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. PR9Gaming
    Aug 12, 2023
    10
    Literally too good to succeed. Hi-Rez has been on my **** ever since they screwed this game up and moved on to Smite, which is at best third place in its genre XD
  2. Pardoow
    Sep 8, 2019
    8
    Fun and free, what else do you want? For what it is, a halo-ish futuristic shooter, it delivers enough fun to keep you entertained
  3. Wildleon
    Aug 1, 2016
    10
    good game. I am new to the Tribes franchise and enjoyed the challenge of skiing and trying to aim. I really enjoyed the beta and I'm excited that it's finally out!
  4. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    8
    In 2011 I stood in line for PAX East and saw a trailer for a game I never thought I'd see. The original Starsiege: Tribes was the first game I ever played online, and I was enthralled by it from my first flag grab. Ascend is very much the inheritor of this classic series' legacy, and though it has modern trappings like regen health and an experience system, these do not greatly detractIn 2011 I stood in line for PAX East and saw a trailer for a game I never thought I'd see. The original Starsiege: Tribes was the first game I ever played online, and I was enthralled by it from my first flag grab. Ascend is very much the inheritor of this classic series' legacy, and though it has modern trappings like regen health and an experience system, these do not greatly detract from the core gameplay. Ascend is easy to start playing, but is just as skill-intensive as it' forebears. You can't just "press button, win game." You have to play hard or go home. Ascend's sprawling levels, varied weapons, blinding speeds, and high-flying acrobatics set it in a class above other shooters, and has a variety of PC-friendly features such as support for custom servers.

    However, the game was seemingly abandoned by Hi-Rez studios in the face of their beloved e-sports baby, Smite. Then, from the blue, came a massive quality of life update that retooled Ascend to be more like its predecessors, removing classes in favor of a simpler armor-based loadout system. These changes were all that old-school Tribes players ever wanted, and that's exactly what we got. The game might not have much of a future from here... but what we have is good.    … Expand
  5. ugura
    Apr 13, 2016
    10
    great game, and not a bit pay to win, like most free games where ripping a, go and try this awesome game good gameplay, have skill and more and looks okay
  6. AprilReyes
    Oct 11, 2014
    3
    Another game that bought the "Bezt gaem ever" scores for a couple bucks. Sad where the game industry is going nowadays. Yeah, Tribes is certainly something unique, but that doesn't mean its good too.

    What makes this game promising is the "fast-paced" action that is in reality almost uncontrollably hovering (or as they call it "skiing") forwards while shooting stuff at people who do that    Another game that bought the "Bezt gaem ever" scores for a couple bucks. Sad where the game industry is going nowadays. Yeah, Tribes is certainly something unique, but that doesn't mean its good too.

    What makes this game promising is the "fast-paced" action that is in reality almost uncontrollably hovering (or as they call it "skiing") forwards while shooting stuff at people who do that same. Sadly, however, there is no sense of speed whatsoever, and you don't get chills because you're going so fast, mostly because the maps seem like someone accidentally scaling them ten times higher than they should be.

    The so called "competitive gameplay" falls flat by the simple fact that explosives deal an absurdly high damage plus have a huge blast radius which means that when "skiing", you hardly ever need to aim, and while indoors, you don't even need to because you'll blow everything in your way to pieces.

    The CTF is quite interesting, because the flags are, for some reason, keep left out in the open which means a luckier enemy who got quite the speed can dash by and pick it up, while the defenders simply can't go after him because there is no slope they can use to gain speed.

    And then there are the "pay to win" issues. No, don't come with that "you can unlock anything" thing, I'd like to unlock new weapons faster than classes, but after some calculations I figured it'd take hundreds of matches to switch my pea shooter that deals no damage to something that can actually do something, while who bought the Game of The Year (brb vomiting) package can get everything on spot, ready to go. Disgusting.

    I've played about one hour of this but I've already uninstalled it, utterly disappointing. I'll be honest, the only thing I liked about this game is the weapon designs, but those I LOVED.    … Expand
  7. NFFNSNC
    Aug 12, 2014
    0
    The worst Tribes game, and ultimately the death of the Tribes series. Ruined by free to play and other nonsense. Class unlocks?! Rifles/smgs/pistols?! They have no place in a Tribes game.

    R.I.P. Tribes, you'll be missed!
  8. Plasmaneedle
    Jun 8, 2014
    9
    Tribes Ascend is an excellent FPS. The emphasis on mobility makes it faster paced and makes it stand out among other online FPS games. The maps are well designed for this and the graphics are beautiful. Considering it's free to play you'd be doing yourself a disservice to not at least try Tribes Ascend.
  9. ZZZGheronZZZ
    Jun 1, 2014
    4
    Great initial game play. Provides lost of incentive to play again. VERY crappy lvl system that favors player who have been playing longer not skill... crap gaming style.

    Hi-Rez has the same problem with Smite and tried to fix it by starting all players at lvl 0 but still favors players who have been playing longer. Want more money? Make the game fun for everyone to play.
  10. SanicFire2000
    Apr 7, 2014
    9
    Well... I'm going to say that this game is great... if you have a powerful engine to run it on.
    The game runs on Unreal Engine, so it will be a pain in the ass to handle if your computer is a slow as **** computer, but with the right one, it is going to be a blast.

