Planetside has gone live, and its three-faction setup helps ensure that there's always a battle going on, and something to do! In essence each faction is battling for control of the planet, across continents, battling with the other 2 factions in a space-combat setting.

We were playing this non-stop during the beta, so we were familiar with the game when we bought the full version. Still, the built in training is very helpful, and doesn't require you to be on line. The virtual practice areas let you keep practicing if you have more questions.

There are a variety of terrains and environments to fight in, and the graphics are well done with lots of detail. You can customize your character's voice and look and of course be male or female. Your character can have a variety of skills, helping you fit into the needs of your faction. You can be a heavy-duty soldier, or the guy who flies the dropship, or many other roles.

The game does a great job of encouraging team play. There are many ways in which team members can help each other out, gaining experience and cash as you go to get more skilled and wield more weapons and armor. With an "Instant Action" option, you can even teleport immediately to where a battle is taking place!

As with much of the web, people with slow connections or hosting through slow ISPs are going to have issues. The graphics and volume of users playing mean that it pays to have a decent machine with a good video card. But that's no different than any other on line play. It's always worth the investment to keep your system up to date if you want to play the newest games.

You end up with massive battles for control of key areas, and just like "real life", lots of grunts end up dying in these. The better you get, the more you stay out of the mud and take on more advanced tasks, like sniping out key individuals and organizing the attacks.

The game is easy to get going with, lots of fun to build up levels in, and holds a lot of challenges once you get good at it. Well recommended for an on line combat fan who doesn't think "every player is a Rambo". It's not about an individual having super powers - it's about skilled players working together as a solid team. Which is extremely encouraging to see in a game!

Buy Planetside from Amazon.com