PC Critic Reviews

While I originally left Planetside because of it’s balance issues and general stale nature, I’m happy to report that not only have changes in the last few months made the game much quicker on play (really, really good change, in my opinion), but have also tweaked the balance issues pretty damn good.

While I wished the Core Combat expansion was in use by more of the player-base, I'm confident the devs will perform the necessary tweaks to draw more players in, because the idea of the subterranean combat is exciting and Core Combat provides a great foundation.

My biggest gripe is why am I paying 25 bucks or so for an expansion for a game that was just released about 6 months ago AND that I pay a monthly fee for that was promised to have weapons and things added anyway.

Hardcore, platoon-oriented players will definitely enjoy what Core Combat has to offer. [Feb 2004, p.75]

None of these changes fundamentally change the game, though. They are nice additions, sure, but hardly worth $30.

It remains the place for massive (and social) battles, and changes in the wake of Core Combat should bring lapsed players back to the fold. [Mar 2004, p.74]

An amazing expansion in virtually every way. It looks awesome, it sounds fantastic, its design is superb and it has lots of cool details that make it extremely replayable.

It provides cool new weapons, a long demanded artillery vehicle, and some cool enhancements to base capture and defense. However, it does not change the general Planetside experience: finding a good server with dedicated players and logging on at the right time for real action.

Fighting in the Core is too disorienting and transportation too roundabout to recommend plunking down $30, especially when actual combat in the Core is so infrequent. The caverns are also too impractical to get to and take too long to get out of.

While some are more interesting than others, in practice, Core Combat's new additions don't seem to add much to PlanetSide.