    I...I...I...I'm going to go play Tribes:Ascend some more. I'll just leave it at here.
  11. TSB
    Feb 6, 2014
    10
    I'm writing this fast review after playing the game more than 200 hours .

    + Competitve game you can easily tell the difference between good and noob player . + fast / smooth and balanced gameplay specially the fly and Ski. + more than 8 class . + very good map designing . + require highly team work . + very good voice chat command . + dedicated servers . + almost no lucky kills    I'm writing this fast review after playing the game more than 200 hours .

    + Competitve game you can easily tell the difference between good and noob player .
    + fast / smooth and balanced gameplay specially the fly and Ski.
    + more than 8 class .
    + very good map designing .
    + require highly team work .
    + very good voice chat command .
    + dedicated servers .
    + almost no lucky kills in the game you better be good or die .
    + no camping behind doors or corners or cheap kills you will have to go out and face your opponent .
    - only 3 active game modes .

    My personal rating

    9.5/10

    The best MultiPlayer Game of the generation .    … Expand
  12. notyourbuddy
    Dec 23, 2013
    8
    Fast paced shooter with a unique airborne combat/movement ski system. If you like going fast and flying high Tribes is the place to be.

    Has some of the most satisfying skill-shots you'll experience in a first person shooter. Comes with a great Capture the Flag game mode (highly recommend) and a wide range of classes to play/weapons to unlock. Plus its Free-To-Play. Some Minor Issues:    Fast paced shooter with a unique airborne combat/movement ski system. If you like going fast and flying high Tribes is the place to be.

    Has some of the most satisfying skill-shots you'll experience in a first person shooter. Comes with a great Capture the Flag game mode (highly recommend) and a wide range of classes to play/weapons to unlock. Plus its Free-To-Play.

    Some Minor Issues:
    - Pro Snipers can really bog down CTF matches.
    - Late game can see quite a bit of skilless Orbital Strike spam.
    - There are some weapon/loadout balance issues here and there.
    - Minor pay-to-win elements regarding the Engineer and Spy class (must unlock explosive weapons to be effective indoors.)
    - Some classes are not as well defined as they probably should be. Example, Juggernauts are a long-range bombardment specialists yet these very same weapon loadouts can be godly indoors.
    - Vehicles, while fun, have very limited effective use due to the airborne nature of combat (vehicle effectiveness is often restricted to a few maps in a few select areas).
    - Base defenses are pretty easily dealt with which might bother some dedicated Engineer players.
    - Unlocking weapons/gear without paying cash is a long long long grind (F2P so not all that unexpected).

    These issues don't stop the game from being fun/addicting, but I they are worth noting.    … Expand
  13. TheMightyClark
    Nov 15, 2013
    9
    Fun fast paced game! Great graphics and addictive gameplay! It's great if you're looking for a free but phenomenal game! Totally recommended. I will definitely be playing this game more!
  14. aKtivE
    Aug 24, 2013
    0
    another bad game from hirez, seems more a pay2win than a f2p i bought it for 25 euro before they understood it was a and changing it in f2p....
    Worst sh never see.
  15. 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
  16. Animoticons
    Jul 19, 2013
    10
    BEST Shooter ever.
    A revolutionary game mechanic. It makes so damn much fun. And: I't IS skill based and NOT Pay to Win. But it's really sad that Hi-Rez abadons Tribes: Ascend. They just said, the community shall do the rest and look for the game. :-/
    And the community is not big.
  17. opaillya
    Jul 13, 2013
    10
    Really hard and frustrating at first, even previous FPS experience doesn't help much. Once you get the gist of it though, it becomes the best shooter ever.
  18. nurman
    Apr 18, 2013
    9
    A unique game that, to me, feels like a mix of a first person shooter, a driving game and a flying simulator, though it is mostly a FPS

    Free to play, with a weapon system that is composed of unlockables and experience points. Though the game has been criticized for having gold and seasonal "more xp" passes, I do not find that so bad considering the game is free to play. A "GOTY"    A unique game that, to me, feels like a mix of a first person shooter, a driving game and a flying simulator, though it is mostly a FPS

    Free to play, with a weapon system that is composed of unlockables and experience points.
    Though the game has been criticized for having gold and seasonal "more xp" passes, I do not find that so bad considering the game is free to play. A "GOTY" version of the game has also been released where you get all the items unlocked from the get-go. The game has also been released on steam, which makes it even easier to play.

    The game is very solid, multiple different roles and an absolutely MAGNIFICENT physics engine.
    A bit hard to learn but when you get to it, it is tons of fun.

    The only reason I did not give it a 10 is because some of the maps flawed, though this will most likely be fixed with time.

