PlanetSide 2 Review (PS4)
How important is a first impression? In the case of a video game, a poor one can push you into the arms of another. That doesn't mean that the new game isn't good, or even amazing--but you've now turned away from that game, or postponed your time with it. Perhaps you will return, and perhaps you won't; that initial glimpse stays with you and colors your perception.
Class-based, massive online shooter PlanetSide 2 on the PlayStation 4 doesn't make a great first impression, whether you are new to the game, or have transitioned from the PC version. If you're new, the lack of direction can make the first moments daunting. Tooltips give you some basics upon your first interactions with various terminals and menu screens, but there are terms and mechanics you must come to grips with, and the best way to do that is to undergo trial by fire. Granted, you can get your bearings in a reasonable amount of time, learning what certs are (not a tasty mint, in this particular case), discovering the proper use of a sunderer vehicle, and getting used to the many menus. But if you're new, it's natural to flounder. After all, PlanetSide 2 doesn't even tell you what its three factions stand for or why they fight; rather than engage in some basic world-building to draw you in, the game asks you to choose a side blindly. There's nothing to center you, no direction for your emotional compass to point.
If you're coming to the PS4 version from the PC version, there is no learning curve, but there are other obstacles to overcome. Many of them are minor--but there are enough of them to make you pause and ponder whether these issues shouldn't have been solved, given that PlanetSide 2 is approaching its three-year anniversary on the PC. For instance, it often takes menus several seconds to respond, making you wonder if a button press didn't register--and if you press it again, you could inadvertently queue up commands you didn't intend. (Several times, I have deployed vehicles I didn't want because the slow interface had me repeating a button press I presumed hadn't worked.) The visuals are also a notable downgrade, a sensible sacrifice to keep the frame rate stable; unfortunately, PlanetSide 2 occasionally stutters and hitches during the most intense battles, making the compromise sometimes hard to swallow.
On the other hand, PlanetSide 2's special moments are too special to let these encroaching shadows envelop the game in darkness. Yes, you would reasonably expect the full release to perform better, and to have swiped away the simple bugs that occasionally crawl into view--the way the reddish arcs that indicate you have been hit may not disappear until you log back in, the infrequent but irritating hard crashes, and so forth. But when the war heats up, there's nothing exactly like PlanetSide 2, a massively multiplayer shooter in every sense of the term. The world and its four primary continents (as well as the starting continent accessible only to newcomers) are open and persistent, inviting combatants to fight for control over the facilities scattered across the expanses.
You engage others by taking to the air and participating in dogfights, by roaring forward in tanks, and by joining fellow infantry and rushing into ground battle. You're hooked up with a squad as soon as you log in, and while my fellow players aren't nearly as vocal or as coordinated on the PS4 as they are on the PC, it's to PlanetSide 2's credit that you can get involved in warfare mere seconds after entering the world--and that you can understand what your objective is simply by observing the heads-up display and following others into contested zones.
And thus the battle rages ever on. You and other comrades hop into a transport vehicle called a sunderer, trundle towards your destination, and deploy near a facility, hoping that the terrain and architecture protect the vehicle from any keen-eyed heavy troops nearby. (A few rockets and homing missiles can quickly turn a sunderer to scrap, particularly if there are no engineers on hand to repair it.) Once deployed, the sunderer serves as your base of operations as well as a spawn point, ensuring that you and your squad never spawn too far from battle after death. From here, PlanetSide 2 becomes a veritable series of controlled detonations, with the swamps of the continent Hossin and the Esamirian tundra lighting up with artillery and laser fire--but never devolving into an incomprehensible mess off aimless firefights.
The pace of battle changes depending on where the struggle occurs. A base nestled in the hills gives rise to clever sniping and rivers of infantry that participate in a tug of war as one faction pushes upwards, and the other streams downwards to stop it. Outcroppings, rolling hills, and rising towers break up your line of sight from every side, forcing you to be aware of potentially vulnerabilities in all directions. A flat approach, on the other hand, paves the way for a daunting rumble of tanks flowing as one unit towards the contested base. Tanks have a nice heft to them, making it fun to roll over hills and launch artillery at oncoming vehicles. On the flipside, launching a missile into one of those tanks, watching it explode, and hearing that rewarding audio tinkle that alerts you to experience earned is a consistent treat.
You would reasonable expect the full release to perform better, and to have swiped away the simple bugs that occasionally crawl into view.
