Planetside 2 is here, yay! I played the beta of this one a bit and liked it enough to know I’d be playing the released version (it’s “free to play” so that was no bold decision) so I opted to not play the beta very much so the game would be ‘fresh’ when it launched.
That might have been a mistake because Planetside 2 can be brutal to newbies. I seem to remember that when I played beta you first spawned in some central hub that was a safe zone. Not in release. In release you’re dropped right into a firefight. I opened my settings menu to check things out and BLAM! Headshot. Dead. Oh well, it gave me time to look through the settings.
But damn is this game fun! I am absolutely rubbish at it but I generally play a medic. No one hates a medic. If I die 19 times but the 20th time I get to you to heal you up, then I’m OK, right? I just need to go into the game with a light heart and not get angry and frustrated at dying a lot while I’m getting used to the game controls and such. There’ll be time to be competitive later and remember, it isn’t costing me anything to play.
What I love about the game is the scope of it. When you’re running across the field and there’re like 20-25 other guys and gals on foot, plus a few tanks and troop transports rolling along beside you, and fighter planes screaming over head, and suddenly the tank off to one side goes up in an explosion from a direct hit from somewhere.. it just feels like what would be the opening cut scene in any other game. But this is all real gameplay.
Of course other times things are a lot quieter. You gotta take the good with the bad.
Unfortunately tonight their servers are slammed. I keep winding up in a Queue that never moves…never even manages to give me my position in the queue. I finally created another character on a West Coast server with only a “High” population just to be sure the game was actually working. While I was in there I grabbed some video using the in-game video capture tools. It doesn’t do a great job, and then once I upload it to YouTube I fear it’s going to look even worse (it’s uploading as I type this).
Pete, I’m looking for a new FPS for my 12-y/old son for Christmas. He likes the Call of Duty and Black Ops series (and as a gamer Dad I have no problem with him playing them.) Would this be a game you’d recommend?
Ach, I’m not the best judge of what’s appropriate for younger folk. I mean in terms of ‘could he play it’ then yeah, I’m sure he could (though the air vehicles might be a challenge for him). In terms of whether or not you want him in that environment… my experience has been that most people are too busy shooting to do much trash talking so it’d probably be all right, but the game does support proximity voice chat so there’s always the possibility that he’d end up next to some moron spewing curses via voice or something. It’s never happened to me though (*knock on wood*)
It’s free though, so you could install it and give it a test run.
To be honest, the language is probably no worse than what he hears at Junior High or when my wife fights rush hour traffic driving him there 😉
Useful to know it’s a free install, too. Makes trying it a much less risky venture than shelling out $40-$60 before getting to play it.
If he really gets into it, you can buy him some Station Cash to spend on weapon unlocks and stuff. (And be sure to wait for a sale…SOE often has double or even triple Station Cash weekends).
Or you can sign him up for a subscription that lets him jump the queue if there is one, and helps the exp roll in a bit faster, but really it isn’t needed.
But he can jump in and go for a long while without you having to lay out a cent.
We watched a few more videos and started the download last night. It looks like a very interesting game and makes me want a PC of my own now so I can play, too.
Actually, I do have a PC, but it’s my 8 y/old daughter’s old PC and it is a real tractor…and I don’t mean one of these beasts 😉 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4eNXmCGcgE