I'll just tell you right here and now that I'm thoroughly impressed. I have spent the last month entrenched in one of Sony's latest online offerings, which goes by the name "Planetside." Before you ask, NO! I have never played Everquest. I don't know why. It just never appealed to me but Planetside does. I'm not sure if the reason is that the game takes place in a futuristic technology-driven society or if it's because the game is a first-person shooter which encourages team-based play. Whatever the reason, I'm hooked. Planetside basically boils down to a massive online game of Risk. You have the choice to play as a member of one of the game's 3 factions--the Terran Republic, the New Conglomerate, or the Vanu Sovereignty. Each faction has its own strengths and weaknesses and each is trying to take over the planet. Depending on which faction you choose, weapons, vehicles, and armor will vary. Now, I know some of you out there are reading this and saying to yourself, "Great, Another #$!@*% online multiplayer game." But believe me when I tell you that this one's different. You can jump in and play right out of the box. Unlike Everquest, all players are equally vulnerable on the battlefield. Also, unlike many other online multiplayer games, a veteran's rank will not protect him from a newbie. If you've got a gun and can get a jump on or seek up behind a Planetside veteran, you have the upper hand. High-powered weapons and better armor can be acquired by using what the game refers to as certification points. Through battle experience you can acquire new ranks. For each new rank, you receive one certification point, which can then be used to unlock new weapons, armor, vehicles, etc. Also, you are given grief points if you wound or kill someone on your team. Accumulated grief points can result in penalties ranging from warnings to losing weapon privileges. You can make your character specialize in a specific area or be a jack of all trades. For example, if you're not the greatest shot in the world, you can buy a certification which gives you the ability to become a medic, an engineer, a hacker, a pilot, or a host of other professions, all with the ability to excel in that area. This makes for an amazingly diverse player population. When you first log into the game you're on your own. And let me tell you, if you expect to log in and wreak havoc alone, you can forget it. Progressing in Planetside, as a single player, is near on impossible. The easiest way to play the game is to find a group of people to play with. These groups are known as squads. A squad is, basically, a group of people who travel within the game together. The advantage to this is that each squad contains players with different abilities. One player may be able to fly a transport ship while another may have expertise is driving an assault tank. Make no mistake. Planetside is, at its heart, a squad-based shooter. Depending on which faction you choose to play for, your goal during the game is to take over as many enemy structures (i.e. bases, labs, guard towers, etc.) as possible. Not only do you have to deal with the resistance that you encounter, but you also have to enter the structure and hack a computer. This may seem like a simple feat, but hacking a computer takes no less than 15 minutes in real time. During which time, the person hacking the main control console can not move and the structure goes into complete lock-down. Other squad members have to watch his/her back. Also, medical consoles, equipment terminals, etc. will not work. As good as the squad system works in the game, it has its problems. For example, if you're in a squad and you log out of the game, you're dropped from the squad. If you try to reenter the game, you have to find your squad again, start your own squad, or join a new squad. This is probably not a game flaw. It was probably built this way to encourage players to meet new people. However, it's an annoyance if you've found five or ten guys that you really enjoy playing with and want to play with them all the time. The game allows you to find people you've played with before by the use of a friends list. Any name that you put on the friends list will stay there. The next time you log into the game, it will tell you if that person is online or not. This feature is great, but it has one minor problem. Although you can see if they're online, you can't tell where in the game-world they are. You can try and find them using Broadcast Chat but if they have deactivated Broadcast Chat, they won't see your message. The addition of the ability to private message a friend would easily fix this problem. Another option is to join an Outfit. An Outfit is a squad of 10 or more people with added benefits. In a stroke of genius, the developers of Planetside decided to incorporate voice-chat, which makes working with your squad much easier. How does it look? I can honestly say that Planetside is one of the best-looking games I’ve ever played, online or otherwise. The game takes place over ten continents with varying terrain, atmosphere, and weather conditions. Whatever type of realistic environment you can imagine, it's in the game trees, lakes, fields, deserts, mountains, etc. With all of its graphical splendor, you might expect severe lag-time. While the game has its fair share of lag-time, there have not been many times when my gameplay experience was affected by it. I give the net team at Sony credit for that. The sound in the game is what you would expect in a war zone. Transports moving overhead and tanks rolling by are common occurrences in Planetside. It really adds to the immersivness of the game. So what's the final verdict? Well, this is a great game with only a few minor problems. There are tons of online first-person shooters out there but none can quite reach this level. I'm very excited to see how the developers tweak and change this game in the future. Can you say industrial espionage?

Graphics: 9

This game looks fantastic. I don't care how long you've been playing games or how jaded you are. This game will drop your jaw. The environments are believable and the planet has a day and night cycle that makes me want to cry. It doesn't get any prettier than this. Sound: 9

Everything that you would expect in a wartime environment is here. Heavy tanks, fighter planes, machine guns--you name it, it's here. Everything sounds absolutely incredible. Of course depending on the sound setup on your PC, the experience may vary but those with 4 or 5 piece sound systems will be glad they have them. All-in-all the sound adds to a game and makes you believe you're in a wartime environment. Gameplay: 9

This game is flat-out fun. It takes the first-person action that we all know and love and places it in an online world that will keep you coming back for more. Switching from play mode to the chat screen and back again is a bit cumbersome but you get used to it. The interface could be simplified a bit but all-in-all it works. Replayability: 9

There really is no end to the game. I could concievably see myself getting bored with this game, but not anytime soon. The fact that the game never really ends keeps it fresh. The ability of the developers to add new wrinkles into the game will keep you coming back for more. The manual is by no means small. It spans 52 pages and contains everything you'll need to know to get started in the game and become an effective player. The games website also contains FAQs, technical support, and anything else you might need. Summary: 8.4/10

This is a great game. Yes! It will suck your life away but it's worth it. Buy it now! You know you want it.