FPS General

PlanetSide 2 is tearing it up in closed technical beta, and the team at FPS General are really excited about the game. The original PlanetSide completely changed the way we play shooters in such a huge environment and PlanetSide 2 is on track to do it again.

To celebrate the game, we've been bringing you exclusives left and right, but today's deal just might take the cake. FPS General is giving away three PlanetSide 2 prize packages to three random winners and putting your name into the hat to win couldn't be easier. Before you do that, however, let's recap the prize packages again for those who didn't see our original post on this giveaway.

Each prize packages contains:

• One PlanetSide 2 t-shirt (size XL), custom designed after one of the three PlanetSide 2 factions.
• One faction logo dogtag, letting you proudly declare allegiance to your faction.
• One beta key, getting you access to the closed PlanetSide 2 beta.

Faction preference will be given on a first-come, first-served basis - we have three total prize packages, one each for Terran Republic; New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty.

Keep reading to learn how to be eligible to win!

Closed beta on PlanetSide 2 is just starting to heat up and to celebrate, we've got some pretty amazing swag to give away and winning is as easy as telling us which faction is your favorite.

To start with, though, let's take a look at this gear that three lucky FPS General readers are going to be receiving. We've got three gorgeous faction t-shirts (picture above, click to enlarge), each sporting a design from one of the three PlanetSide 2 factions; Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty. These t-shirts feature the logo of the faction as well as an action shot of a faction soldier.

To complement your brand new faction shirt, we've got matching dogtags with faction logos printed on them (pictured below, click to enlarge). Once again, we've got three unique dogtags, one each for Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty. As if all this loot wasn't enough to make any PlanetSide 2 fan drool, we're also including access to the PlanetSide 2 closed beta inside each prize package.So, a recap; three winners will receive one shirt, one dogtag and access to the PlanetSide 2 closed beta! Faction preference will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

So how can you enter to win? Being eligible to win is as simple as voting for your favorite faction, keep reading to find out more...

Update: Miss the stream? Don't worry, we have you covered. The on demand video is available above, just click play and enjoy!

FPS General is excited to announce the debut episode of our PlanetSide 2 talk show, PlanetCast. We will be premiering the weekly series later today, and we are inviting everyone to join in!

The stream will be happening at 1:00PM Pacific Time (check your local time), over on our own3D.tv channel. Every week we will be bringing you a new episode of The PlanetCast, discussing the latest happenings in the world of PlanetSide 2. This includes updates on beta, the latest news from Sony Online Entertainment, exclusive interviews and so much more! This is the definitive PlanetSide 2 talk show and we can't wait for you guys to check it out!

On this week's episode, we'll be going in depth with everything we learned during our trip to Sony Online Entertainment in San Diego earlier this month, including some exclusive footage, interviews and more! Be sure to follow us at http://www.own3d.tv/CurseTV/ to be alerted when we're streaming.

We have some bold and exciting plans for PlanetSide 2, so tune in this afternoon and hear all about them for yourself during the world premiere of The PlanetCast!

PlanetSide 2 is not the easiest game in the world for a rookie to jump into out of the blue. Some franchises are easy to learn and have a certain pick-up-and-play mentality to them. Not so with PlanetSide 2 - not if you want to be a credit to your faction, at any rate.

That's why we're proud to bring you the recently launched PlanetSide 2 Wiki! As with all of our wiki's, we are dedicated to bringing you the best source of information on all-things PlanetSide 2. This includes factions, vehicles, locations, weapons, equipment - you name it, and our wiki will be helping you get familiar with it. The wiki just launched, but we wanted to get the word out to you guys so you can get on board early and join us as we build it into an incredible and complete source of information on PlanetSide 2.

The PlanetSide 2 Wiki is at http://www.ps2wiki.net/, check it out now and be sure to leave us some feedback!

Earlier this week, the FPS General team dropped by Sony Online Entertainment to a get sneak preview of PlanetSide 2 and chat with the developers a bit.

