PlanetSide 2

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1356 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 800 out of 1356
  2. Mixed: 281 out of 1356
  3. Negative: 275 out of 1356

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  1. Psyclosarin
    Nov 21, 2012
    5
    On the face of Planetside 2 is total brilliance, just the pure concept of the game and sheer scale is amazing. Although in saying this I feel there are too many positive reviews for this game because of people being "wowed" by how dramatically different the game is. The most major downside to this game is not so much that is has a hard learning curve it's the fact the the development teamOn the face of Planetside 2 is total brilliance, just the pure concept of the game and sheer scale is amazing. Although in saying this I feel there are too many positive reviews for this game because of people being "wowed" by how dramatically different the game is. The most major downside to this game is not so much that is has a hard learning curve it's the fact the the development team spent so much time in beta asking the community for input, much of this has been seen and is in the game however the most critical part of a game is getting players actually in to the game and actually caring about the faction they're fighting for. There is nothing, well, there's a 2 min into sequence that tells you nothing other that "Alright soldier we need to beat the enemy" and hot drops you onto a random base that has players in it. There is no tutorial on how to play the game, no new players understand what is going on and I'm finding it hard to keep my friends interested because they feel there is no substance to the game. Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant platform for a game however there is no story that is given to you, no overview of the faction, hell, not even an explanation of why the hell these people are even fighting, it's a piss poor effort and doesn't deserve all the high praise it's been getting. There is a lot they need to fix, this should NOT have been release yet, it's not ready. They only "just" got the 3rd continent out a few weeks prior to release and has had little testing. There is a myriad of bugs that are inexcusable of a game expecting people the throw money at it for it's sheer awesomeness.... There is no polish to this game. A game with no story? That is inexcusable for any game.

    On a side note the gun play is frankly crap, you feel disconnected from your weapon because the recoil isn't smooth, it just bounces around unnaturally. Finally, I need to mention this game just keeps failing in the optimization department, if you're an AMD user you can practically give up on having good graphics or a decent FPS, you'll be lucky to get 30FPS in actual "Advertised" fights (more than 40 people in an area) not to mention you won't be able to get the nice shiny graphics provided by PhysX because it will fry your processor trying to use this. Overall..

    8/10 For the dev's effort, great so far
    5/10 Graphical performance
    7/10 Gameplay 0/10 Story/Factions/Lore/Background
    2/10 Introduction and training
    10/10 for atmosphere (provided you're not getting horrible FPS)

    Basically SOE need to sort their game out, sure they have a workable "fun" game but that's expected of a BETA and NOT a fully released game. It feels rushed and at least some effort into a story would have been a massive help to the game. But after a while this game gets very, very bland.

    I have some faith in SOE, I've supported them this whole beta and I expect great things from them over them over the next year and hey, maybe this time next year they'll have a game worthy of being called "complete".

    I suggest people pick this game up, give it a try and see if you enjoy the concept, even if it's a bit shoddy now it should be awesome down the track .    … Expand
  2. Nevermind
    Nov 28, 2012
    5
    Planetside 2 is a game that showed great promise. 2000 player servers in a FPS game seems too good to be true, and this game appears to have done just that. However, once past the first impression, you cant really ignore the game's problems. Unbearable fps (15 fps on a gaming rig, really?) means you will be looking at a slideshow most of the time. Terrible balance, 50 vs 5 players isPlanetside 2 is a game that showed great promise. 2000 player servers in a FPS game seems too good to be true, and this game appears to have done just that. However, once past the first impression, you cant really ignore the game's problems. Unbearable fps (15 fps on a gaming rig, really?) means you will be looking at a slideshow most of the time. Terrible balance, 50 vs 5 players is common here. The spawn rooms seem just thrown on the map, and many times only one exist which means it will be well camped. They also seem to be designed to be easily camped. Sometimes the spawn place will be so far from any place of tactical value, that defending a base is virtually impossible. Even something as simple as the colours can work against you here. The game's bluish buildings means the blue and violet teams are well camouflaged compared with the red team, which in addition has a lot of red minimap icons obscuring the (wait for it) red enemy indicators. But ultimately it is the lack of reward that ruins this game for me. When waiting 10 minutes to capture a region with seemingly no enemy players whatsoever , I can't help to feel bored and useless, because , after all, I am. The game does not reward teamplay, it is not balanced when it comes to vehicles, it is not balanced map-wise,It runs worse then the latest games with much, much worse graphics, it is full of bugs, and it takes a very, very long time to do anything useful, or fun, or, most of the time, neither. As one PS2 developer put it, when talking about the game's poor framerate: "If you hear someone saying it's easy, have them show you their game with hundreds of people and dozens of vehicles within a single 100 meter firefight. I'd happily accept their advice. *grin* ".… Expand
  3. Aragato
    Sep 21, 2014
    6
    Truly a revolutionary game. SOE has a true winner here, if every patch did not some how break something else. The content being released for the game is not truly content releases, rather weapon releases. There seems to be problems with the way SOE balances weapons and abilities. With weapons, SOE will nerf a weapon until it becomes nigh unusable once consumer sales of the weapon dropsTruly a revolutionary game. SOE has a true winner here, if every patch did not some how break something else. The content being released for the game is not truly content releases, rather weapon releases. There seems to be problems with the way SOE balances weapons and abilities. With weapons, SOE will nerf a weapon until it becomes nigh unusable once consumer sales of the weapon drops off. Despite having a somewhat active play test user base, many of these voices go unheard.

