After I finally decided to leave EverQuest, I told myself I would never buy another Sony Online Entertainment made product ever again. At least from what I saw, every expansion in EverQuest was released too early and unfinished. High end content of pretty much all their expansions were placed on high priority, but they literally finished the end zones of those expansions while having already charged the consumer not only $29 for the box, but $12.95 a month to finish something that should have already been finished in at the very least, 3 of the 5 expansions. So, once I found out about a little game called Planetside being published and designed by SOE, I was very and rightfully so, skeptical. Has SOE maintained their deserved stereotype and reputation thus far in the MMO center of the universe as a ship now, patch and pray later maker of half finished software banking on subscriber dollars to finish what should have been finished well before release? Believe it or not, some of the results may surprise you. While others sound just like good ol' blue.

Planetside is a futuristic shooter that places 3 opposing sides in one world that battle for supremacy day and night 365 days a year. Now right off the bat, the differences between this and other shooters comes to light very fast. This is the world's first MMOFPS. (Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter) in where no longer are you held to 32 to 64 players per server on games such as Battlefield 1942, but rather face hundreds and hundreds of opponents via Air vehicles, Ground Vehicles, and infantry in a huge gaming world in a war that is always going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also different is the character interaction. Instead of just jumping into a normal FPS multiplayer match, you are able to go through a set of training missions that will get you affiliated to the differences in what will most likely be a very different gaming experience then what you are used to. From combat drops, to vehicle usage, to how to use implants and all the items in your specific realm. But low and behold, it wouldn't be an MMO game without some sort of character progression and sense of accomplishment. Considering the genre, I feel that SOE did this very well.

Battle experience points is the leveling system used in Planetside. After you gain rank, you get more certificates that you can use to open up different weapons, support items, or vehicles. These progress in what are called Battle Ranks and move from 1 all the way to 20 before you top out. Planetside players will first start out choosing the server and side they wish to fight on. Once you have made your choice, you will be able to enter the gaming world in what is called your sanctuary, which is a safe area where combat cannot take place. Here in this sanctuary you can do a variety of things to improve your character and your familiarity of the game. All of which will actually earn you Battle Experience points. Going into a virtual training center, you are able to test out and learn about most of the items you will use in Planetside. After you equip each one and read the description of how that item works, you will gain Battle Experience. Needless to say by the time you are done you will have earned up to around Battle Rank 2 before you are finished inspecting all the gadgets. The virtual area also helps you decide which type of weapons, support items, and vehicles you desire and what you might want to spend your certification points on throughout the game, and also helps you with your battle configuration. Which leads us to one of my favorite design implementations.