So, you're scanning the racks of games that your local gaming store offers, and out of the corner of your eye you spot Battlefield 1942 (aka, BF1942). But then, you also see Planetside (aka, PS). Which one is better? Which one is worth the fifty bucks?
First of all, you have to know how much money you want to spend on video games. PS requires a monthly fee of thirteen dollars a month, which is a major turn off to most people. You think to yourself, is it really worth it? The answer to this question totally depends on your certain likes and dislikes (duh). BF1942 is a WWII online FPS (first person shooter), with up to 64 players duking it out on over 16 maps (and there will also be a lot of expansion packs). PS is also an online FPS, only except having many different maps to choose from, there are many huge (and I mean huge) continents. And, instead of only 64 players, it supports thousands. Not that this is necessarily a good thing. For example, this many players can cause a lot of lag. Every time you open a door, or when there are a lot of people all bunched together. Not that BF1942 doesn't have lag issues; it has its share, only it is not as common as PS.
PS also has a lot of bugs. For example, I was taking a leisurely walk around my teams sanctuary, and suddenly.....wow this is hard to explain....the ground caved in. Yes, I said the ground caved in. I was still alive, but everything was very, very dark, and I could not see where I was going. I could see the other player's names', but not the player's themselves. This is a huge bug, and one that needs to be fixed. The good thing about this is every time you open PS, it updates it so you have the most up-to-date version.
PS's map's are so huge that it was extremely hard for me to get into the action. And I never witnessed any battles larger than any battles I have seen on BF1942; for that matter, I have really not witnessed any battles on PS. Unlike BF1942, where the action is right there, always there. Now, some people might find capturing bases and then defending them fun, it certainly is to me. But it is not fun when that's all you do in PS.
PS is very confusing to me. I cannot enter any vehicles because I do not have enough certification points, so I go to the virtual reality place and test drive some vehicles for some experiance points. Then I go back to reality and I still can't get in a vehicle. Not being able to get in any vehicles in PS is like playing BF1942 with dial-up internet: it just doesn't work out. You see, since PS's continents (or so they're called) are so massive, it is nearly impossible to walk from point A to point B. That is how massive they are. And it is just plain annoying when you can't use vehicles. But, if you are really commited to this game, then you will figure it out somehow.
Now the monthly fee comes into factor. Is this game really worth thirteen bucks a month? Think about it: You could have enough money to buy a new game every other month, or you could play PS. My choice: I don't think it's worth it. BF1942 has no monthly fee, and it is more fun that PS. But, if you have a lot of extra cash in your pocket, and have Broadband internet, PS could be the game for you. If you don't want to dish out the cash quite yet, check out the free seven day trial. That's what I did, and it saved me $50+.
The entire file is 1.4 gigabytes; even with high-speed internet it will take 2-4 hours. That's because it is the entire game.
If you like multiplayer games, check out this website:
www.planetwolfenstein.com/files/files.shtml Download Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It is a WWII FPS online game, kind of like BF1942, but different. You will see what I mean after you have played the two. It is also FREE! But, again, it is a large file; DSL will take one hour max, twenty minimum. It depends.Also check out the BF1942 expansion, The Road to Rome. It adds some awesome maps and weapons to an already awesome game. Also check out Day of Defeat; if you have Half-Life for PC alsready you can download it free, otherwise go out and buy it now!
