among my all-time favorites. He didn't seem to mind, and he spent a few minutes shooting the breeze about his favorite designs in the game -- designing Robobrain and the Vault Boy cards that accompanied the player perks. MMO fans will probably best know Isaac from his work on the original PlanetSide, a project that is near and dear to his heart. Sony Online Entertainment brought him back on board to be the senior art director for PlanetSide 2. This makes sense -- after all, who else would best know how to evolve the series' design than the guy who started it? Isaac was kind enough to sit down on the phone with me to talk about how PlanetSide 2's visuals are shaping up, following his own blog post on the subject. Hit the jump to find out why each faction is going with a very specific color scheme, how microtransactions will affect how awesome you look, and just what Batman has to do with any of it.
SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 art and screens
Sony Online Entertainment is sloooooowly letting a few PlanetSide 2 teases slip through the cracks, and the latest is a set of screenshots and artwork showing off the upcoming massively multiplayer shooter's dazzling visuals. The new gallery features a bunch of combat shots complete with dirty uniforms, spiffy muzzle flares, and some nifty surrounding terrain. You'll also spot a few dead bodies in the background, and the overall mood evoked is one of gritty sci-fi realism. SOE has also tossed in a couple of concept art pieces for your viewing pleasure, so take a look at the gallery below to see some Terran Republic stealth and medic gear. In other PlanetSide 2 news, rumor has it that the title won't be coming to the Playstation 3 console. "I think I would have been told about it by now," SOE's Matt Higby reportedly told IncGamers. %Gallery-127964%
First PlanetSide Next character model revealed
He's tough, he's gruff, and he ain't going down without a fight: This is the Terran Republic Soldier in PlanetSide Next. While we've seen a number of vehicle models for the upcoming MMOFPS, this is the first PlanetSide Next character model to grace the public domain. SOE has been using fansite PlanetSide Universe to promote the game by passing along exclusive pictures, although the studio has remained tight-lipped about the project as a whole (and has yet to release a PlanetSide Next website). The character model here -- a grim, dark-eyed soldier with a buzz cut -- shows a much higher level of detail and resolution than PlanetSide's current avatars. The red, black and grey color scheme puts the Terran Republic in somewhat of a sinister light. You can catch up on all of the revealed pictures of PlanetSide Next in the gallery below. %Gallery-115730%
PlanetSide veteran remembers the Battle of Forseral
PlanetSide doesn't get much attention these days. It didn't get much attention when it was fresh on the market either. It has always seemed like a clunky, not-quite-right prototype for what a massively-multiplayer-first-person-shooter could be. But some folks remember their time spent there quite fondly, including Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Quintin Smith.A few days ago he wrote up an article about how veterans of the game fondly share war stories, and then provided his own epic tale. It's a great story that shows how players with good humor can turn a game-crushing bug into the gaming experience of a lifetime.The story resembles the Battle of Thermopylae; one nation is forced (by a bug) to the brink of annihilation. It's interesting because it's presumably the one time any faction in PlanetSide was faced with the possibility of complete and final loss of a war that's rigged to be impossible to lose (or win). We recently brought up the question of stakes in PvP, so this new RPS article is topical! Amusingly, the article is also not entirely dissimilar to our own PlanetSide experience.