    If you are into truly massive combined arms battles, with little to no meta game to speak of. This is truly a remarkable game.    … Expand
  4. Menomena
    May 20, 2015
    5
    A mediocre FPS that due to recent changes, offers newer players a chance to be useful early on. The biggest flaw- and it is a game breaking one for an FPS: poorly implemented client side hit detection. In a game full of spam and zergs, there is nothing more enjoyable than being behind cover, but dying to bullets as your enemies see you getting a back massage out in the middle of a field.A mediocre FPS that due to recent changes, offers newer players a chance to be useful early on. The biggest flaw- and it is a game breaking one for an FPS: poorly implemented client side hit detection. In a game full of spam and zergs, there is nothing more enjoyable than being behind cover, but dying to bullets as your enemies see you getting a back massage out in the middle of a field.

    If you can get past this huge flaw, the game offers a decent amount of customization options, vehicles, guns, and to a slight degree- classes. The last is really only useful if you plan to play full support or are in a large, coordinated squad. Otherwise, all classes- skill being equal, are vastly inferior to heavy assaults. Due to their overshield mechanic, they simply take more bullets to kill, with no mobility loss or disadvantage. In a game where bullets indeed kill, this makes for boring options.

    As for strategy and enjoyable fights, I'd say Planetside 2 ranks last when comparing it to other mainstream games like the BF and COD series. Most fights merely consist of being outnumbered, or doing the outnumbering, to take relatively pointless bases, while 75% of the map is not able to be contested. Due to this, it really removes the ability to harass and annoy larger factions on a continent, as you could in Planetside 1. Again, this simply emphasizes the benefit of players zerging whenever possible. Not my style, but perhaps it's yours.

    If you enjoy FPS games, check it out, but don't get sucked into spending a lot of money, as the game is just okay.    … Expand
  5. 010011010110010
    Mar 7, 2013
    7
    At times Planetside 2 feels like the best game I've played in a long time, but then all the little and not always so little things kick sand in my eyes reminding me why I also sometimes hate the damned game so much. I've been playing PS2 since closed beta.

    People who like combined arms tactics and large fights with infantry, vehicles and air will most likely like this game if there    At times Planetside 2 feels like the best game I've played in a long time, but then all the little and not always so little things kick sand in my eyes reminding me why I also sometimes hate the damned game so much. I've been playing PS2 since closed beta.

    People who like combined arms tactics and large fights with infantry, vehicles and air will most likely like this game if there computers can handle the stress, that said PS2 is not a light game, to run the game properly with high settings in all fights even those ~2000 player ones at 30fps or more, you'll need a proper i5/i7 system coupled with a descent graphics card HD7xxx series or GTX6xx series.

    Being a MMOFPS it means the game is in a constant state of development, more content is being added, old content revamped redone. Stuff removed, or just plain moved around, stats tweaked. Weapons nerfed, others boosted, and so on. This is the stuff that might annoy the non MMO crowd who came for the FPS part and who might not be used to stuff being in a constant state of flux.

