This complexity, both in game-play controls and in setup options, is Tribes strongest suit and its biggest weakness.
Its exhausting just to list imagine coming in as a first-time player and being faced with such an array. Which character do you want? What armor do you prefer? Which weapon do you want to start with? What kind of game do you want to play: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Capture and Hold, Hunters? Which map do you want to play on? How many players do you want in the game? You want bots? We got bots! How many do you want? How smart do you want em? Do you want friendly fire enabled? How much damage should it do? The bad news is that novices are going to be left staring slack-jawed at the setup screen. The good news is that online veterans will have access to all those little tweaks and options that SOCOM lacks.
Tribes has always been the most complex of the three, due in part to the jetpack factor (they come standard with the suit) and three distinct armament choices: light armor, which is fast as hell but cant hold much heavy weaponry medium armor, which is slower but more powerful and heavy armor, which turns you into a lumbering beast vaguely resembling the Thing, except this time armed to the teeth.Īll the complexity of the PC version has been faithfully transferred to the PS2, and thats both a good and a bad thing. Those of you who dont venture onto your computer to play games should know that Tribes is the third member of the PCs Holy Online Triumvirate of first-person shooters (FPS) whose other slots are filled by the Quake and Unreal franchises. "Defensive-minded players can play in heavy armor and defend the flag or other critical equipment," says Mahnken, "or choose light armor and chase down enemy flag carriers." You can even switch the type of base gun emplacements to thwart changing enemy attack styles." The game even has inventory stations (located in your base or wherever you decide to deploy them on the field) to let you change your character type to reflect your preferred style of play. Feeling crafty? Place turrets in all the most devious positions around your base.
In the mood to break stuff? You can assault the enemy base and trash their gear. "The freedom is one of the major benefits," Mahnken explains. You're not necessarily in a shoot-everything-that-moves mode (mood?) with Tribes. "You can figure out the best ski routes to help you fly at the enemy flag at top speed," says Mahnken.
You get a jetpack for short spurts of high-altitude warfare, and when you run out of energy, you can "ski" down hillside slopes so you can zip along without taking fall damage or slowing down. This isn't just "Outdoors Quake," however. You find the ledge that lets you mortar the enemy base from just out of sight or the valley that you can fly the bomber out of without exposing yourself to too many enemy missiles." Soon you learn the best way to get from place to place, using the hills and valleys as cover. "But that's deceptive, because not all the hills are rolling, and none of them are the same-every map has a unique feel. This game's outdoor environments may bring out the agoraphobia in players raised on indoor "corridor" shooters-after all, how do you strategize in such open areas? "The first thing you notice about the terrain is the vast spaces and rolling hills," says Chris Mahnken, Tribes' producer at Sierra.
If you were to take some Quake characters for a picnic in the countryside, you may get a scene like you'd see in Tribes, a popular online PC first-person shooter making its way to the PS2 this fall.