While many gamers will point to games like Quake, Unreal or Half-Life as prime catalysts for their current FPS obsession, many others will point at Dynamix 1998 classic Starsiege: Tribes for priming their competitive gaming beginning. One of the more revolutionary games of the day, Tribes (along with DICE’s debut: Codename Eagle) introduced the sprawling team-based shooter, complete with enormous maps, dynamic play and, of course, jetpacks.

Tribes 2 is still considered to this day to be one of the best examples of how to develop a large-scale battle, being the first title to allow for a whopping 128 simultaneous players (still uncommon over 10 years later) extensive modification and hands down delivering some of the best maps of any multiplayer sandbox FPS. Significant hype was ploughed into its sequel, which released three years later to a relatively soft critical and commercial reception.

What Vengeance lacked was the tactical functions, speed and tight precise controls that made its predecessors so popular. With a simpler, more conventional playstyle, traditional tribesmen deserted the game in droves, effectively pushing the series into obscurity as the rising tide of Battlefield and Call of Duty swept in to pick up the pieces. Tribes, to the dismay of thousands, was dead.



So when Hi-Rez Studios, the up and coming developer of a reasonably popular F2P title called Global Agenda, announced they had taken over the IP, many were naturally skeptical. While GA contained a lot of elements that had been obviously influenced by Tribes, including jetpacks, chunky weapons and fast-paced play, it fell short on almost every other level. Things weren’t looking good for a revival.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the early stages of a closed beta for Tribes: Ascend, my confidence boosted prior thanks to some amazing gameplay videos that had been released by the developer. After a long and grueling patch process, I rushed my way through the menus and found, excitedly, that Hi-Rez had Australian servers ready to go, in a beta no-less. It wasn’t long after this point that my head exploded.

Tribes: Ascend is the most pure representation of the Tribes experience since Tribes 2 perfected it back in 2001. Almost every single part of the experience has been tweaked and improved, classes reborn and expanded, maps detailed and sprawling. You can ski like a master within minutes, but perfecting your routes, jumps and jetpack tactics are still the aim of the game.

Hi-Res has spent months poring over the original games, talking to the original developers, and taking notes from the community. It shows. Almost everything, from that noise your spinfusor makes when you launch a disc, to the “SHAZBOT!” people yell in anguish once they lose a match, is all there. All of this would be unbelievable in a conventional title, but it’s the fact that T:A is free that propels this into easily one of the best games launched this year.



But enough dry humping. Tribes: Ascend is not just a remake of a classic, it’s an evolution in every sense of the word. Instead of stripping out and changing what made the original so much fun, the developers have built and improved on things, such as providing completely customisable classes through unlockable weapons, perks and upgrades. Credits earned during a match can be used to drop an aerial strike on top of your enemy, or a mobile inventory kiosk for your teammates.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is the speed. Ascend is one of the fastest games you will ever play, where it’s not unheard of to clock over 200km/hr as you make a calculated dive past turrets to punch through the open flag point, prompting your opponents to start racing behind you at similar speeds. Clever combinations of slope manipulation and jetpack utilisation can be the key between ending up like meatloaf or capping a well earned point for your team.

Playing Ascend reminds you of the days when pinpoint accuracy and anticipating movements trumped spray and pray. The emphasis on aerial combat requires a keen eye and cat like reflexes, as demonstrated in some of the videos on YouTube, where players slit throats during a midair pass, or pass the flag while evading a pursuer. It’s good, then, that the game flows at a tight 60fps and your success is linked entirely to your skill-set, equipment, and ping.

Many thought the introduction of a F2P monetisation system would ruin the game, but thankfully, it doesn’t. Progression through the classes and weapon pickups can be expedited with a few dollars, but upgrades to equipment can only be made with experience points accumulated during play. As a result, the edge you are provided by getting quick access to weaponry depends entirely on your ability to use it. Let’s just say that most new players don’t tend to have that advantage.

It’s a testament to the understanding of how a competitive FPS is played that the system is in no way pay-to-win. Experienced “free” players can still wipe the floor with their hard-earned gear, but lobbing the developers $10 will give you an EXP boost that makes progression a lot easier. It’s the first time, after playing many F2P titles, that I’ve felt a game deserved payment, since it never forced or coerced me to do so.



The game is still a work in progress, and I think Hi-Res pushed for an early launch to grow its player-base. Quite a lot is still unavailable, such as full access to custom and ranked servers, a couple of game modes and some of the equipment. There are a few niggling bugs in the menus and the UI could use a little more tweaking. But that’s really just nitpicking, since the pace of updates are almost daily, and new content has been added every couple of weeks.

If you have ever played Tribes, then you need to stop reading right now and download this game. There is no other argument that I, or anyone else for that matter, could make that should prevent you from playing this masterpiece. For everyone else, especially those looking for something different, you also have no excuses. Not only is this game free, but it has local servers, varied and challenging classes, fun maps and a reasonable learning curve.

Welcome back you grizzled, old, amazing bastard.