    Each update adds, stuff, changes stuff and fixes bugs, adds new ones, changes old bugs into new ones, etc. So yea be in a MMO mindset and don't expect stuff to be ever constant and you might enjoy the game a lot. And as always in MMO's the community/players are the true content of the game, no NPC fights (yet) in the game so everyone and every vehicle you fight is another human being somewhere on the globe.    … Expand
  6. FurballHero
    Mar 8, 2013
    7
    I am an original Tech Tester from wave 1. I have seen a LOT of improvements, overall the game is moving in the right direction all be it very slowly. I can't help but feel this is still in Beta, there's a LOT of major features that should have launched with the game. As of right now Planetside 2 is simply an enjoyable FPS and the promised massive emersive metagame is non existant. Some ofI am an original Tech Tester from wave 1. I have seen a LOT of improvements, overall the game is moving in the right direction all be it very slowly. I can't help but feel this is still in Beta, there's a LOT of major features that should have launched with the game. As of right now Planetside 2 is simply an enjoyable FPS and the promised massive emersive metagame is non existant. Some of my biggest gripes are uncapturable warpgates, bases that can be back capped by 1 or 2 people, the ability for anyone to pilot any vehicle at any time (No vehicle certs are required), The total lack of an actual front line, Cutting off enemy the enemy gives no real benefits. No inventory system, no way of picking up enemy equipment off of dead soliders, no way of hacking or capping enemy vehicles. So the entire "Immersive metagame" is missing. It's not all bad, the scale of the battles are incredible, but again, with no metagame it still feels like battlefield. You could spend a solid 1-2 hours fighting over a territory and once capped you move on pushing deeper into enemy territory... 20 minutes later you open your map only to find that 2 or 3 enemy troops were able to ghost cap all that hard work you've done because nobody is interested in chasing 3 rogue soldiers all over the map at abondoned zones. So what took you and 100 of your buddies 2 hours of hard fighting takes them 3 men and 10 minutes. Wheres the metagame in that? where's the feeling of a lasting victory? However dispite its glaring flaws, PS2 is still a very enjoyable game if played simply as a FPS. If you're looking for any kind of grand strategy you will only get frustrated and disappointed
    Hopefully SOE will change that and fast, because people like me are simply starting to lose interest in the same grind.    … Expand
  7. PartTime
    Mar 11, 2013
    7
    A Game that is interesting enough initially to make it easy to keep on playing, being free to play is important. The dollar cost of the pay to win model is pricey however, so I've gotten used to dying easy. I will say that once the developers put out a practice area to use all the weapons available so You can actually start being competent before you land in battle then a lot ofA Game that is interesting enough initially to make it easy to keep on playing, being free to play is important. The dollar cost of the pay to win model is pricey however, so I've gotten used to dying easy. I will say that once the developers put out a practice area to use all the weapons available so You can actually start being competent before you land in battle then a lot of complaints will be put off. I will continue playing this game until Firefall actually gets released.… Expand
  8. Lex_Luger
    Jul 27, 2014
    7
    Game can be very fun , and there is nothing that has the scale and scope of battles like it does, but poor netcode and level design favors shotguns, making them very overpowered. Hope you like dying in one shot cause it's gonna happen, a lot.
  9. LeTigre
    Apr 10, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the game has great potential and realy is fun at times.

    pro:
    + huge battles
    + great core gameplay
    + lots of fun in groups

    cons:
    - lots of bugs dcs freezes
    - server down quite often
    - unbalanced vehicle infantry relation
    - realy bad balancing of earned ingame currency (stuf realy expensive)
    - really expensive micro-transactions (a gun 10 ???)
    - confusing maps, menues and menu linking (needs polish!)    … Expand
  10. Skull_tumpet
    Apr 13, 2013
    6
    Planetside 2 is a game that has a tremendous amount of potential. The recently incorporated Alert system and test servers should provide a boon of confidence to those who have stuck with the game since alpha. It features (more or less) seamless sandbox exploration/combat on (currently) 3 massive, beautiful 5x5 km landscapes.

    All this combined with a convenient and easy to use platoon    Planetside 2 is a game that has a tremendous amount of potential. The recently incorporated Alert system and test servers should provide a boon of confidence to those who have stuck with the game since alpha. It features (more or less) seamless sandbox exploration/combat on (currently) 3 massive, beautiful 5x5 km landscapes.

    All this combined with a convenient and easy to use platoon interface and a moderate selection of weapons and attachments, this game would be a great game to play with friends and family.... in about 6 months to a year. Right now, despite its massive, ambitious scale and spectacular visuals, the only word that comes to mind is frustration. Pure, unadulterated frustration. Frustration that I can only get 20-25 fps in large scale battles on a high end PC, frustration that bugs that should have been squashed earlier on are still prevalent more than ever, and frustration that no matter how I look at it the ACTUAL METAGAME, the one that should have been at its current state should have been where it is 6 months ago.

    The game as a whole feels very much like a late alpha/early beta state game. It was clearly pushed out the door before it should have been, and it's clear it still has a good 18 months before I would consider it a 'launch ready' title. That said it is a MMO, meaning that it's development cycle never really ends, unless the game flat out dies. That said, I think this game will have a nice long life, and will absolutely be worth trying out in another 18 months.    … Expand
  11. SirGrast
    Apr 25, 2013
    5
    This is typicall FPS MMO. Once player figures out that nothing you do effects the world in any way, the desire to play this game will stop. Combine with the large amount of cheaters useing aim bots, cover locators, and graphic cliches, the ability to play in a individual or small group is worthless. If you do not find a large group to play with!!!!!!, Prepare to die a lot. If you want toThis is typicall FPS MMO. Once player figures out that nothing you do effects the world in any way, the desire to play this game will stop. Combine with the large amount of cheaters useing aim bots, cover locators, and graphic cliches, the ability to play in a individual or small group is worthless. If you do not find a large group to play with!!!!!!, Prepare to die a lot. If you want to have any other weapons than the standard, you will be spending real money as the grind for cert points to buy new weapons is just too steep. In the end, I cannot recommend this shooter except for the most dedicated shooter finatics.… Expand
  12. Fraz
    Apr 29, 2013
    7
    Don't get me wrong, this game is great but does have a few downfalls. I love the maps being huge but sometimes gets really boring not seeing a enemy for ages and spending the majority of time with team mates. To actually get any decent weapons in this game you have to pay which is sometimes really annoying when your a low level and the enemy's are high levels spending money and havingDon't get me wrong, this game is great but does have a few downfalls. I love the maps being huge but sometimes gets really boring not seeing a enemy for ages and spending the majority of time with team mates. To actually get any decent weapons in this game you have to pay which is sometimes really annoying when your a low level and the enemy's are high levels spending money and having really good weapons. Playing with friends is possible but finding them (even when their in your squad) is quite difficult when your one of those guys that dies allot.