    Time to go fast folks!    … Expand
  19. Xenon2034
    Apr 3, 2013
    10
    I was a big fan of the original franchise and played it a lot. This version is super hardcore, but extremely well done. Hi-Rez deserves a lot of credit in this remake.
  20. viciousglowworm
    Mar 2, 2013
    9
    I would have given this game a perfect score 6 months ago. Since then, however a couple of things have changed. Many of the new weapon "balances" will take away a key element of the game, such as the decision to nerf the self-knockback on one of the grenades in the game. That being said, it is still a wonderful multiplayer fps experience, and I would recommend buying the newly releasedI would have given this game a perfect score 6 months ago. Since then, however a couple of things have changed. Many of the new weapon "balances" will take away a key element of the game, such as the decision to nerf the self-knockback on one of the grenades in the game. That being said, it is still a wonderful multiplayer fps experience, and I would recommend buying the newly released Game of the Year edition to instantly unlock all weapons and perks. You fly through the air using your jetpack and quickly slide along the ground while skiing. It brings a new light on the fps genre in a Call of Duty dominated world and rewards skill-not purchases. The one thing this game needs is voice communication. I understand that many users have been complaining about the difficulty to capture flags. The point is, if a coordinated team is able to specifically time well-organized flag caps, then it is not that hard. To do this, we need voice communication.… Expand
  21. AlanComek
    Jan 8, 2013
    10
    This is the coolest game in the world. Everything you do boils down to skill and skill alone, and even if you suck at the game, you can still have tons of fun. The game is incredibly well designed, even to the tiny things. All in all, if you don't like this game, you should go back to playing Halo 3 or whatever it is your get spoonfed for breakfast.
  22. Priami
    Dec 19, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Easily the best free-to-play shooter ever made, and best multiplayer FPS of 2012 This game is really something really unique after the endless semi-realistic modern military shooters.… Expand
  23. Ordish
    Nov 7, 2012
    9
    As an old fan of the original Tribes and all of the sequels, I was anticipating good things from this game. I am not disappointed. They captured the feel of the original game play and the mechanics and controls are extremely responsive. Could they improve the game? Sure, but I have no idea how. Sometimes a classic is good enough. Anyone for a blue plate special?
  24. Aukerai
    Nov 6, 2012
    9
    After 510 hours of gameplay, I believe that it's time for me to review this game in it's entirety. For a quick review: Great Graphics, fresh, original gameplay, free, but the freemium model, while not P2W, does aggressively encourage you to purchase premium currency.

    So, to those of you who aren't aware of *what* Tribes Ascend is, it's a free to play, multiplayer first person shooter    After 510 hours of gameplay, I believe that it's time for me to review this game in it's entirety. For a quick review: Great Graphics, fresh, original gameplay, free, but the freemium model, while not P2W, does aggressively encourage you to purchase premium currency.

    So, to those of you who aren't aware of *what* Tribes Ascend is, it's a free to play, multiplayer first person shooter with 32 player dedicated servers. Describing Tribes isn't hard, but it sure as hell isn't easy either. Let's focus on the graphical side first, as it's the easiest to explain. Tribes Ascend is an impressive looking game, with models that are painstakingly detailed. However, some of this detail disappears in the terrain textures, as from certain angles it's obvious that the textures tessellates. Animations are smooth, fluid and damn pretty to look at, with your character even angling his body to match rotation of strafing whilst he jets. But this is where we start to run into more serious graphical issues. Tribes is poorly optimised, on account of the Unreal Engine not handling large open environments well without map stitching. As a result, the framerate tanks when observing the vast open maps. Even 2 570s drop to ~45FPS in some areas. Not a problem, but interesting to see.

    Now let's look at gameplay. The core mechanic of Tribes is that of skiing. The ability to remove friction between you and the ground, and use gravity and jetpacks to attain ridiculous speeds is an absolute blast, and while easy to pick up, extremely difficult to master. Tribes:Ascend is a fairly well balanced (Keyword, FAIRLY) game, with each of the game's 9 classes featuring distinct strengths and weaknesses. Take the Soldier for example. He can cap, but not as fast as a Pathfinder. He can defend the stand, but not as well as a Doombringer or Brute. He can duel, but not as well as a Raider. When you first play, be prepared to die. alot. This is because very few weapons are hitscan, meaning the projectile takes a good deal of time to reach your target. While this isn't an issue on say Battlefield, when other players are whipping about at 200 + kph, it becomes a good bit more difficult. In addition, explosive weapons inherit some of your movement speed when you fire them. If your fire a basic spinfusor, for example, it will fire at ~280kph. But if your moving at 200 when you fire, it will inherit 50% of your momentum, and instead travel at ~380kph. This further raises the skill ceiling for the game, which was already quite high.

    Finally, let's look at the business model for this game. Here's where most of the game's problems reside for the average gamer. Weapons and equipment are quite expensive, requiring 4800 (not much) to 88000 (much better than closed beta, but still quite high) xp. You can get all FUNCTIONAL items in the game for free, so this game is far from pay to win, and one of the fairest f2p shooter models to date, but unlocking weapons is a long time consuming process (as should be expected of a f2p). You can purchase gold in order to unlock skins, weapons, classes or even voice packs, and the pricing, while a little expensive, isn't draconian. Overall, the business model could do with a little work, but it's by no means pay to win or insultingly expensive. If you want everything unlocked fairly quickly, drop $50 on the game, buy a year of boosted xp, and relish in the xp.