As with most video game wars, your success is never assured, and with loss comes frustration: the frustration of being gunned down by an infiltrator equipped with a bolt-action rifle as you sprint from one doorway to another, the frustration of shooting a teammate as he crosses your path just as you begin firing at the enemy, the frustration of hearing the voiceover explain for the umpteenth time that you shouldn't shoot friendlies. (Thanks, repetitive narrator-man.) Death is rarely an annoyance in and of itself, however. Even if you frequently fall, engagements are too big for you to feel as if you have singlehandedly let down your teammates. If you only rack up a few kill assists in between spawns, there's still a sense of accomplishment. When there's madness in all directions, who can say whether the bullets you landed didn't divert the winds of conflict?
Not every moment you spend in PlanetSide 2 is in the midst of a massive firefight, however. There are uneventful stretches in which you and your squad capture facilities with little resistance, or amble ahead in tanks for many minutes on end, wishing there was something to shoot. Back at your faction's primary base, you might spend some time deciding how to spend the certification points you've earned during your hours and days of battle. This is your primary currency, and as is the case with so many free-to-play games, this currency accumulates slowly after the initial hours. When you feel vulnerable even when surrounded by the stolid armor of a lightning tank, it's only logical that you'd want to reinforce it. And when certs are slow to come, spending real-world money is a temptation.
I wouldn't call PlanetSide 2 "pay to win;" Too little rests on your individual performance for that moniker to be an apt one. Yet there are some conveniences that are difficult to resist, such as the ability to bypass login queues when you purchase a membership (that is, a paid subscription, which is $14.99 if you pay on a monthly basis). Given that queues are still frequent on some servers, that cost ends up feeling more like blackmail for an experience that should be a base-level expectation (playing as soon as you log in) rather than a premium perk.
Like so many big games with dozens of complex moving parts, your enjoyment of PlanetSide 2 on the PlayStation 4 rests on how forgiving you are of technical hiccups you would properly expect to be vanquished. As you play, the questions mount. "Why did that tank vanish into thin air after I fired my homing missile, and why did my missile then shoot into the sky?" "Why did my vehicle just sink through the geometry and explode?" "Does the view distance need to be this bad, even on a snowy continent?" You may never find answers--but you will temporarily forget you ever asked the questions when you and a squad of jump-pack-equipped light infantry swarm an enemy base, forcing the opposition onto the exterior platform where a friendly aircraft pilot guns them down with a laser cannon. At these moments, the troubles fade away, leaving only the frights and delights of planetary war.
FIA World Rallycross Championship Coming to DiRT Rally
Codemasters has announced a new, "long-term" partnership with FIA to bring the FIA World Rallycross Championship to Dirt Rally.
The "first stage" of the agreement will bring new RX modes and three new tracks – Holjes (Sweden), Lydden Hill (Great Britain) and, "in the near future", The Hell circuit (Norway) – to te racer.
There'll also be a selection of new RX Supercars, which can accelerate from 0-60mph in less than two seconds and can be used across three different game modes.
As with previous Dirt Rally updates, this content will roll out for free.
“From the outset we wanted Dirt Rally to be the ultimate off-road racer and to fulfill that vision we knew we had to include World RX," said Codemasters' Paul Coleman.
This Week in the Nintendo eShop
July is a slow time for Nintendo systems, as evidenced by the lack of new 3DS games this week. Fortunately, the Wii U has a pretty big week, with seven new eShop games, Mario Tennis on Virtual Console, and a fantastic "epic" sale on a bunch of Nindie titles. If you're searching for a recommendation, you can't go wrong with Runner2, Guacamelee, or Shantae and Pirate's Curse. The one bone on 3DS is that Persona Q, the Etrian Odyssey-styled Persona game that came out on 3DS last year, is almost half off.
Mario Tennis ($9.99)
Mario's tennis career ground to a screeching halt following the 1995 release of Mario's Tennis on Virtual Boy. It took a while for the champ to hit the court again, and when he did, he brought some new friends. The 2000 Nintendo 64 game Mario Tennis is the debut of Waluigi, the now Mario sports regular. The game itself holds up pretty well, so if you want to get your tennis on before Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, this is a great option. Also, if you bought it on Wii Virtual Console, you can upgrade to the Wii U version for $2.
Legendary Unveils Warcraft VR for Your Smartphone
As is tradition, the Legendary booth kicked off San Diego Comic-Con's Preview Night with big offerings, including Warcraft character installations, smartphone-enabled VR demos and SDCC-exclusive Crimson Peak Mondo posters. Also on hand was Warcraft director Duncan Jones, who personally unveiled the life-size Orgrim and Doomhammer.
