It is perhaps more impressive if you've seen the Fanfest footage and know what's going on behind the action. Every vehicle and every suit of armor has customization to it comparable with EVE ships. The performance of players in battles also results in cash that can be used to purchase new and better weapons and equipment and vehicles, like those tanks or flying vehicles, although if you get killed in your fancy new tank it's gone until you buy another one.
Personally I think, while a console shooter is something I could never get into, the depth of Dust is something that Planetside 2 could learn a hell of a lot from. The depth of character development, soldier and vehicle customization, and the whole deal with being a mercenary earning money to get better toys. The character development is far more extensive than Planetside 2's and there isn't any "you can only actually have a few certs active at a time" nonsense. Every suit of armor and vehicle can be customized with a variety of weapons, upgrades, and add-ons to make it function the way you want. The PS2 version of "well it's a tank and it has 3 slots for customization" doesn't even come close. And, at least personally, I love the idea of getting paid for doing well and being able to use that money to buy a better tank or a better gun.
In all I'm pretty excited about Dust coming to the PC. I think Planetside 2 will be great, but the two games competing with each other and learning from each other can only be good for the genre. Although I guess Dust technically isn't massive in scope as individual battles won't ever be in the 100s I'd assume, a lot of the ideas it has would benefit Planetside 2 nonetheless.
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