    As a conclusion, Tribes:Ascend does alot of things right. While it does have several flaws, most of these are minor complaints in comparison. This is by no means a perfect game, but it's the easily the best f2p FPS to date, and easily competes with today's AAA titles for graphic fidelity and gameplay mechanics. Metacritic doesn't allow for x.5 scores, but I'm giving Tribes the benefit of rounding, because of it's original concept, and solid core mechanics.    … Expand
  25. Zucheto
    Oct 29, 2012
    9
    I just started playing this a couple days ago, and it has been the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. So much different than every other shooter. Extremely fast paced and just downright fun. It is also free to play which is amazing for a game of this caliber. People whining that this game is pay to win are stupid. Yes, you can pay to buy upgrades that help you out but you can alsoI just started playing this a couple days ago, and it has been the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. So much different than every other shooter. Extremely fast paced and just downright fun. It is also free to play which is amazing for a game of this caliber. People whining that this game is pay to win are stupid. Yes, you can pay to buy upgrades that help you out but you can also get them by just playing the game.. Yes, it takes a long time to get them without playing, but its FREE. This game could easily retail for $60. Besides, for $20-$30 you can pretty much unlock everything that would be relevant to your play style. For being a free game, this is definitely a must to check out and will be the most refreshing shooter you've played.… Expand
  26. Limbo9
    Oct 24, 2012
    10
    Having played Tribes Ascend for 50+ hours now, i can honestly say that this game is, second to Unreal Tournament Classic, THE best FPS Multiplayer ever concieved.. and its f2p.. but boy how i do not care giving the Hi-Rez Studios all of my money. If you have some time, and wish to learn a truly skillful teamplayer FPS, try it!
  27. loin
    Oct 13, 2012
    2
    You would do well to just avoid this. As for the critics I doubt they plug this because its good.
    They say its good so the public buys. Best to talk to real gamers with years of exp in games
    So glad I did not try the other tribes, no surprises if this dies of within a few years tbh.
  28. murtle52
    Oct 9, 2012
    10
    I played this for at least 50 hours in the beta, and have put another hundred in since its been on Steam.....this is a simply amazing game.
    The first FPS I have every played that focused more on movement than shooting.
    I know of no better feeling then skiing up the enemies base ramp at 180km an hour, snatching their flag, and turning around on the ski out to spinfuse some retard that    I played this for at least 50 hours in the beta, and have put another hundred in since its been on Steam.....this is a simply amazing game.
    The first FPS I have every played that focused more on movement than shooting.
    I know of no better feeling then skiing up the enemies base ramp at 180km an hour, snatching their flag, and turning around on the ski out to spinfuse some retard that thinks he's playing Call of Duty in space suits. Also this is truly free to play and not "pay-to-win"    … Expand
  29. ErichSturmovik
    Oct 4, 2012
    10
    This game is hands down the best Free2Play game currently available (and it will stay that way until Survarium comes out, look it up!). There is no way I could give it less than 10- everything about it is superb. The gameplay style is unique and thrilling. No more hours wasted slogging across large maps by foot- fly across them at speeds in excess of 250 km/h! Now, imagine trying toThis game is hands down the best Free2Play game currently available (and it will stay that way until Survarium comes out, look it up!). There is no way I could give it less than 10- everything about it is superb. The gameplay style is unique and thrilling. No more hours wasted slogging across large maps by foot- fly across them at speeds in excess of 250 km/h! Now, imagine trying to shoot someone as they fly by you at that same speed and you can begin to comprehend how amazing this game really is. There is something for everyone here: straight up 5 on 5 deathmatches, huge 16 vs 16 deathmatches, on man army style fights, capture and hold style gameplay, and of course it's most in depth and well done mode, capture the flag. In capture the flag, there is a huge variety of roles to be played. A flag defender (typically Doombringer) will stand on the flag and has to be knocked off before the flag can be captured- they can also lay down mines and force fields to prevent capture as well. However, their forcefields won't work without the help of generator defenders (typically Technician), who have to set up shop in their teams generator room and protect it. If the generator goes down, so does the whole defense system- turrets, forcefields, radar sensors, vehicle stations, and more. But a good defense is nothing without a good offense, and thus the most integral role of flag cappers (typically Pathfinders) comes into play. Perhaps the most difficult task, they have to make their way through the enemy defenses and escape with the flag. But then the hard part comes of escaping your numerous pursuers- the flag hunters (also typically Pathfinders), whose job is to chase after anyone who manages to steal the flag and retrieve it. However, the flag capper will never get the flag from the flag defenders without the help of the two other roles. The generator attacker role (typically Infiltrators