Beta for Planetside 2 starts on August 6

Planetside 2, the sequel to Planetside, the massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) by Sony Online Entertainment has been in the alpha stage for a long time. The game has been generating much hype with its massive worlds and giant firefights on an epic scale. According to John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment, the game is finally set to go into beta on August 6, at around 2 PM, Pacific Standard Time.

The beta was announced by John Smedley on Twitter. Earlier, the beta was being delayed because the developers wanted to polish the game more, and Sony Online Entertainment seems to be all set to offer players an awesome experience during the beta. An alpha build of the game was shown at E3 this year, and it was critically hailed as what could be one of the best contenders in the MMO market.

Finally in beta!

Smedley has also confirmed on Twitter that the game will be free-to-play. Players can choose to “never pay us a dime if you don’t want to”. PlanetSide 2 would have to compete with other successful games in the free-to-play market, such as League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Blacklight: Retribution, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Lord of the Rings Online.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, here is some quick info about it from the game's website: “Massively multiplayer gaming takes on a new face in PlanetSide, where thousands of players wage war on a planetary scale. A newly designed 3D engine drives PlanetSide's first-person player-to-player combat and vehicular warfare across ten continents.”

According to the developers, some of the features of the game include:

• Massively multiplayer first person action game
• Join thousands in a persistent global conflict of massive scale
• Player roles to fit the situation: join a team to conquer territory, fortify a base against attack, or support any offensive or defensive manoeuvre
• Character development and advancement through ranks
• Team tactical combat for control of planetary regions, with real-time territory control updates
• Seamless worlds on a massive scale with large indoor environments
• The ten continents of Auraxis are hostile and active
• Real-time weather and environmental factors
• Full team support
• Vehicle physics and flight model
• "Instant Action" mode - a quick and easy way to get into battle

“It doesn't matter if you're an avid RPG gamer or a fanatical FPS player, you'll find something in PlanetSide that's just right for you. The stage has been set, the battle lines drawn, and dropships are ready to deploy you PlanetSide!”

The game records character stats and information about other player’s characters on the My PlanetSide page on the game’s website. “Character stats for yourself and information about other player-characters and outfits, an updated World Map with balance-of-power info, Leaderboards and more. My Planetside is your command center for game data.”