    The good points! This game is one of the most EPICist games i have ever played. Once your whole faction is together on the map you feel unstoppable and feels like your taking part in star wars. Hundreds of tanks, Jets & Carriers overhead and just troops running along side your tanks is a great experience.    … Expand
  13. bbbdrad
    Nov 16, 2018
    7
    A truly one of a kind game, even six years after release developers are working to update the game with fresh content and continually balance it for a healthy but smaller player population. Great gunplay and squadplay aspects that take time to master and greatly rewards skill. Planetside 2 needs to update its tutorial experience in order to foster greater interest from new players
  14. KevLooney
    May 12, 2021
    6
    The game has loads of input lag, hit registration issues, and bs that takes you out of a potentially great game. The game is a seven out of ten for "mixed feelings". The game has potential to be a nine out of ten if the bs is removed. "infinite potential zero hope"
  15. mattboymatt
    Mar 16, 2013
    7
    Ok as much as i'd love to sing planetside2's praised there are certain elements that have to be addressed. First lets start with the positives
    -Huge scale maps
    -Exciting gameplay -Actual point in snipers as maps are so huge -Amazing fun with friends -When the battle gets going IT GETS GOING Negatives -There's no real tutorial, a friend of mine had to teach me the ropes -Gun    Ok as much as i'd love to sing planetside2's praised there are certain elements that have to be addressed. First lets start with the positives
    -Huge scale maps
    -Exciting gameplay
    -Actual point in snipers as maps are so huge
    -Amazing fun with friends
    -When the battle gets going IT GETS GOING

    Negatives
    -There's no real tutorial, a friend of mine had to teach me the ropes
    -Gun prices are extortionate
    - Requires a beefy rig to run on anything more than medium
    - Gun balancing is poor, for example the Terran republic first sniper takes 3 body shots or 2 head shots. a new conglomerate sniper will kill in 1 clean body shot.
    - Hackers. They aren't there much but when they are you know about it.
    - On your own can get very boring.    … Expand
  16. scorched595
    Jan 7, 2013
    5
    The gameplay itself is great, and while the empires are unbalanced, that can be easily fixed. The glaring problems with this game though is that there are too many hackers and the communities are full of **** On my server, the TR is the only one with a nice community, and I'm sure it varies from server to server, but the point is that most of the time the communities are full of ragingThe gameplay itself is great, and while the empires are unbalanced, that can be easily fixed. The glaring problems with this game though is that there are too many hackers and the communities are full of **** On my server, the TR is the only one with a nice community, and I'm sure it varies from server to server, but the point is that most of the time the communities are full of raging jack-asses, and that's a serious problem because that will cause two sides to gang up against this one particular side because it's full of nice people, again, like on my server. I guess it's because the gaming community, especially for pvp games, has degenerated so much between planetside 1 and 2, because I remember in planetside 1 people had a sense of fairplay and if your outfit/ community acted like jackasses, you would get your ass stomped by everyone else, heck, even your own empire would betray you if you acted like a jackass. But that sense of fairplay and community is gone in this game, just gone, and that's what made planetside 2 fun, was that everyone played fair and kept everyone else in line. That community is gone, and instead in this game you have fanboys of their respective leaders (Toby (who has the worst fanboys), seananners, and that other british guy who's name I can't remember), griefers, hackers, People with severe cases of entitlement or unwarranted self importance, etc. Planetside 2's community problem is unfixable to be honest, and I don't play this game anymore because of that problem. I will give this game a 5 because this gameplay is good, but the community is beyond redemption… Expand
  17. Tytos
    Mar 24, 2013
    5
    It is clearly pay 2 win, the balance is a piece of (shotguns anybody?), every patch brins in new inbalances and bugs, however it's still lots of fun to play for some reason
  18. alexi95
    May 18, 2014
    6
    Lets start by saying that yes, on the surface it's one of the best shooters around. The guns feel meaty for such a large scale MMO and the battles are awesomely huge.
    However, dig a bit deeper and you find that all is not well on Auraxis. For example, despite it not technically being "pay-to-win" as all guns can be unlocked for free, using money does give you an unfair boost towards    Lets start by saying that yes, on the surface it's one of the best shooters around. The guns feel meaty for such a large scale MMO and the battles are awesomely huge.
    However, dig a bit deeper and you find that all is not well on Auraxis. For example, despite it not technically being "pay-to-win" as all guns can be unlocked for free, using money does give you an unfair boost towards unlocking equipment.
    The system for unlocking stuff is based around "certification" points. An hour of decently skilled play might get you between 30 and 50 of these, but the price of new guns is more like between 300 and 1000, which necessitates a grindfest of pornographic proportions. All equipment is also available for purchase, but buying everything in the game would require (potentially) hundreds of pounds, which goes against the term "free to play". This is a shame as mechanically (the world and combat etc.) it's probably a vision of the future of shooter.    … Expand
  19. Pyreal
    Dec 2, 2012
    6
    Pros:
    - Beautiful graphics
    - Vehicles CONS = - No win condition. You fight over bases for Cert points. There's no other point. It seems like the whole game revolves around high Cert prices for items so players will be enticed to spend Station Cash on items instead. - Persistence does not matter. The game play is thus: Merry-Go-Round, Whack-A-Mole. It's like logging into a round of    Pros:
    - Beautiful graphics
    - Vehicles