and Raiders) are specially equipped to sneak past enemy defenses and destroy the enemy generator. However this task is one of the most difficult as the generators are often in enclosed spaces and have a lot of health. Should they fail in their task, it remains up to the defense harassers (typically Sentinel and Juggernaut) to soften up enemy defenses around the actually flag itself to allow the flag capper access. This is just one example of the huge amount of team play, tactics, and depth that make this game so good. With just one of those roles not being properly filled, your team's entire strategy can collapse, and there are a lot of roles so each player needs to be contributing in order to win. The games other features are too countless to name them all, but a important one to mention is the huge amount of character customization, including armor, voice packs, skins, weapons, perks, packs, deployables, thrown weapons, and more. You make your character unique and you play it how you want to. I will lastly mention the best part of the game. Quite simply, this is a Free2Play game done right. Every single game-changing item can be obtained without paying a cent. Some of the weapons have quite a grind and can take a week or two to get, but if you want variety fast, there are a bunch of arguably better weapons you can earn in just a day or two. You can have a ton of fun without pulling out your wallet. If you choose to put money into the game, though, the advantages are great. You can get custom skins, voice packs, and of course that weapon you always wanted. Not only that, but every day a new item goes on sale that you can get for anywhere between 25% and 75% off, so if you want to wait and only buy when what you want goes on sale, you can easily get double the value of whatever you paid. In addition, your account becomes VIP as soon as you spend any amount of money on the game (anywhere from 10-50 USD). VIP status gives you +50% exp permanently, so for just a little money you can get a whole lot of value. If you want to get a very high quality game completely free, this is the game for you. If you want to get that same game, but don't mind shelling out a few bucks to make it even awesomer, this is still the game for you. Download this game as soon as you finish reading this, if you haven't already. What are you waiting for?… Expand
  30. leondaniel21
    Oct 3, 2012
    10
    gran juego online me gusto mucho entretenido y lo mejor de todo free, si bien la mecánica de shooter es bastante clásica pero con una variación de armas mas que considerable. graficamente es muy bien logrado, entornos ricos y bien detallados, los sonidos esta bastante bien.. en resumen un juego recomendado para aquellos que quieran pasar un rato jugando online grafis..
  31. ScreamingWargod
    Sep 18, 2012
    9
    Hi-Rez has succeeded with an amazing game that is faithful to the original tribes franchise. Graphically, things are average. Gameplay, and overall user emjoyment is where the game thrives. Hitscan was phased out during the later beta period, and now this is one of the few shooter games that has no hacks available. Pure skill game with E-sports affiliation.
  32. Elsako
    Sep 14, 2012
    9
    This game is to the closest to the original I've played. It really is a polished game. It's was polished when I started playing in Beta. If you like FPS and flying this game is awesome. It's certainly on a level with TF2.
  33. 5P33DY70M
    Sep 7, 2012
    10
    Tribes is fun, fast paced and free. What more can you ask for. The movement mechanics free up the need to have free run, jump or sprint in place for that shooter lone wolf chase feel. The guns i'll admit are in need of some battlefield beefiness but are more than made up for by the visuals and the effects of the guns. Overall Tribes: Ascend is what halo or COD never were and will hold itsTribes is fun, fast paced and free. What more can you ask for. The movement mechanics free up the need to have free run, jump or sprint in place for that shooter lone wolf chase feel. The guns i'll admit are in need of some battlefield beefiness but are more than made up for by the visuals and the effects of the guns. Overall Tribes: Ascend is what halo or COD never were and will hold its own in the game community for years to come.… Expand
  34. hwarming
    Aug 29, 2012
    9
    A very fun and addicting multiplayer FPS, with very fast paced combat, different classes, and it's free! The reward system is similar to League of Legends, after every match you play you get EXP, which you can use to buy new weapons, you get more EXP for winning a match, and doing well. Or you could buy Gold with real money and use that to unlock things. As you use weapons they level up,A very fun and addicting multiplayer FPS, with very fast paced combat, different classes, and it's free! The reward system is similar to League of Legends, after every match you play you get EXP, which you can use to buy new weapons, you get more EXP for winning a match, and doing well. Or you could buy Gold with real money and use that to unlock things. As you use weapons they level up, providing new bonuses, like more damage, better fire rate, accuracy, ect. It's very similar to Quake. This is a game worth playing if you're sick of FPS games like "Battlefield: Generic Modern Warfare 6"… Expand
  35. Dangles
    Aug 28, 2012
    2
    I hate to review games based on their business models, but Tribes: Ascend is just another low quality production with extremely generic maps (no interacts with environment available), mediocre technical work and low production value on top of being a traditional F2P.