IGN was invited to attend Legendary's Preview Event at their booth on Wednesday and got a chance to speak with Jones about his upcoming fantasy epic (full video interview coming soon!), as well as test out the Legendary VR.
For the Horde!
Get Your Own Grappling Hook With Just Cause 3 CE
Square Enix has revealed what will be included in the Just Cause 3 Collector's Edition.
The main feature of the Collector's Edition will be a 15-inch display version of Rico's grappling hook which was voted for by the fans. This edition is available for pre-order now for $110 / £80.
Damian Garcia, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Square Enix, said "we wanted to give fans a Collector's Edition that speaks to their breed of fun... Out of all the items we offered, the grappling hook was by far the most popular."
In addition to a copy of the game and the grappling hook, the Collector's Edition also includes the Weaponized Vehicle Pack in-game content, a 24-inch by 24-inch poster of Medici, and a 32 page hardcover art book.
DeNA Looks to Kardashian Game for Nintendo on Mobile
DeNA West CEO Shintaro Asako sees a lot of potential in bringing Nintendo games to mobile devices, highlighting Kim Kardashian: Hollywood as a prime example of how this partnership can be a success.
"I think this is potentially an opportunity for us to completely change the market," Asako told Pocket Gamer. He added "Nintendo has by far the best gaming IP," while "DeNA's expertise is definitely backend."
By combining these two strengths, Asako believes Nintendo's content on mobile will thrive. He specifically cited Kim Kardashian: Hollywood as a game that found success thanks to a powerful brand coupled with excellent work on the backend.
How Gaming’s Breakout Gay Character Came to be
It’s been a big couple of weeks for LGBT rights, thanks to the legalisation of equal marriage in the United States, along with numerous Pride events taking place across the globe over the past few weekends. More than ever before, it seems acceptance and inclusion are winning the day and we’re seeing this bleed into popular culture as a whole. Just last month, Nintendo announced the next Fire Emblem would allow both male and female same-sex marriages in game – a marked turn from the resistance it showed to introducing such unions into Tomadachi Life.
Comic Book Reviews for July 8, 2015
You might think the comics industry would take the week off for SDCC, but you'd be wrong. This was yet another week full of high-profile releases and new debuts from various publishers. Marvel alone launched Civil War #1, Age of Apocalypse #1 and Star Wars: Lando #1 alongside a healthy slate of returning Secret Wars tie-ins.
DC's new lineup keeps humming along, with some of the standouts this week including Batman #42, Starfire #2 and Constantine: The Hellblazer #2. DC also brought back Justice League United after a three-month absence, complete with a new creative team and new status quo.
Archie Comics finally delivered their long-awaited relaunch of the main Archie series, an issue that wound upearning the highest rating of the week from our Review Crew. Elsewhere, Image closed out the current story arc in Saga and relaunched Rob Liefeld's Bloodstrike, while IDW kicked off a big crossover between the Star Trek and Green Lantern franchises.
Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces Coming Soon
SEGA has announced Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces, a new standalone multiplayer pack for the real-time strategy game.
The British Forces includes 15 new units, six new commanders, and eight new multiplayer maps that show off historic locations throughout Europe in World War II.
At the same time, Company of Heroes 2 will receive an overall "major design upgrade" to improve the balance of all five factions. The game will also see improvements to visuals and animations for most infantry units.
"The British Army has been one of the most requested factions since we first announced Company of Heroes 2 three years ago," said Greg Wilson, Executive Producer at Relic Entertainment. "The British were a major player in WWII and we are excited to bring their unique makeup and overall tactical doctrine to the Company of Heroes 2 battlefield."
Next Hearthstone Expansion Looks Like Argent Tournament
Blizzard is teasing the next batch of new cards coming to Hearthstone, and it looks like they could be themed around World of Warcraft's Argent Tournament.
PC Gamer received a trumpet-playing cardboard tube and scroll that reads "Champions are gathering from around the world to witness the next exciting thing Hearthstone has in store. News travels far and wide in search of brave new faces ready to answer the call to arms — Are you one of them? Muster for battle and mark July 22 on your calendar."Foll
Following this, a new Inkeeper's Story has also appeared on Blizzard's Hearthstone site, replete with an illustration of a dwarf feeding what's branded a "unicorn". Only it isn't a unicorn, it's a Quel’dorei Steed, a mount available at Warcraft's Argent Tournament grounds if you grind enough rep with the Silver Covenant faction.