So far it sounds a lot like Tribes sans jetpacks. But there are more differences than similarities. Most significant is Planetside's persistent game world, which gives the world and its players a life beyond a single match. The world consists of three empires battling over several islands. Designer Kevin McCann says it's almost "Risk based" in the sense that at its highest level, it's about conquering and holding specific territories. Each player's role is as a soldier for one of the empires. The choice of empire determines what sort of equipment, character progression, and mission types are available to the player.