    CONS = - No win condition. You fight over bases for Cert points. There's no other point. It seems like the whole game revolves around high Cert prices for items so players will be enticed to spend Station Cash on items instead.
    - Persistence does not matter. The game play is thus: Merry-Go-Round, Whack-A-Mole. It's like logging into a round of BF3 Conquest with an Infinite score limit.
    - Sluggish weapon feel. There isn't any crispness here. If you're used to CS, COD, or BF, prepared to be disappointed.
    - Abysmal base design. Bases are indefensible and are designed as simple TDM maps with a few Sabotage elements.
    - Unoptimized. ATI users suffer the most.
    - Boring and unappealing weapon unlocks. While listed as specific weapons most are copy/paste with a slight variation in stats and change to allowed accessories or firing modes. I.E.: Gun1 has burst, Gun2 has full auto.    … Expand
  20. ToolBax
    Jan 5, 2013
    6
    Its Great that there're a lot of people to play with and to communicate with, the gun play isnt reall skill based and isnt any fun really to play over long grinds. Plus the Beginning sucks
  21. dubesor
    Dec 2, 2012
    5
    Sorry but having to pay $7 for a single weapon for a single class that doesn't even look unique but is only a complete copy design-wise just isn't acceptable.
  22. Peikkonaama
    Dec 5, 2012
    6
    Casting aside forgiveable minor bugs and unforgiveable CTD-problems, PS2 is fun for some time. The game ultimately fails due to what makes it special: large scale warfare lacks focus. Don´t expect all-out adrenaline experience such as Tribes:Ascend or Battlefield series offer. If some system which attracts all the three factions to compete for the same battlefied objectives at theCasting aside forgiveable minor bugs and unforgiveable CTD-problems, PS2 is fun for some time. The game ultimately fails due to what makes it special: large scale warfare lacks focus. Don´t expect all-out adrenaline experience such as Tribes:Ascend or Battlefield series offer. If some system which attracts all the three factions to compete for the same battlefied objectives at the same time was applied, the atmosphere would rise greatly. Also, the BOs (buildings, locations etc) lack imagination. They should have taken Halo series as model & inspiration, not Supreme Commander. My fav multiplayer scifi-shooter is BF2142. It has less of everything, but its heart is bigger.… Expand
  23. jlplatten
    Jan 29, 2013
    5
    Pros: Free. Graphics. Scale. Vehicles. Teamwork. Base designs.
    Cons: Repetitive. Guns. Lag. Lots of traveling. Pay 2 Win. Pointless.
    To sum it up... this game is a lot of fun if you just want to login to shoot other people and try to find the next big battle. It would be more rewarding if trying to level up wasn't so painfully slow. Also, the gun mechanics feel terrible. With the    Pros: Free. Graphics. Scale. Vehicles. Teamwork. Base designs.
    Cons: Repetitive. Guns. Lag. Lots of traveling. Pay 2 Win. Pointless.

