What have I been up to gaming-wise? Well, lets see:
- I've quit SWTOR following the F2P transition (bad idea, EA/BioWare!)
- Played a bit of Assassins Creed III (need to pickup a retail copy as I had a buggy version)
- Had a bash at a few beta tests (TSW, Neverwinter, SimCity)
- Got resurrected in WOW for 7 days by a mate to try out MOP. Promptly climbed back into the grave (great improvements since WTOLK but I'm done with WOW)
- Picked up GW2 (not really playing it though, loads to do but none of the classes seem to fit, somehow)
I obviously haven't been dawdling. The biggest thing on my gaming diary has been PlanetSide2 though. If you have been living under a rock for the past six months or so, I'll explain:
PS2 is all about a three way battle royale over the planet Auraxis. Three factions fight for control of territory and the resources this land provides in a bid to conquer the planet. The factions are:
- New Conglomerate (or NC, AKA Smurfs) - Freedom loving space cowboys.
- Vanu Sovereignty (or VS, AKA Barneys) - Alien loving, laser toting technomancers.
- Terran Republic (or TR, AKA Elmos) - Stoic iron fist of the old regime.
If you haven't played the original PlanetSide then the nicknames for the three factions my seem a little bizarre. Let me explain, the three factions each have their own unique colour and it is for this that their nicknames sprang. The NC are predominately blue, the VS purple and TR are red. Simple then, in the end.
This game is fantastic! I've played all the 'triple A' FPS games there have been and I can honestly say that the gunplay in this eclipses them all, especially if you play with your mates. When you add the vehicles (I'll come to that shortly) which are better here than in any Battlefield or other combined arms game, you and up with a game whose scope is so far beyond what other games of it ilk present you with it's amazing that any PC FPS gamer would play anything else (yes, thats right, it's not on consoles, so NYAH NYAH gamepad wielders!)
Now to the vehicles. All three factions have access to a common pool of vehicles which are identical:
- Flash - A one man quad bike, fast and agile.
- Lightning Tank - A one man light tank. As the name suggests its pretty nippy, not as good over rough terrain as the Flash though but has a main gun to deal out the damage.
- Sunderer - A heavy six-wheeled 12 man APC, with heavy armour and 2 roof mounted turrets.
- Galaxy - A 12 man APC of the skies. Slow when compared to the ESF's, but when crewed by able gunners, it's four turrets (one on each wing, one dorsal and one tail) can defend the beast!
I loved the Galaxy in the beta test, unfortunately they've pulled it's teeth by removing the ability to deploy it as a spawn point and it's wing mounted shields which offered protection to those disembarking. Whether they will bring this back in a limited capacity (squad or platoon spawn only) is being debated.
The empires also have their factions specific vehicles. A MBT (main battle tank) and a ESF (empire-specific fighter):
- NC have the Vanguard MBT and the Reaver ESF.
- VS have the Magrider as their MBT and the Scythe as their ESF.
- TR are served by the Prowler MBT and the Mosquito ESF.
All of these are slightly different, and fit with the general feel of the empires. While we're on that subject I'll go over how the factions differ.
The Terran Republic are what remains of the old Earth government when the colony ships which were sent to Auraxis were cut off by the collapse of the wormhole through which they traveled. They are military in style and their weapons and vehicles generally have a faster rate of fire than the other factions. Their MBT can deploy (when certified for it) turning it into turret which doubles the ROF and reload speeds.
The New Conglomerate are a group which saw the TR being cut off from the resources of Earth as a opportunity to rise up against the oppression of the TR. Their arms carry a harder punch that the other factions, but have a lower ROF. Their MBT can deploy shields (when certified for it) which absorb damage.
Lastly to the Vanu Sovereignty. These chaps are a group of scientists and futurists who, following the discovery of ancient Vanu relics, have embraced the technological advances that reverse engineering these have brung. Their weapons are laser and plasma based in the main, featuring zero or minimal projectile drop and their MBT has the unique ability to be able to sidestep, as it is a hover tank (be default, by the way, no certification needed).
As you play the game, you gain both in rank and experience. As you gain experience you also gain certification points, which are the main in-game currency used to modify your classes and vehicles.
Want to know the best part about PS2? IT'S COMPLETELY FREE TO PLAY! (and was designed to be from the outset, take note EA/BioWare! Tsk tsk!) There is a cash shop in the form of 'Station Cash' which you can use to shortcut the certification system with regards to unlocking new vehicle and infantry weapons but the visual modifications such as emblems for both vehicle and infantry armour as well as things like different hubcaps, bonnet ornaments and so on can only be bought using SC.
This is also true of the various different camouflage patterns for your vehicles, infantry and infantry weapons. But as these are only cosmetic and have no effect on gameplay. Some would argue that some of the camo colours are a little too good, but since you've always got a big red arrow over your head and your vehicle shows up on the minimap, the vigilant will be able to make you out easily.
For more information head over to planetside-universe.com, which is the community site for all things PlanetSide :)
