Tribes II

Tribes 2 simply shines in the multiplayer team conflicts it was designed for, and the tactical possibilities are nearly endless. Players can hop into vehicles, with a pilot skimming over the planet's surface and threading narrow canyons while team members in the back blast enemies as they whip by. Each team's base are separated by miles of varying terrain, yet the transitions from outdoors to indoors are entirely seamless regardless of an installation's complexity. There are endless weapon loadouts and armour combinations to choose from, and equipment like targeting lasers and deployable defence turrets really add to the game's depth. For example, a player in light scout armour can quickly move to within range of an outpost, then illuminate it with the targeting laser for his heavily armed buddies crouching behind a hill. These heavies can fire their mobile mortars in complete safety with the knowledge that the laser will guide the rounds on target. This is just one example of the need for teamwork in Tribes 2.

Graphically, Tribes 2 leaves a little to be desired in terms of detail, but the massive environments more than compensate for that shortcoming. It sometimes is possible to see enemies approaching from a few miles away, and those foolish enough to silhouette themselves on a ridgeline are soon dispatched by an enemy laser sniper they probably never see. The special effects are excellent, and there are few shooters on the market that can match the intensity Tribes 2 reaches when dozens of players are fighting all at once. --T. Byrl Baker

For those that have never played Tribes, we highly recommended going through the entire Training Mode. The added flight dynamic in the game literally changes everything and without practice, newbies will be dead-bies in a matter of seconds. It's important to understand that, with the exception of the laser rifle and perhaps the chaingun, the target has to be lead -- aiming right at a target usually means a miss if they're moving. Continuing in the tradition of the previous game, there's also a ton of strategies available thanks to the huge number of weapons and deployables. A Scout can snipe and fly around with ease, while the heavier, slower Juggernaut can provide massive destruction. Flying a solo Wildcat vehicle will get the player from A to B quickly, but the Thundersword bomber provides pinpoint accuracy from the air on heavily shielded targets. It's complex and often chaotic, but those with the patience to learn it will love it.

For the veteran players, Tribes 2 is a return to familiar ground with some new options and a cleaner interface. The community built-in to the menu system allows for chatting, finding friends, entering a link the a webpage for a tribe, etc. It's an easy-to-navigate system that should probably be looked at by other games like Team Arena or UT. Individual players have information displayed about them such as their history, their tribe affiliations and anything from their personal Warrior page. It personalizes the game and makes building the community very easy.

Those expecting a graphic wallop may be underwhelmed by the engine used in Tribes 2. While it's very impressive, most will be forced to lower the detail levels considerably to get decent framerates. Once the details are down, though, the game looks like a minor graphical update to the original. Those with a Voodoo-based card are almost punished by this game: a P3 600MHz with 128MB of RAM and a Voodoo5 5500 was chugging constantly until nearly every detail was turned off or set to minimum, turning the game into a blocky smear. Even on an 900Mhz Thunderbird with 256MB of RAM and a GeForce2 Ultra, we found ourselves having to lower some of the details. It's nice that the engine is so advanced and capable, but most will probably have to wait a year of so before the machine and video card to run this game are affordable.

Now that the player is equipped and the settings are adjusted, it's time to jump in and find out what makes this game so damn addictive. Fifteen seconds to start. Teammates begin appearing all around the base, preparing for the battle. Ten seconds to go. Looking around shows the massive scope of each level. Keep in mind that jet-packing over mountains is possible and often required. Five, Four, Three... match begins now. The magic starts. Everyone begins running around, rushing to inventory stations, finding snipe points, locating strategic positions for defense. Three guys hop into a Thundersword and fly off. Another creates a Jericho Forward Base and slowly drives it to a strategic position near the front line. These aren't bots. Only a coordinated team will win.

Describing the mayhem of a Capture the Flag or Capture and Hold match is difficult. Everything happens so quickly that the indecisive will soon be feeding the flowers. It is for this reason that the game can frustrate the uninitiated: Tribes 2 is unforgiving and there's no time for anyone to train a newbie. Veteran players seemingly have a natural instinct for picking the newbies out of a crowd and relentlessly chasing them down. There's a serious effort and time commitment involved for those that want to become good, but the payoff is perhaps the best multiplayer teamplay game currently available.

For those that would rather not get that involved, there are multiplayer free-for-all games like Hunter, Bounty, Rabbit and even the standard Deathmatch. The dynamic of flight changes how all these are played though. Instead of running down a corridor to a room and into another corridor, players fly around vast outdoor areas and complex indoor arenas. Chasing someone down takes as much flying skill as it does aiming skill. A good player knows how to combine jumping and jetting to perfection, making them very fast and nearly impossible to corner. The maps are also huge, so some time will have to be spent learning the various terrains and buildings. It all pays off though as a good solo player tends to make a better team player.

At last count, there were already over 300 servers hosting games around the world. Many had 40 or more players in them and most variations (Capture the Flag, Siege, etc.) could be found easily. While these are most likely the hardcore Tribes veterans populating the community so quickly, the game has been designed to be more inviting to newbies. As we've been saying all along, though, it takes patience, practice and a good mind for navigating 3D space. With all the new features, the included terrain editor and the community, this is arguably a new standard by which other team-based games will be measured. Now grab your loadout and get to town, private; you've got some flags to capture. --From DailyRadar.com