    To sum it up... this game is a lot of fun if you just want to login to shoot other people and try to find the next big battle. It would be more rewarding if trying to level up wasn't so painfully slow. Also, the gun mechanics feel terrible. With the terrible recoil every gun has in combination with lag, you'd be lucky if 5% of your shots landed on your target. Luckily, this game is free and looks amazing... and when you actually have a large group that communicates and knows what they are doing the game is much more enjoyable.    … Expand
  24. Lop0
    Jan 26, 2013
    5
    The graphics are decent, the game play isn't bad. But the weapon physics are dreadful, paying players get everything immediately and you're either dropped right into battle (which for new joiners is a dreadful notion), or you're in the middle of frickin' no where with nothing around you and you can't jump on a vehicle because you don't have the necessary XP to activate one. Bull. ****
  25. Babaganoush
    Nov 25, 2012
    7
    It's a decent shooter. Has a sense of Battlefield 3 injected with armored steroids with it. The factions are somewhat balanced: I played all three factions during the beta and kept a stable K:D for all of them. The New Conglomerate guns do a little bit of work though. Large scale battles allow you to choose from multiple sites to play from, and you have a variety of vehicles to fightIt's a decent shooter. Has a sense of Battlefield 3 injected with armored steroids with it. The factions are somewhat balanced: I played all three factions during the beta and kept a stable K:D for all of them. The New Conglomerate guns do a little bit of work though. Large scale battles allow you to choose from multiple sites to play from, and you have a variety of vehicles to fight with, if that's what you prefer. There are three major problems in my opinion: 1) It's not player friendly. There is no handson tutorial that shows you what to really do. You are literally dropped onto the middle of the battlefield hoping you know what to do and who's who. 2) The cert grind (which allows you to unlock new weapons) is a big grind. An average player can get around 50-80 certs per hour if they're in active battlefields, but you need to play a few of those hours to unlock one weapon. You also have the opportunity cost of saving those certs and just buying Station Cash, each weapon costing $3-$7. That's not a bad price compared to other games where perm weapons are $25+, but this is per character only so caveat. 3) The biggest problem of them all: THE STABILITY. There are times where your whole screen flashes rapidly, risking problems prone to seizure. The stability of the servers during peak hours are horrible. Players will jump around and phase in and out, making it almost impossible to actually hit them. There have been reports on some large servers that grenades, vehicles, and explosives dont actually explode. Abilities won't work. Granted, this game just came out and it's been pretty popular so far, but it really needs some work on the stability side. Outposts are currently being worked on to have a more defensive fortress type layout instead of "whack-a-mole" location system, so that's another plus.… Expand
  26. Shahzaky
    Jun 14, 2014
    7
    Planetside 2 is an achievement. The engine used is nothing but amazing since it can draw tons of stuff over a huge map, with so much detail and still handle tons of players. You might have experienced these type of battles over in Battlefield but Planetside 2 are on a much larger scale and I'm very excited to see future projects like H1Z1 using the same engine.

    The gameplay is also    Planetside 2 is an achievement. The engine used is nothing but amazing since it can draw tons of stuff over a huge map, with so much detail and still handle tons of players. You might have experienced these type of battles over in Battlefield but Planetside 2 are on a much larger scale and I'm very excited to see future projects like H1Z1 using the same engine.

    The gameplay is also good, the weapons are responsive, the controls are what you can except from a shooter and everything feels quite balanced. There are a lot of different weapons with tons of add-ons and a ton of camouflage to make it more personal but it all comes at a cost.

    Planetside 2 is a grind, and this might be the only problem I have with the game but its a big one. Unless you're willing to pay real money to get a new gun, you gonna have to play an enormous amount or grind your way through with repetitive tasks.
    Paying real money wouldn't be such a deal since its a free game but the fact that they charge $7 for a submachine gun with zero add-ons is laughable. The gun might be race and class-specific too. And I would never consider buying a cool camo before I got the gear I want, and this makes everything feel so out of reach. Other games using this type of f2p like Blacklight:Retribution does this a lot better.

    I think you should give Planetside 2 a try, all the features and buttons might be overwhelming at first so you might wanna check out an introduction on youtube before heading in. Just remember that in order to have the full experience, you gonna have to bring your wallet or all your free-time.    … Expand
  27. watw
    Jun 13, 2013
    5
    Planetside 2 can be summed up in two words: mediocre mess.

    I've played this game since release using only stock weapons and not spending any money on the game. While the start weapons are fine, the deck is stacked against you if you only use these weapons and not purchase or farm 1000 certs for "sidegrade" weapons. Which most, you will see for yourself if you trial weapons in game, are    Planetside 2 can be summed up in two words: mediocre mess.

    I've played this game since release using only stock weapons and not spending any money on the game. While the start weapons are fine, the deck is stacked against you if you only use these weapons and not purchase or farm 1000 certs for "sidegrade" weapons. Which most, you will see for yourself if you trial weapons in game, are flat out better than the starting weapons. While not technically pay-to-win, you certainly are paying to win until your opponent has a comparable weapon.