We've already shown you some amazing beta footage and you've doubtless seen the huge screenshot gallery, but today we're bringing you another exclusive. In the video above, we had a chance to sit down and talk PlanetSide with Matt Higby and Tramell Isaac. If you're unfamiliar with the duo, Matt Higby is Creative Director on PlanetSide 2 while Tramell Isaac serves as Senior Art Director.

Take a look at the video above, and be sure to toss it a like and subscribe if you enjoyed the interview!

Today is PlanetSide 2 Day at FPS General Headquarters, as we bring you a slew of PlanetSide 2 information, hands-on posts, videos and more.

Following up our exclusive 45 minutes of beta gameplay footage and the great teaser trailer released by Sony Online Entertainment this morning, we're bringing you a massive gallery of new PlanetSide 2 screenshots. The gallery, found below, features a ton of new images in Terran Republic, Vanu Sovereignty and New Conglomerate flavors. No faction left behind.

Whether you're looking for pictures of vehicles, classes, environments or action shots, the gallery below has you covered! Check it out after the break.

Hot on the heels of our own 45-minute PlanetSide 2beta video, Sony Online Entertainment has released a brand new teaser trailer for the game.

Entitled Death is No Excuse, the full trailer will be going live on July 25th. The teaser trailer above looks amazing, and we're getting pumped up for the worldwide premiere of the full trailer next week. Check out the teaser above, if you don't mind suspense, and you can expect more PlanetSide 2 content from us today as we reveal what we learned at the press event in San Diego earlier this month.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest PlanetSide 2 news and rumors straight to your social network of choice.

Earlier this month, we were invited to Sony Online Entertainment's offices in San Diego, California, where we were able to get a sneak preview of PlanetSide 2 as well as some hands-on time with the game.

In the video above, you can check out over 45 minutes of raw PlanetSide 2 beta footage, with commentary by the game's Creative Director, Matt Higby. PlanetSide 2 looked amazing, and played even better. We had a blast during our time with the game and if you haven't gotten into the closed testing yet, you're in for something amazing. Our coverage of the preview event starts today, with the video above, but we'll have more coming to you all day long, including an in-depth article discussing our time playing the beta.

If you like the video above, please visit YouTube and subscribe for more great content like this every day!

Friday afternoon is winding down but the night is just getting started. To get things off on the right foot, we're bringing you an incredible user-created PlanetSide 2 video and original song.

Entitled 'The Faction Song', Games James has put together an incredibly funny video for us. With completely original music and lyrics, James takes us on a magical musical tour of each faction in PlanetSide 2, showing off their strong suits and special traits. Some choice lyrics include, 'Their armors real bulky and their guns are real square, their leader's Matt Higby, who's got lots of hair.' in regard to New Conglomerate and, 'They're a group of intellectuals, scouring the land, for alien artifacts to get the upper hand. They use logic and science and math, but mostly just lasers' describing the Vanu Sovereignty.

Keep your eyes out for special guest appearances from Bill Nye the Science Guy and former United States President George W Bush, who the Terran Republic personally voted into office for a second term.

John Smedley, President at Sony Online Entertainment, has confirmed that invitations for PlanetSide 2's upcoming tech beta will be going out tomorrow - July 13th, 2012. Friday the 13th. What could go wrong!

The tech beta is a chance for Sony Online Entertainment to make sure that PlanetSide 2 is up to the challenge of introducing several thousand new players as the beta begins to expand. This upcoming extension of beta will be primarily to ensure that the backend of the game is able to take the strain of so many people logging on at once. Invitations will be going out tomorrow, so make sure that you are registered over at http://www.planetside2.com/.

If you don't get into the first round of testing, don't worry! Invitations will continue going out as SOE extends the beta over time. Just stick with it and doubtless you'll get in soon! In the meantime, make sure you stay connected to the game at http://www.fpsgeneral.com/games/planetside-2.

Also, Higby cut his hair.