    While the main complaint about F2P is the P2W (pay-to-win) argument, it isn't reason it's bad. F2P models generally feel    I hate to review games based on their business models, but Tribes: Ascend is just another low quality production with extremely generic maps (no interacts with environment available), mediocre technical work and low production value on top of being a traditional F2P.

    While the main complaint about F2P is the P2W (pay-to-win) argument, it isn't reason it's bad. F2P models generally feel cheap because in most cases it is. Low production value has always been a hallmark of F2P games with the exception of those made by Valve (TF2 and DOTA2).    … Expand
  36. downphoenix
    Aug 12, 2012
    10
    Ladies and Gentlemen, this is how Free 2 Play should be done! Tribes Ascend has such a fine tuned and well crafted experience that it is a real treat to play, and is quite addictive. This isn't anything new with a lot of Free 2 Play games, a lot of them are addictive and a treat to play INITIALLY. That's what the model is about, its designed to sucker you in to pay. However, Tribes AscendLadies and Gentlemen, this is how Free 2 Play should be done! Tribes Ascend has such a fine tuned and well crafted experience that it is a real treat to play, and is quite addictive. This isn't anything new with a lot of Free 2 Play games, a lot of them are addictive and a treat to play INITIALLY. That's what the model is about, its designed to sucker you in to pay. However, Tribes Ascend does not do that. The game doesn't force a brick wall on you to prevent advancement without constant grinding or your credit card. It certainly does take a lot longer to advance in this game without paying than with, but paying doesn't really give you a quantifiable advantage. What paying does is it will give you quick access to some great classes, weapons, and gear that can be very helpful, but does not make you play better. This game still requires skill and dedication over anything else to master. The game is 100% playable without paying a cent. Every thing in the game that is unlockable can be done with the experience points, you dont have to buy the gold for ANYTHING. However, because of how good the game is, the sheer quality of the gameplay, graphics, controls, and variety of content, you will still want to pay for some gold (if you can afford it), not necessarily to level up faster, but because you just ended up playing a game that's so damn good, it would morally feel like piracy if you didn't pay. Now THAT'S how to do a Free 2 Play game!… Expand
  37. Heresy25
    Aug 12, 2012
    8
    Pure multiplayer goodness. Fast gameplay, beautiful graphics, great controls. Only problem I got was taht some stuff are expensive as hell but you don't really need them, it's all about the skill.
  38. XRAIN
    Aug 10, 2012
    10
    It's comeback of very fresh series and great evidence that games similiar to old school FPS games (Increadibly high skill gap, very fast gameplay) are still great and haven't become worse. It lacks in reminder of how great singleplayer campaigns can be made without overscripting, but who cares! Even having multiplayer only game is enough!

    The fresh gameplay works fantastically. It    It's comeback of very fresh series and great evidence that games similiar to old school FPS games (Increadibly high skill gap, very fast gameplay) are still great and haven't become worse. It lacks in reminder of how great singleplayer campaigns can be made without overscripting, but who cares! Even having multiplayer only game is enough!

    The fresh gameplay works fantastically. It doesn't work as well in closed enviroments when compared to open enviroments due to the game's explosive focus. But it still works. Every kill feels very satisfying, making you play the game longer and longer.

    But sure this can't be just praising of the game? Well, there are few weapons, which would take forever to unlock without using real money. Yes, there needs to be a way for the developers to have money, but when the only primary explosive weapon of a specific class is Pay-2-Use, it does get a little annoying. As a good thing though, the game isin't Pay-2-Win, even with weapons like that.