    First time players will be overwhelmed by the massive battles which, to be fair, can be really entertaining. But you will also be overwhelmed by how much you'll be staring at the respawn timer. Starting with nothing, certification wise, puts you at a severe disadvantage from veteran players who have many vehicle, suit, and weapon upgrades that will test even the most patient player. Using vehicles comes with a stupid high learning curve for flying and the worst ground vehicle physics of any game I've played; every ground surface acts like ice and a piece of debris will destroy a full health tank.

    Players rave how pretty the game is and how great the reload animations are, but I don't care about that crap and focus on gameplay. The game has its moments, but they are few and far between the frustrations of bugs and how shallow the game is. Strategy is used as a selling point of the game, but the only real strategy is zerging. The base designs are terrible, and encourage this type of playstyle to conquer bases. Making the large battles stale and flat-out boring as you just sit and wait for the base to turn over; which take 5 to 10 minutes of just standing around waiting for capture experience.

    The best way to play this game is with friends or in a large outfit to get the handle of things. There is a lot to learn and SOE added tutorials seven months late to help out new players. You'll certainly have more fun than playing solo and maybe the game won't get so boring so quickly. Best way to get certs? Get the cheese weapons as soon as possible. This game caters to and encourages cheese play to farm certs the fastest. Farming or buying a shotgun, SMG or other cheese weapons like the AV turret will bring in a stupid amount of cert points and make you into a Planetside 2 all-star.

    Planetside 2 could of, no, should of been a great game. But it's just a short-sighted, cash grab, cert farm that is hemorrhaging players even though it's a free game. They've merged like 6 or 7 servers now, and I would be surprised if there wasn't at least 3 more by years end.    … Expand
  28. Ghostrider1169
    Oct 6, 2014
    7
    I first have to confess, Planetside 2 is the first FPS I have ever tried. I rated it an 7 due to overall playabliity and enjoyment. I have a couple of issues with it performance wise/development wise. But other than that it's pretty solid. Yes there are several older critiques of this game that are negative, but by and large a lot of the quote game breaking mechanics have beenI first have to confess, Planetside 2 is the first FPS I have ever tried. I rated it an 7 due to overall playabliity and enjoyment. I have a couple of issues with it performance wise/development wise. But other than that it's pretty solid. Yes there are several older critiques of this game that are negative, but by and large a lot of the quote game breaking mechanics have been fixed/removed or optimised over all. For me, the average player who is older and has less twitch skill, I gotta say it's a blast to run.

    One improvement off the bat is the player tutorial in the beginning. It will allow beginning players to get a feel for the controls and basic level mechanics. This didn't exist untill recently so the dev's did right on this. Without it, the learning curve is pretty ugly. If you are new to this game, take the tutorial, it's worth your time and effort. There are several player made tutorials out there to help you as well.

    The vast scenery: You feel you are on a real world. Terrain does matter. The hitch though is that anything beyond a 45 deg angle, you will waste valuable time bunny hopping up. Even then, it isn't gauranteed. Still, being able to shoot from diffferent angles and diffferent approaches is pretty epic in my book. Getting the drop on some one from a high angle or from cover is fantastic.

    Weapon mechanics: I like the challenge of dealing with bullet drop and cone of fire accuracy issues. While snipers are still a pain in the a$$, gun fights aren't insta death at range. Keep moving, don't sit in one spot for too long and you have a decent chance of getting into a solid fight. Now, I will say that some of the factions are out of balance power wise, but if you are with an outfit that has solid tactics, you can still crush your enemy.

    Vehicles: Pilot everything from ground to air (wish they had water but that ain't coming, deal with it). This puts 3 dimensions into the combat field. It makes you get really aware of your surroundings if you want to live past 3 minutes. The variety is pretty solid: tanks, scout vehicles, personnel carriers, fighter aircraft and troop transports. You can customize them as you need for specific effects.

    Scope of battles: Might be a squad skirmish...could be a huge battle of 100+ per side. Taking and defending objectives give specific advantages to the winners, locking down a continent even more. Tactics both at the personal and stratigic level count. No, you can't 1 man rambo it, you need teamwork. But bounding and suppression fire help when people coordinate and work together. The epic scenery from desert, to frozen to forest to jungle is just massive.

    Gear: you unlock modifications and upgrades through spending cert points. It can be a grind for the beginner, but get with some vets they will share with you strategies for getting more certs faster. It isn't nearly as harsh as it was during opening phases. Gear isn't game breaking though it does give slight edges which can save your butt in really tough fights. Even still, as a newbie player I've knocked down people with maxed gear through use of movement and tactics. This is something I love. Now you can buy swag gear from thier depot. Mostly it's just cosmetic stuff for fun. There are weapons that you can buy, but none that convince me of pay to win. You can buy skill certs with station cash if you want but to me that's kind of wasting money. It isn't hard to knock out 50-150 certs per hour with proper technique (even for new players).

