Parents' Guide to Planetside 2

Planetside 2 is a competitive first-person team shooter on a massive scale. Initially, it makes a poor first impression with its awful tutorial -- it presents a series of overlapping voice-overs, poorly triggered objectives, and annoying on-screen messages most players will want to speed through. Fortunately, the game makes up for that horrible experience once you dive into the real meat of the play experience, which is choosing among three factions and six combat classes before hitting the "Instant Action" button to join the battle. Instant Action tosses you into the heart of the fight on one of several huge and detailed maps. These are packed with interesting geographic details and strategic opportunities, not to mention guys who want to kill you.

You'll find early on that success in Planetside 2 means constant movement. The best players are able to make snap judgments on the fly, all while shooting, running, climbing, and driving. They'll also be adept at using the game's various vehicles. That means you'll need to invest a significant amount of time to master all these abilities if you want to be good in battle. Whatever your skill level, you'll earn experience and can level up by achieving objectives and racking up kills; higher-ranked players also earn the privilege to use additional items and upgrades. All in all, Planetside 2 is a standout multiplayer shooter. Ignoring the subpar tutorial, the game represents action on a tremendous scale that's literally nonstop. Anyone who's ever wanted to test her mettle against an army of enemies or find out what planet-wide battle might be like really has to give it a try.