    Can I honestly find any other bad things? No. So just like many others, I recommend this game. Its quality flies over 99.9999% of the other FPS games released today.    … Expand
  39. Ghroth
    Aug 3, 2012
    10
    Fast, Frantic, Tactical, and downright brutal at times. This game brought me back into FPS games after a 2 year hiatus. after trying tribes i went to try the current FPS heavy hitters, CoD, Battlefield 3. I even tried the F2P competitors, Blacklight retribution, Combat Arms, etc. No other FPS I've played since the original tribes games holds a candle to this. And no other franchise in FPSFast, Frantic, Tactical, and downright brutal at times. This game brought me back into FPS games after a 2 year hiatus. after trying tribes i went to try the current FPS heavy hitters, CoD, Battlefield 3. I even tried the F2P competitors, Blacklight retribution, Combat Arms, etc. No other FPS I've played since the original tribes games holds a candle to this. And no other franchise in FPS history has ever kept my attention, and kept me going like tribes has. SHAZBOT FOREVER!… Expand
  40. Allions
    Aug 2, 2012
    8
    Great free to play game. It's NOT too much a "pay to win" game, and that's the main pro i've found. The game is original (different to normal FPS), very funny and skill based: at level 1 i killed many high level guys only with the default weapons. Of course unlocking new stuff is a bit long without paying anything, but it could be done.
  41. eriCPA
    Jul 31, 2012
    9
    This is a great game that anyone who likes FPS should give a try. Yes it is a free to play but if you like it I recommend spending $20 and unlock a few classes all the way. While I do not think this a pay to win it is nice to have all the guns of your favorite classes. They do a good job updating and balancing the guns, nothing seems like the must have or only use gun which is great.
  42. Isaac_adhd
    Jul 28, 2012
    10
    This game is tightly designed around speed and fun and I couldn't have dreamed of a better version of the game (actually thought it might suck like the previous version but it's actually super awesome). Wait, why am I wasting time writing this review? Gotta go fast!Fantastic game, free to play but not pay to win
  43. Damien13
    Jul 28, 2012
    10
    Its a fun game. Many complain about the free to play mechanic, but unlike many others, you dont HAVE to buy ingame purchases to be good at it, you can unlock everything by simply PLAYING THE GAME ITSELF. If you do want to buy anything, its the Steam Starter Pack. It gives you everything you need to well, begin, and even if you didnt buy this, there are promotions to get you gold for free.Its a fun game. Many complain about the free to play mechanic, but unlike many others, you dont HAVE to buy ingame purchases to be good at it, you can unlock everything by simply PLAYING THE GAME ITSELF. If you do want to buy anything, its the Steam Starter Pack. It gives you everything you need to well, begin, and even if you didnt buy this, there are promotions to get you gold for free. I myself did buy the Starter Pack on sale and it did give me a good start, but in all reality if i played for about a week i could have gotten all of the items in the pack, besides the gold of course. It is high in quality, even though the only problem i may have is there should be just a tiny bit more terrain details, very few maps have endless hills, but id rather have that than flatlands. If you think a weapon is going to come out you want? Save up XP! Dont bother listening to those who hate because of the F2P mechanic, ignore that and have fun.… Expand
  44. CronosDage
    Jul 27, 2012
    10
    Like Team Fortress 2, great free-to-play with item system and not all items being unlocked at once unlike old games. Hi-Rez Studios has found out how to correctly balance Tribes: Ascend and avoiding pay-to-win "gameplay." Tribes: Ascend is amazing.
  45. Xeevis
    Jul 27, 2012
    10
    One of the greatest FPS's to ever hit game scene. I have thousand of hours played in this and probably never gonna stop, got everything already unlocked and my most favorite gear Is soldier with spinfusor, pistol and short fuse grenade. Stuff you can get pretty much for free or is part of starter pack, so no there can't even be talk of Pay2Win. My 4:1 KDR says so.
  46. Coeco
    Jul 22, 2012
    3
    Had loads of fun with this game at beta. Then it just got worse. And worse. And worse. And worse with every single update they released which is odd considering Hi-Rez studios pride themselves on listening on the community which has clearly not been the case for this game. Originally, they threw a few mixed updates both with good and bad, nerfing some of the obnoxious explosive weapons butHad loads of fun with this game at beta. Then it just got worse. And worse. And worse. And worse with every single update they released which is odd considering Hi-Rez studios pride themselves on listening on the community which has clearly not been the case for this game. Originally, they threw a few mixed updates both with good and bad, nerfing some of the obnoxious explosive weapons but then they tugged down the weapons that requires actual aiming and started adding more explosives instead with not the slightest hint of concern for balancement in regards to rewarding players for aim or tactics. I thought that all the good stuff had to be in the paying section so I threw them a couple of bucks to try more content just to be met with even worse weapons, including a set of daggers that you could throw for around 200-300 damage each depending on enemy armor quite slowly with extremely precise aiming and timing required or pick up the standard silenced SMG that spews out hundreds of rounds per minute for 50 damage each. I asked for a refund not too long afterwards, explaining my disappointment and they insisted on having my account closed due to their inability to retract purchases manually which is a shame because now I've lost all hope of returning to the game once things have been polished but hey, at least they honored people refunds which is more than I can say for most US companies right now.… Expand
  47. DeMelkor
    Jul 19, 2012
    10
    One of the best shooters i' ve played in the last years. Very fast with great weapons and ah fair balance between the classes. And you earn enough XP during the game to get your favourite weapons instead of buying them.
  48. 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
  49. krkbomb
    Jul 14, 2012
    0
    Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game. Pay to win game.
  50. Spawnah
    Jul 11, 2012
    10
    Tribes: Ascend is probably the only online FPS I've actually enjoyed playing, no other game has you capping the flag at 260km/h screaming WOOHOO WOOHOO as enemies try to shoot you out of the sky with lasers and **** The skiing mechanic is so much fun and jetpacks are just icing on the cake. Every class offers a completely different style of play. It's so much fun and I'd recommend it toTribes: Ascend is probably the only online FPS I've actually enjoyed playing, no other game has you capping the flag at 260km/h screaming WOOHOO WOOHOO as enemies try to shoot you out of the sky with lasers and **** The skiing mechanic is so much fun and jetpacks are just icing on the cake. Every class offers a completely different style of play. It's so much fun and I'd recommend it to anyone. Not to mention that it's also free and it's not pay to win since anything you can get with real money can also be obtained through play.… Expand
  51. Toboo123
    Jul 10, 2012
    9
