Vehicles
This is something that you do not see in very many FPS games. Planetside has an entire arsenal of tanks, APCs, and support vehicles to help in battle. There is even a mobile spawn point to eliminate long drives to the action. Some of the vehicles take multiple players to operate. One of the APCs called the juggernaut can hold five to eight players and many of them are in gunners which make this a hard vehicle to destroy.
There are also aircraft in the game. You can pilot a mosquito, which is a one man fighter or you can gather a few friends and take a bomber for a run. There is also a vehicle carrier to move important vehicles into battle as well as a gun ship.
Another certification in this game is battle frame robotics; this allows a player to operate a giant mecha type robot. There are various types you can choose from and each faction has their own distinctive battle frame robotic.
Bases
Overall there are two types of bases. There are the lookout towers which provide a spawn point and equipment terminals for troops. These can be taken over at will and provide very strategic importance and help win the battle. The lookout towers can provide various perks ranging from mounted guns to aircraft repair pads.
The other type of base is the main base. These bases are hacked for control and take fifteen minutes to take over. After the base is hacked you must defend the control terminal or the faction who owns it might come and re-secure the base. These bases can have various terminals depending on the type of base it is. Some bases have vehicle terminals which allow land based vehicles to spawn while others are solely aircraft spawning bases.
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Every faction has their starting base which is called their sanctuary. In the sanctuary you can spawn any vehicle but you will have to fly or drive it to the action via warp gates.
Final Thoughts
I will never understand why Planetside never really caught on. I am not sure if it was lack of marketing or what. Even as a six year old MMOFPS it is still not a bad game. However for some reason Planetside never really got the credit it was due.
It has received plenty of updates over the last six years to keep the game exciting and new. In the past few years Planetside has had multiple server merges to bolster combat population. There is still a decent number of players in the game and is worth a taking a look at if you like FPS games.
Sept 2nd on twitter, John Smedley stated "Planetside...Next". Does this mean a Planetside sequel is on the way? One can only hope. I think with a bit more marketing, another crack at Planetside could do very well. Online FPS games have always fallen short of delivering the online war feel that I have always sought after in a FPS but Planetside delivers.
If you are interested and want a free trail with Planetside it is a bit tricky to get. You have to download the Station Launcher and from the launcher you should be able to get a 14 day trial to give Planetside a whirl.
