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. 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.
Some equipment is unique to a particular empire.
For instance, one empire is based around energy weapons, whereas the other two only offer more realistic types of weapons, like shotguns and assault rifles. However, after you've killed someone from another empire, you'll be able to loot his equipment to use it yourself or sell it for money. Money is used to buy weapons, armor, and items. You can even upgrade the residence on your empire's home continent, tucked safely away from the fighting. Skills can be acquired as you go up levels, which will make character advancement about more than simply gaining more hit points and bigger guns.