Tribes

Tribes

A Sierra classic, which struck gold in late 1998. Tribes was a revolutionary game which ushered out the tired deathmatch aspect of the first person shooter and brought in paramount tactics and teamplay with a brilliant fanfare. When punters jumped online and began playing they had to quickly adapt and learn that rambo tactics that were previously succesful in games such as Quake and Doom brought no fruits in this game. Working with your team and employing careful tactics was the only way to survive on the battlefield.

Graphics and sound are lacking, when compared to today's standards, however this is still a brilliant game, especcially since it is FREE. The online community is somewhat diminished with the release of Tribes 2, though still present. Besides, as it is a free game it is great for LAN parties.

Tribes set an amazing new aspect to first person shooters with the ability to choose between three armor classes and to customize your layout. Featured armors include Light, Medium and Heavy, each with distinct advantages, such as mobility, all-roundedness and Heavy weaponry respectively. Layouts have a huge range or weapons and devices, ranging from your simple blaster to fusion mortars, and deployable Inventory Stations to Sensor Jammers.

Again, Tribes broke new ground with the inclusion of pilotable vehicles, adding another depth of tactics. The vehicles are only able to be piloted by Light Armors, and include Scouts, which fire rockets, Light Transports, which carry two passengers, and Heavy Transports, which carry four passengers.

As mentioned above, the online community is somewhat diminished, yet those servers still around are always full of people. The diverse gameplay adds to the fun, with available choices being Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Capture and Hold and Defend and Destroy. Single Player, however, is an entirely different matter. It is lacking, to say the least, with only ten training missions. AI is utterly braindead and the missions are far too quick and easy, however noone should complain with such a brilliant multiplayer aspect.

All in all, dated graphics and horrid single player, Tribes still remains an utterly brilliant game. Especcially now, since Sierra has released it as freeware, I would recommend Tribes for anyone.

Final Verdict: