Tribes: Ascend

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 596 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 421 out of 596
  2. Mixed: 100 out of 596
  3. Negative: 75 out of 596

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  1. Obi
    Apr 21, 2012
    7
    The game is good, something different from the usual MP FPS games. However there are issues: low experience income, skill doesn't matter since u can buy better weapons with real money, poor badge rewards for certain classes (for e.g. it seems that lately there are ''disco parties'' in generator room since it gives the most credit)
    As for classes they are pretty good, sake from sentinel.    The game is good, something different from the usual MP FPS games. However there are issues: low experience income, skill doesn't matter since u can buy better weapons with real money, poor badge rewards for certain classes (for e.g. it seems that lately there are ''disco parties'' in generator room since it gives the most credit)
    As for classes they are pretty good, sake from sentinel. Sentinel is pretty much failed class, since you can't hit anything unless its a lucky shot, you have to be constantly in aim mode to achieve maximum damage, which leaves little chance or nothing to see whats going around u and the jammer, which should act as a cloaking device is one big target painted on your back.
    However, the game is free and if u can ignore certain fails you should have a good time playing it.    … Expand
  2. Zerasad
    Jul 7, 2012
    6
    The game looks and sounds really good. Now this game is not the easiest to play or understand, at it definetly requires a lot of practice to be really good at it. You can get the hang of the skiing mechanic relatively fast, but you need to play for a long time to master it. Overal the gameplay would get around 8.5 out of 10. BUT what really kills the game for me is the free to play model.The game looks and sounds really good. Now this game is not the easiest to play or understand, at it definetly requires a lot of practice to be really good at it. You can get the hang of the skiing mechanic relatively fast, but you need to play for a long time to master it. Overal the gameplay would get around 8.5 out of 10. BUT what really kills the game for me is the free to play model. You can unlock classes relatively easily, but certain weapons require crazy amounts of in-game currency. For instance if u play let's say 3 matches everyday in a row and u do exceptionally well in every single one, win all 3 and get the first win of the day bonus every single day, it would still take you around 30-40 days to unlock 1 weapon for a 1 class. And that's just 1 weapon. And these weapons are not even that special. They are just ordinary weapons that other classes can have, a Spinfusor for instance (works like a rocket launcher). And since in my experience explosive weapons are far easier to use and unless you are really skilled with non-explosive a lot more effective, it really sets back some classes. So if you want to play with another clas you'll have to grind day and night to get to the level of the others.… Expand
  3. Bean-Bandit
    Jul 15, 2012
    6
    Honestly this game is more of a let down compared to Tribes 2 and part of that deals with the fact that it's Free 2 Play. There's no dedicated servers with custom maps which is always a great thing. The graphics are somewhat boring and not really up to par with current games. You either have to buy a Starter Pack or play non stop to get enough xp to unlock items or classes. If I'm gonna beHonestly this game is more of a let down compared to Tribes 2 and part of that deals with the fact that it's Free 2 Play. There's no dedicated servers with custom maps which is always a great thing. The graphics are somewhat boring and not really up to par with current games. You either have to buy a Starter Pack or play non stop to get enough xp to unlock items or classes. If I'm gonna be doing that I would rather do this on a MMO then a fps. I would have rather this be a full price game with the wish that the overall feel and play of the game would be alot better then what it is.

    Playing this game makes me miss Tribes 2 and want to play that more then this tribes. Even though Tribes 3 was short lived I would even would rather play that then this game. Heck even the music in Tribes 2 really got you into the feel of the game.    … Expand
  4. paws
    May 1, 2012
    6
    Tribes:Ascend looked great in the beginning, but the more I played it, the more serious flaws became obvious to me.

    The weapon balance is pretty bad and often makes little sense, for example a silenced pistol has a higher damage output than an assault rifle. You have to unlock a lot of weapons that are better than the default gear, and the price both in experience points and gold/cash is    Tribes:Ascend looked great in the beginning, but the more I played it, the more serious flaws became obvious to me.

    The weapon balance is pretty bad and often makes little sense, for example a silenced pistol has a higher damage output than an assault rifle.

    You have to unlock a lot of weapons that are better than the default gear, and the price both in experience points and gold/cash is steep. If you spend only $60 on T:A, you still need hundreds of hours to unlock and upgrade the good stuff. If you don't spend any money and stay f2p, you need about 40 hours to unlock each of the more expensive weapons, 30 hours for the middle priced ones and 17 hours for the cheap ones. So unless you spend most of your waking life playing this game, you won't get far without gold. You get 50% once you spend any money, but then you still need a lot of time for unlocks. You can buy xp boosters for gold that doubles the xp rate for a period, but they're usually marginally cost efficient for casual players.

    HiRez has released obviously overpowered weapons in both of it's new weapon packs, and they were the most expensive ones. This shows that pay to win is how they plan to keep maximizing their revenue.

    Being a team based game, team play is a very important factor. Unfortunately, in most games the teams are stacked so that one team steamrolls the other, which is neither exciting or fun. Also, overall team play is usually terrible, especially in CTF games where people often refuse to defend the flag. But if you happen end up in a game were the teams are balanced and people work together, it's a fun game.

    In the Capture and Hold mode, there's less requirement for cooperation than in CTF, so the games are less chaotic, but here the classes don't work as well together as in CTF, and some of the maps used for CaH are just not well suited for it because they have rooms were people tend to crowd up and spam grenades.    … Expand
  5. dennycrane
    Jun 3, 2012
    5
    The best part about Tribes Ascend are the improved graphics. Beyond that, the game pales in comparison to the skill ceiling and physics of the first two. Long time players of Tribes 1 and Tribes 2 will understand what I mean. There have been some quirky changes to make the game easier for casual players. That's understandable, but in that attempt its just not as enjoyable. Too much CODThe best part about Tribes Ascend are the improved graphics. Beyond that, the game pales in comparison to the skill ceiling and physics of the first two. Long time players of Tribes 1 and Tribes 2 will understand what I mean. There have been some quirky changes to make the game easier for casual players. That's understandable, but in that attempt its just not as enjoyable. Too much COD style ground hugging combat, very little LD or great chasing skirmishes. Ridiculous massive hit boxes. No team damage and auto regen make this tribes on training wheels. I'm sure the casual guy will enjoy it, but it's not the type of tribes game that make me, or other long time fans want to stick around.… Expand
  6. Mitthrawnuruodo
    Jun 28, 2012
    5
    A solid first person shooter that is unfortunately built on a pay-to-win free play model. The person who spent the most money on better armor, better guns and better perks that are constantly released will win.
  7. Salient0ne
    May 24, 2012
    5
    I played a lot of tribes2 and was very good at it. I started playing this, and just got owned. Why? This is very much play to win and the grind to get the weapons/items/perks is miserable. Like 50 wins needed per 1 item. You'll never see scrubs at the top of the leader boards, and you'll get tired quick of using inferior weapons and having no energy to keep up with the enemy. Its quite sadI played a lot of tribes2 and was very good at it. I started playing this, and just got owned. Why? This is very much play to win and the grind to get the weapons/items/perks is miserable. Like 50 wins needed per 1 item. You'll never see scrubs at the top of the leader boards, and you'll get tired quick of using inferior weapons and having no energy to keep up with the enemy. Its quite sad too, the simple solution is to fix the match making, i dont understand why scrubs get stuck in games full of pay2win players.… Expand
  8. loungegecko
    Apr 30, 2012
    5
    Alright, Tribes is NOTHING special. It's a generic online shooter. Sure, you go fast, yeah, but honestly? It doesn't even give the feeling of fast that you would get from a lot of other games. Also the balance is poor. It's a given that in any online game the edge goes to more experienced players, but the experience and unlock system makes this game terribly unbalanced. Also, the crash andAlright, Tribes is NOTHING special. It's a generic online shooter. Sure, you go fast, yeah, but honestly? It doesn't even give the feeling of fast that you would get from a lot of other games. Also the balance is poor. It's a given that in any online game the edge goes to more experienced players, but the experience and unlock system makes this game terribly unbalanced. Also, the crash and bullet physics are absolutely dreadful. It's redeemed by the fact that it looks pretty and it's fun to play ONLY IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS PLAYING. It's free, so it's worth a download I suppose.… Expand
  9. Darkmark
    Jun 17, 2012
    5
    It the start it was fun because of the jetpacks and skiing which really added some dynamic movement to the game that you rarely see in other shooters. It was fun just skiing around trying to go as fast as possible or to fly around with your jetpack in the middle of combat. But after some time the game got boring and you began to notice all the flaws and the poor balance. Now i haven'tIt the start it was fun because of the jetpacks and skiing which really added some dynamic movement to the game that you rarely see in other shooters. It was fun just skiing around trying to go as fast as possible or to fly around with your jetpack in the middle of combat. But after some time the game got boring and you began to notice all the flaws and the poor balance. Now i haven't played the game in a while and though it can be fun at times if you play it with your friends there are much better games out there.… Expand
  10. Zimzams
    Jun 22, 2012
    6
    The game is fun, there is no doubt about it. if you are looking for the remedy to the generic slow, cover-based fps that have been trending lately then this is a decent game for that. HOWEVER, there are serious balance issues, Hi-Rez have their "fremium" model all wrong, it is far too easy to buy power in this game, and unlocking stuff without paying takes far too long. not to mention theThe game is fun, there is no doubt about it. if you are looking for the remedy to the generic slow, cover-based fps that have been trending lately then this is a decent game for that. HOWEVER, there are serious balance issues, Hi-Rez have their "fremium" model all wrong, it is far too easy to buy power in this game, and unlocking stuff without paying takes far too long. not to mention the fact the weapons are not side-grades all the time, but can be straight up-grades
    all in all its a fun idea poorly executed, but there is still hope for it to be fixed in a future patch.    … Expand
  11. FatalExcursion
    Apr 24, 2012
    7
    It's free to play, so I can't complain much, but this is simply a F2P model that does not work, and with Sony publishing Tribes Ascend it's no surprise. It plays out as what you'd expect, you can level up normally (and rather slowly), or go the Pay to Pave option and obtain gold to buy market items, perks and skins. It's not with this that the game becomes broken, though many weaponsIt's free to play, so I can't complain much, but this is simply a F2P model that does not work, and with Sony publishing Tribes Ascend it's no surprise. It plays out as what you'd expect, you can level up normally (and rather slowly), or go the Pay to Pave option and obtain gold to buy market items, perks and skins. It's not with this that the game becomes broken, though many weapons become more and more overpowered with each consequential update that supposedly fixes these problems. It's the fact the disbalancement of F2P v P2P players becomes overwhelmingly clear through the horrible in-game matchmaking, which ends up pitting players with low points against MVPlayers most of the time. That being said, the pros of Tribes come from it's insanely fast-paced gameplay, intense objective-based modes, and unique graphically-stirring maps and designs. Cons quickly appear in minor, but overwhelmingly apparent doses still. The interface is clunky, OP weapons have not been fixed or have been made worse, and with many other problems surrounding matchmaking and gameplay, Tribes: Ascend loses its grand appeal in the first few hours, but still delivers to Tribes fans and those looking for a new skill-based shooter not unlike Quake. Given time, I'm sure that these problems will be ironed up, but the problem still lies in why they released the game when the beta clearly needed attention to fixes as well.… Expand
  12. Steve101
    Jul 4, 2012
    5
    I really don't understand what people see in this game. I personally find Tribes an unsatisfactory chaotic mess. Some elements, such as skiing and the counterstrike-like weapon system, I enjoy. However, the core gameplay, of a first person shooter, I find impossible. You end up spending most of your time shooting at the group where a person was 10 seconds ago. Everyone is moving too fast,I really don't understand what people see in this game. I personally find Tribes an unsatisfactory chaotic mess. Some elements, such as skiing and the counterstrike-like weapon system, I enjoy. However, the core gameplay, of a first person shooter, I find impossible. You end up spending most of your time shooting at the group where a person was 10 seconds ago. Everyone is moving too fast, and they all seem to be WAAY better at the game then you. The graphics are absolutely fantastic...if you could take the time to appreciate them. But most of the players end up being a blur, and the maps contain mostly repetitive terrain with no real variation.
    The worst element of the game however, is playing with a team. The maps are too large to effectively co-ordinate with team members for attacks, defences, or what have you.Plus, no matter what you do, you never feel like you are contributing to the team effort, unless your the person at the front lines, capturing the flags and whatnot. And because the maps are too vast, the player are too widely spaced, Heck, even finding people to shoot is hard.
    Mind you, there are some good elements about the game. The class variation is decent enough, and it is somewhat exhilarating to fly around at ridiculously fast speeds, and, as said earlier, the graphics are quite nice.
    However, the core gameplay isn't something I enjoy. For shooters, unless you are a fan of the series, or have a fair about of skill with timing and speed, I recommend taking a pass on this one.    … Expand
  13. LarryCA
    Apr 14, 2012
    6
    A fantastic game ruined by terrible netcode. There is no lag compensation for projectiles and very poor interpolation of player movement, making it a frustrating mess to play with or against anyone above LAN level latency. Issues like these should never have made it out of beta.
  14. Brosman
    Aug 8, 2013
    7
    This game is incredibly fun when i play it with my friends. But whenever i join a lobby with randoms i cant enjoy myself. The pathfinder class ruins ever game mode in this game. I understand he is supposed to be fast, but the fact that in CTF he can literally run laps around the map and cap the flag six time uncontested and run through you 20 turrets without taking a single shot is insane.This game is incredibly fun when i play it with my friends. But whenever i join a lobby with randoms i cant enjoy myself. The pathfinder class ruins ever game mode in this game. I understand he is supposed to be fast, but the fact that in CTF he can literally run laps around the map and cap the flag six time uncontested and run through you 20 turrets without taking a single shot is insane. In TDM he takes the flag and runs laps around the outside of the map and hes so fast the even an entire team of pathfinders cant kill him. Its a fun free game but the fact that this can happen in every game ruins the fun factor and takes out some of the strategy. I enjoy it i really do and i recommend it. Just this one flaw sucks the fun out if it sometimes.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PC Game of 2012
35
#35 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Aug 31, 2012
    89
    Contrary to the classic gameplay of an FPS that requires constant cover, slow advances, crouching and prone positioning, the battles of Ascend happen on the ground, as well as in the air and in tremendous speeds- thus changing drastically the classic tactical approaches of the genre. It's a breath of fresh air in the online FPS world. [September 2012]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Aug 10, 2012
    70
    Arcade online shooter surprises with fresh and fast paced playability and is a very good alternative to paid services with its free-to-play model. [Issue#220]
  3. Telegraph
    Jun 12, 2012
    80
    Tribes: Ascend is a worthy successor to its forebears, bringing the same inimitable, hectic play style married to graphics that will stretch even the most capable machine.
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