    I'll tell you now, this isn't a complete free to play. Yes, you can do so, but it's far better if you go premium all access if you are a SOE fan. If you aren't, the good part of the portion that is free to play will allow you more than enough exposure to the game to decide if you want to commit to paying. It doesn't break your gaming fun either, you just earn XP and certs at a slower rate. All continents are still playable, nothing is locked to you.

    Things I wish they would fix: In game comms is one of thier selling points. It sucks. It doesn't always work correctly and prone to timing out completely in large fights. I recommend TS3 or vent or something. Patch days really suck, it usually takes about 72 hours for them to hotfix all the crap they broke trying to fix other issues or intrduce new stuff. New real content beyond weapons or vehicles is pretty scarce. Respawn/redeploy mechanics are dicey at times. You will need a pretty solid rig to play this full blast. I own an X51 Alienware that I purchased at the beginning of this year and can run it with graphics about 80% of max and maintain a 30-40fps during really populated fights. Overall, very enjoyable with just a few hitches that need smoothing out.    … Expand
  29. purutaru
    Dec 16, 2012
    6
    Promising game by SOE, maps are huge and battles have an epic feel to it (when during peak hrs). Graphics are beautiful but overall the game is marred by the following:
    1) poor tutorial - after creating character game throws player into battle immediately without allowing them to even bind keys or figure out what to do.
    2) bugs - flickering screen, falling thru the maps. 3) sloppy cheat    Promising game by SOE, maps are huge and battles have an epic feel to it (when during peak hrs). Graphics are beautiful but overall the game is marred by the following:
    1) poor tutorial - after creating character game throws player into battle immediately without allowing them to even bind keys or figure out what to do.
    2) bugs - flickering screen, falling thru the maps.
    3) sloppy cheat detection and policing by GMs - well-known aimbot hackers are able to keep playing to ruin the game even after being reported in game and outside of game via support tickets. 4) overpriced cash shop items - 7 USD for a gun that is single class only, single character. 5 USD for a weapon skin. To earn some essential weapons (like anti air missiles or rocket pods) normally in game, need over 50hrs of playtime on average.    … Expand
  30. I_Am_Turok
    Nov 29, 2012
    6
    Many other reviews will have more detail on the maps (huge), lack of goals (none), mouse sensitivity (need a gamepad or game-mouse, standard mouse will be too sensitive), graphics (high settings for me, looks fine, the grey-blue hue planet is not great, I much prefer the green/desert one, but not bad either way, would prefer forests and lakes myself for a smaller map size). And it has toMany other reviews will have more detail on the maps (huge), lack of goals (none), mouse sensitivity (need a gamepad or game-mouse, standard mouse will be too sensitive), graphics (high settings for me, looks fine, the grey-blue hue planet is not great, I much prefer the green/desert one, but not bad either way, would prefer forests and lakes myself for a smaller map size). And it has to get a 6 simply because it is free to play, and is fun for an hour or 2 at a time. Although it is free, in actuality you will need to spend money to do well at it, or be prepared to grind for days and days to get upgrades. The question is, I've paid for items in other MMOs, so would I pay for anything here? No, not at this time. If a future version came out that had the following, I would, but for now, it's the lack of these the make the game passive only: 1) Goal setting on a map scale. For example, an omnipresent general says I need 10 teams of 10 players to take this goal now, hit X to join. Once you start, the opposite omnipresent general tells his side, I need all players in sector N to close up and defend this point. This goal quest is every 15 minutes or so per sector. If I want a war feel, that means including generals making and delivering orders. 2) A fixed price that gets me everything, even if I have to build up XP in a reasonable time to unlock it all. 3) Smaller but more beautiful scenery. 4) Better MMO guild and team management, perhaps outside of the battle. 5) Better backstory. Whilst logging in, show the overall faction stats, what can be done next to increase faction reputation, how many are doing it, and how to join. (for example, if we take sector X, we get a 5% bonus to blah). 6) lastly, Item upgrades for XP and for how many specific quests (points 1 & 5) you join. With all these, I think we'd have a great game that I would pay for, but for now, I'll enjoy my f2p hour a day.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2012
13
#13 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
45
#45 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Armchair Empire
    May 10, 2013
    75
    The shooter fundamentals are all there. The visuals are great but the progression just doesn't seem to deliver any payoff for players outside of the hardcore. It's not quite as much of a shameless cash grab as something out of Zynga, but it definitely sours the experience.
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  2. Everyeye.it
    Feb 19, 2013
    90
    Planetside 2 is a good free-to-play, strong functional and very funny, which does not envy anything to the founders of the first-person shooter genre.
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  3. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 4, 2013
    89
    It might look overly complicated, but PlanetSide 2 is nothing more than your average class-based, objective-oriented competitive FPS. What makes it stand apart from other F2P games (aside from the huge servers, of course) is the co-operation factor with other players. [February 2013]
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