Tribes: Vengeance Hands-On

Here again was the Tribes experience of old I had so much fun with. Trying to gage the trajectory of a target as it closed to the ground from an extended jump, closing on a fallen combatant to scavenge dropped equipment while not remaining a stationary target too long yourself. While the AI on the medium setting was not too hard to deal with, I did find myself having to reload the mission several times after being blown out of the sky. Granted this was only the fourth mission of the game so I had to assume they were taking it a bit easy on me. I soon learned I was correct.

After making it to the bunker, another in game movie played and we see that Imperial Princess Victoria and the Tribal Leader Daniel may not be what they first seemed to be and not so different from each other after all. Could a romance between two from so different environments be possible? NAH!!! That would never work!!!

As the movie ends, we come back to where the game started in current time. We are now in a crowded sports stadium where an armored Imperial team is having the stuffing kicked out of them by a Tribal team. Apparently, the star Imperial player has not shown up and the team is suffering because of it. Suddenly, before the start of the next match, someone we met when the game began, the woman who was handed the data disc, arrives to rally her team before the next match. Her name is Julia, or as the announcers calls her The Princess of Pain.

As the match begins, you assume the role of Julia and are instructed on the rules for this match. There are four stations on the map that must be cleared of the other team and then held for a short period of time before they are captured for your side. The team that controls the stations when time runs out, wins the match and scores a point for their side. The Imperials are losing four to eight currently due to late arrival of Julia.

The buzzer goes off and the game is on. I quickly guide Julia off the starting pad and out towards the first station. This first station is close to our spawn point and I am not surprised that I capture it unchallenged. The armor Julia wears is light so this allows her less protection, but greater maneuverability. I use this to my advantage as I soar over the dividing hill into enemy territory and let loose a spinfusor disc at an enemy who is trying to capture the station closest to the middle. My shot is slightly off center and while it does not hit him squarely, the ensuing explosion blows chunks out of the column near him and sends him flying out of the capture point entirely. I land gently beside the station and nervously look around waiting for the inevitable. I do not have to wait long. Soon I am dodging fire from chain guns, spinfusors and mortars a like (dodging a mortar is a lot harder than it sounds). It's amazing how 15 seconds can seem like an hour when you are being buffeted by explosions like a penny being shook in a piggy bank. Somehow, I survive the onslaught.

Feeling cocky, I engage my jets and head to the next station. As I angle myself for the approach I want, I get a radio call from a teammate. He is under assault at a station and needs backup. I change direction in mid air and start for the other side of the arena. I can see the bluish explosions in the distance and start scanning the surrounding countryside looking for enemies. My teammate is pinned down inside the station desperately trying to fire back at the harassing enemies who are pounding his position. As I get closer I see an enemy heavily armored and more importantly, not looking in my direction. I line him up in my sights and as I glide to earth begin unloading my chain gun. As he fumbles about, I get caught up in the rush of a sneak attack and fail to notice one of his teammates coming up on my left. One direct hit is all it takes to send me flying and back to the respawn point. Yes, these are bots, but they are clearly not related to the bots from Tribes 2.

After another 10 minutes of furious combat, I successfully help my team win the round. I was having a great time and was ready to do it again. However, this time the objective is a bit different. This time fuel cells are scattered around the map and we have to fetch them back to our base. Each cell is fifteen units of fuel. The first team to one hundred wins the round. Again, combat is fast and furious, but the new objective is different enough to make me adapt my strategy. My light armor gives me an edge as I can jump further and faster deep into enemy territory to snatch the fuel cells close to their base. Again, adrenaline has me sitting on the edge of my seat and reacting (or overreacting) to enemy fire. The game is close, but my Imperials win again. The score is now six to eight.

The next round is another variant of fuel cell retrieval game from the last round. However, this time, there are no cells on the map. Rather, you must get to the other teams' capture point and stay stationary while you siphon fuel from their tank. After you have successfully boosted their fuel, you then have to get back to your capture point to deposit your ill-gotten gains. I thought I was going to sail though this one as I had won two in a row now. However, the game surprised me again as the opposing team outfitted an extra suit of heavy armor in order to better guard their base. I lost the first round when time ran out and I had only gotten away with twenty-five units of the enemy's fuel. I was having a hell of a good time playing but the hour was growing late and I had to get to the office by seven the next morning. I would have to pick this one up the following night.

While I have only played several hours of the single player side of Tribes: Vengeance, I can say that I have been pleasantly surprised. What I have seen of the story so far is good, certainly better than what I had expected. Likewise, the way they have implemented the single player component from a previously multiplayer only game has surprised me. It has retained all the elements that made Tribes such an addicting multiplayer experience while providing game play that reminded me of the quality that Unreal Tournament 2004 offered offline. While the game is still beta and shows this by some problems with the voice-overs and long load times, I am thrilled by what I have seen so far and I am anxious to play more.

While I still think there is something seriously wrong with me as I like to torture myself waiting for the "Next Big Thing", I am happy to know that I have found a candidate to torture myself with until October. We still are not sure when Half Life 2 is going Gold, but October is not too far away and Tribes: Vengeance looks like it is going to make the wait for me exquisite in its torture.