The good, the bad, and the ugly on Planetside from SOE.
1) Challenge: Since the game is based souly on player vs. player combat with not even so much as one NPC in the game the challenge is of a very high and adaptive level. The players are constantly changing their strategies when new features are added to the game and you can clearly see the impacts of these strategic modifications. With the global map being just the right size Planetside rates among the best games for challenge.
2) Gameplay: You will find Planetside easy to pick up and survive but offers a very difficult challenge when you try to become a master at this game. Planetside tries to provide enjoyment for both the soloist and the team player but make no mistake about it Planetside is designed for team oriented gameplay. Also, Planetside is not just built for team play it's built for teams (squads) working with other teams (forming a platoon) who in turn are working with those teams of teams (the empire as a whole). Also like most MMO's there are outfits (guilds) that one can join and to really enjoy Planetside they should join.
3) Lack of grind: This is possibly the one reason why Planetside contiunues to thrive. The game gives you "certification points" that you use to purchase skills such as different weapon types, vehicles, support certs like medical or engineering, so on and so on. You are fully capable of involving yourself in the greatest battles Planetside offers even as a new player. The XP you gain allows you to gain more cert points but they only make you a more versitle player not a better one or give you the ability to be involved. So there's no "XPing" in Planetside.
4) Dev team: Planetside is constantly updated and problems addressed. Though Planetside does not have a history of being the most problem free MMO it certainly has player involvement in the bug identification and many of the ideas that are now in the game have had strong player input associated with them. The dev team responds to the reaction players have to their updates. This is a good thing.
5) Combat: The combat is high-end. If you are a FPS fan and you also enjoy the perminant world characteristics of an MMO Planetside is for you. I am a member of a very prominant Outfit in Planetside and gaming with them is beyond anything I have experienced before in an MMO. The variety of weapons and vehicles is just impressive. What's better is that it's always growing. You have very specific targets and objectives in the game if you are trying to control a continent. Think Tribes meets Joint Ops and then throw that into an MMO. Minus the jetpacks.
6) Free trial offers: SOE is constantly offering free 7 day trials of Planetside. Download their software and play for free. Can't go wrong here!
The bad:
1) The graphics are not elite by any means. The graphics are not the attraction to Planetside nor is it marketed as such so it's not a knock on the game. The graphics are late 90's quality.
2) Cost: The cost of Planetside is higher than I think it should be. Guild Wars have proven that the MMO's that charge $10+ a month are unjustifiably making too high a profit off it's players.
3) Performance: Planetside is a memory hog and it's not understandable. Even running a high-end machine you can find yourself seeing a 20% or more drop in FPS than from other online games you have played and the reason can only be linked to the host. With the graphics not being among todays best it doesn't set right with this gamer that the game demands today's best hardware to run very well. Don't get me wrong you can still play Planetside with even as little as nVidia TNT2 64mb but to see Planetside at its best which isn't all that impressive you will need at least a gig of ram running a nVidia 6800 or better.
The Ugly:
1) The only ugly moment in Planetside came with it's release of Core Combat. This expansion was the worst thing to hit the MMO world as far as percormance since SOE released Luclin for EQ. Remember Luclin, kiddies? If you had an AMD I bet you do! Thankfully I run Intel but none-the-less that was horrid and so was Core Combat. However, Core Combat is a different review! Bwa ha!
Overall:
Folks, I love FPS like Tribes, Joint-Ops, CS, MOHAA, Unereal Tourney...and I like to group up with the same players but I also love MMO's like EQ, UO, and GW. Combine some of the best elements of these two genres and you get Planetside. I really don't have to say more than that. Planetside simply is a MUST PLAY for any gamer of either/both of these genres. There's no excuse not to try it since they offer free trials!