PlanetSide 2 is out, here's how it looks with maximum settings

Something about the word "ultra" immediately evokes a reverent silence. Not only does it share the first letter of one of my most favorite words ("undulant"), it's also an adjectival call to stand up and pay attention wherever it appears. PlanetSide 2 is out today, and soldiers the world over are pouring into Auraxia's resource-laden continents as I type. One particular fan celebrated the release with a gameplay video showcasing the deadly beauty of PlanetSide 2's massive battles on ultra graphics. Ultra cool.

Author Crypski 's hardware setup allows for some strong eye-splosions—he rocks an 4.5GHz Intel i7 3770k, an EVGA GTX 670, and 8GB DDR3 RAM. For those of us with less royal rigs, though, we've found PlanetSide 2 to offer pretty well-scaled-yet-stunning visuals on older hardware, though the game tends to chug a bit during the densest firefights.

Another note: Crypski's video removes the HUD for both vehicle and soldier sections, so expect slightly more screen clutter of ammo counts and flashing red "YOU'RE DEAD" health bars if jump into the fray today.