PlanetSide 2 is an all-out planetary war, where thousands of players battle as one across enormous continents while utilizing infantry, ground & air vehicles, and teamwork to destroy your enemies in this first-person shooter on a massive scale.Whenever a PC game makes the jump to the console side of the fence, you have to wonder at the level of care that was taken during the porting process. If the preview build that I played at E3 2014 was any indication, the PlayStation 4 version of Planetside 2 is in good hands. The game has supposedly made the jump fully intact, with the same landmass and scale that defines the PC iteration. Only a few alterations have been made, and mainly in the areas of control and user interface. Otherwise, players can essentially expect the same game.
The UI has been streamlined significantly; it still provides a good amount of information but does so in such a way that it's easy to navigate with a controller. It's all very tailored for a controller and lacks any indication that the game was ported from the world of mice and keyboards. The aiming mechanics have gotten a little aim assist to accommodate the use of a controller, and the sensitivity is still getting tweaked. Having played the PC version, I was leery of using a controller to play the game, but I quickly found that the controls feel quite tightly tuned and are something that I immediately adapted to.
The console version will lag behind the PC iteration in terms of updates and new content, but this is primarily due to the need to process the former through the certification process. The idea is to get the two as close together as possible in terms of content, which is a window that is said to shrink as time goes on. The PC and console versions will both have access to the same player content system, so new camouflage patterns and other player-created content will be equally available for both platforms.
The build of Planetside 2 that I played was early and had a few issues, but overall, it left a good impression. The game runs with the equivalent of Ultra graphics from the PC version at a solid 60 fps, and it easily played just as well as the PC iteration. The battles I took part in were very limited in scope, as I was only playing against a group of people at the developer's office, but it was certainly a promising indicator of the direction the game is headed. If you haven't already played the PC version, Planetside 2 looks to be shaping up to be just as strong an offering on the PlayStation 4 when it launches on the console later this year.
More articles about PlanetSide 2