Planetside Aftershock

by Sony

Product Features

• Contains Planetside and Planetside: Core Combat

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0002WRSJ2
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 11, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,188 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Join the first ever massively multiplayer, online, action game where thousands of players wage war in futuristic battles involving infantry, ground vehicles, and air battles. Join one of 3 sides, the Vanu Sovereignty, the Terran Republic or New Conglomerate, and engage your enemies in large scale battles and tactical assaults for total control of the planetary continents of Auraxis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This used to be a great game, now just a good game, June 10, 2005

By 

DB "Been around for a few years now" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Planetside Aftershock (CD-ROM)

When Planetside first came out, as one reviewer pointed out, you could have 200 players a side. Most of the time the battles involved just two factions at a time. You rarely had to worry about three way battles, which can be a nightmare. At any one time you could have three or four population locked continental battles, 24 hours a day. These massive battles are the greatest thing I have ever experienced in online gaming. What also made the massive battles popular is you didn't have to be a good player. Frankly, even poor players could compete and contribute in massive battles, because your weaknesses would likely not come in to play or be exposed.

Then came the nerfs(making weapons weaker) to grunt weaponry, especially against vehicles. I like to play the grunt, almost exclusively. Even after reaching BR20(BR stands for Battle Rank), which at the time was the highest battle rank possible, I did not certify in any ground or air units, I used all my certification points on grunt things. I know from talking to many people, they felt the same way. The majority of players wanted to just play the grunt. And we wanted to play the grunt outside, not just in the bases or towers.

After the nerfs, vehicles started to slowly dominate the game, to the point now that grunts are outnumbered 5 to 1 or worse, sometimes much worse. I know there are many players that like to play the air or ground vehicles, but they were the minority. As the vehicles started to dominate, the player base started to drop. The massive battles started to disappear. The average players, myself included, started to have their weaknesses exposed and felt helpless.

These massive battles were the only reason I bought Planetside.
In a poll nearly 2/3 of the respondants, said they preffered the large battles over the medium or small battles, and very likely that number would actually be larger but many of the large battle fans had already left the game, when the poll was conducted. In an attempt to stop the bleeding SOE(Sony Online Entertainment) came out with a $30 expansion called Core Combat. This was designed for the grunts, and was difficult for vehicles. The caverns were really nothing more than large bases and not the wide open battles the grunts wanted. On top of that hardly anyone purchased the expansion, because many of the grunt players had left already.

It had gotten to the point that the massive battles were virtually gone and when they did happen it usually involved all three factions on one continent, and as I said three way battles can be a nightmare. Then came the final straw for the grunts, the BFRs, which are large Mechs. Players left in droves, although admittedly there weren't many left to leave, but those that were left did leave. Now all the game had left were constant three way battles. In an attempt to create more two way battles, SOE cut in half the number of players any faction could have on a continent. This has created more two way battles, but not as big as they used to be and still dominated by air and ground vehicles, and BFRs.

If you like to play the vehicles, then you will enjoy the game. If you prefer to play the grunt then leave your ego at home because you will die alot. My average kill to death ratio is 1 to 5. Many times it is worse and rarely better. While Planetside is still a good game, it is not the great game it used to be.

Be aware that SOE supposedly has a new Planetside type game in developement and plans to come out in 2006. As it stands Planetside is a poorly programmed game(even the developers would admit that) and will push your PC to its limits. SOE says they have learned from their mistakes made with Planetside and we can only hope that the new offering will bring back the massive battles that a majority(many not playing anymore) of the players want.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to bad reviews, this game is amazing, October 12, 2004

By 

M. Jaludin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Planetside Aftershock (CD-ROM)

First of all I would like to note that Planetside is an MMO and most uniquely it's an MMOFPS [Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter] and the only one of it's genre out there. As with every MMO there are people that want to win all the time and aren't happy, here is the review of a balanced un-biased player.

I have played this game since beta and it truly is totally unique. There is nothing quite like being flown towards an enemy base in your squad's galaxy dropship. Your vehicle sways as you get hit by enemy aircraft fire and your pilot shouts at you all to get ready to drop. You are at max altitude and you can barely make only recognise the base by the tracers and missles flying upwards towards your dropship. The pilot shouts drop and you and 11 of your fellow soldiers drop in silent yet ultimately atmospheric fall to the roof of the base where you will battle your way through hordes of other players trying to defend their base. This is just one experience of many that is unique to Planetside.

Planetside aftershock is a great expansion that includes the Battle Frame Robots, Planetside's newest toy [The developers constantly work on patching and updating the game]. These vehicles look amazing and certainly give even more atmosphere when you and your soldiers are faced by one of these terrifying behemoths.

I advise that anyone reading this heads to www.Planetside.com to read more about Planetside / Aftershock to see how read more about how great a game this is.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent game, October 6, 2004

By 

James Green "Jim" (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Planetside Aftershock (CD-ROM)

I have been playing Planetside off and on for about a year and a half. You can solo or group in a squad/platoon or outfit. The game is easy to play. You can get on, play 15 minutes or an hour or more and simply quit when you want. No worries where you are at or silly quests that take forever. Core Combat is a great expansion with the caverns and alien technology. It's a game I have always come back to. I have played quite a few MMO's. EQ, DAOC, COH, Earth and Beyond, SWG, AC2 to name a few.. This one is a keeper.