    Whats not to love fast paced skillful gameplay with a great visual style and customization, I have to say its one of the best FPS games to come out recently and it free to play, it really is a breath of fresh air from all the copy pasted modern shooters of today, although I do have to complain about balance a bit, it seems that you can buy things that give you a clear advantage over otherWhats not to love fast paced skillful gameplay with a great visual style and customization, I have to say its one of the best FPS games to come out recently and it free to play, it really is a breath of fresh air from all the copy pasted modern shooters of today, although I do have to complain about balance a bit, it seems that you can buy things that give you a clear advantage over other players some weapons are blatant direct upgrades being simply a re texture of a weapon with boosted damage, but since most modern fps games have less balance than an elephant with one leg i can forgive it.… Expand
  52. elhive
    Jul 9, 2012
    9
    This is how FPS's should be like. Tribes is pure run and gun, even more exciting then Unreal Tournament. You don't get cover, you don't get realism, but you get fun. Tons of it.
  53. zahpp
    Jul 8, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i got a feeling i have played games like this before, it is like...yes every other shooter game ,did not amuse me ,have nothing bad to say really but ,i would not play further… Expand
  54. J--J
    Jul 7, 2012
    8
    Tribes ascend is a great way to kill time in short or long bursts. It's just plain fun. The skiing mechanic works well particularly with this fast-paced shooter setting. Graphics are fine, the shop doesn't seem to get in the way of gameplay, and it's free. Give it a try!
  55. 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
  56. FearTheCalm
    Jul 6, 2012
    10
    Free to play done right. I am always skeptical of F2P games, as often there is a barrier to entry that prevents new players from being competitive. For the most part - that is not the case. The only class I can see where this would be an issue is the soldier not having immediate access to a spinfuser, (although you do start out with the thumper, which is a lot like one.) but most otherFree to play done right. I am always skeptical of F2P games, as often there is a barrier to entry that prevents new players from being competitive. For the most part - that is not the case. The only class I can see where this would be an issue is the soldier not having immediate access to a spinfuser, (although you do start out with the thumper, which is a lot like one.) but most other classes start with competitive weapons, some even being BiS. While there is some things that purchasing will give you a slight edge, everything is obtainable with XP, (Even more so with equipment, because you can only unlock upgrades for a weapon by use or 15k xp). There is encouragement it pay - very low xp gain with a non VIP account, but even if you only spend $10(US), you're a VIP forever and have increased XP gain, and can unlock almost everything for the class with very little money spent. So in summary - yes- there is some F2Pness here, but it is one of the most fair models out there, bar TF2. I would like to see more emphasis on money for cosmetics, which looks like it is coming. Gameplay is what sets this apart from it's competitors - Different - Fast Paced. Tactical Gameplay; very sparse in our "Big Developer, play it safe" attitude which is too prevalent at the moment. The game feels like a AAA title, with quick responsive controls. The feeling of polish is such a refresher after the industry seems to have forgotten what it is. You can tell they took player feedback to heart and made the game they - and their fans - wanted. Love is in the air in Tribes, and it feels good. Graphics are smooth - with options, although I wish there were more. Art style is a personal taste, but I feel they did Tribes justice. It looks like a High fidelity remake, in terms of art style. The Warhammer look was well preserved. Sound is good - again this opinion will very. There were no obvious problems, the tracks are very bass heavy and give you a rush which compliments gameplay. All in all - I give this a VERY SOLID 9. One of the best MP games in years, and free to play done in a respectful manner. I just think more emphasis should be put to money for cosmetics than money for guns. I mean, who hasn't seen the infiltrator skin and not been jealous your class didn't have a badass outfit? I'd pay good money for a ninja suit.… Expand
  57. ObeyingSlave
    Jul 6, 2012
    0
    Tribes is an okay game. It doesn't really yield anything special. It's really just another way to get your money. The game play is pretty good. I like the idea of surfing around. Because everyone is constantly moving, it's very hard to camp. If you stand still for more than 10 seconds, you are sure to be dead. Most of the weapons are total crap. The default classes are very good. TheyTribes is an okay game. It doesn't really yield anything special. It's really just another way to get your money. The game play is pretty good. I like the idea of surfing around. Because everyone is constantly moving, it's very hard to camp. If you stand still for more than 10 seconds, you are sure to be dead. Most of the weapons are total crap. The default classes are very good. They just want to you to pay money to unlock the other crappy classes. The stealth class is just absolute trash. You have to shoot at enemies and the bullets travel so incredibly slow. You can't just aim and shoot. You have to predict and hope you hit them. The bullets do almost no damage. The classes just aren't balanced at all. The only reason I give it a 6 is because it's not that bad of a game. It's just not very fun and enjoyable. Could be a whole lot better though.… Expand
  58. Uncle_Yar
    Jul 5, 2012
    10
    Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot Shazbot
  59. Cookies5000
    Jul 4, 2012
    9
    Decent game and it's worth supporting the company with a few dollars if you enjoy the game itself. If you like the original tribes or any decent shooter game this game is for you(it's free to play so its stupid not to try out). Quite polished and well made maps. About ~100 hours so far spent playing since the beta days and will play some more for sure.
  60. 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
  61. sotlordrahl
    Jul 4, 2012
    9
    I'm a long time FPS fan. I played Tribes 1 a long time ago. Finally a game that feels as exciting as the it used to be. I don't mind the expansion system because its F2P and you don't HAVE to buy upgrades, you can earn them as well. Loving it!!
  62. gMcizzLe
    Jul 3, 2012
    10
    This game is NOT pay2win, every weapon is a side-grade item to one another. Maybe some weapons are better in some situations, but definitely not overall superior (minus maybe 1 or 2). I have spent over 500+ hours playing this game both in pubs and competitively, and put about $50 dollars into it so far. Needless to say, I am extremely impressed by this game as a former UT/Quake player.This game is NOT pay2win, every weapon is a side-grade item to one another. Maybe some weapons are better in some situations, but definitely not overall superior (minus maybe 1 or 2). I have spent over 500+ hours playing this game both in pubs and competitively, and put about $50 dollars into it so far. Needless to say, I am extremely impressed by this game as a former UT/Quake player. If you were ever a fan of UT/Quake/Tribes1/2, or are bored of CoD/BF3, as you should be, then you need to play this game right now.… Expand
  63. tandem22
    Jul 3, 2012
    10
    Refreshing game, non stop action, literally non stop. I can't cant how many times I've lifted my hand off the mouse for no more then 2-3 seconds and got killed. This game is easily a 10 because it is so damn fun, though I wish they would add more vehicles now that some maps are getting bigger.
  64. Rocksteady777
    Jul 2, 2012
    10
    Where to start? This is probably one of the best F2P since TF2 (Even better than TF2 in my opinion). Very fast action, lots and lots of customization, and lots of free updates containing new maps and weapons! For the people who complain about weapon balance, of course there is going to be some OP weapons after new weapons are introduced. But the great thing about it is that Hi-Rez listensWhere to start? This is probably one of the best F2P since TF2 (Even better than TF2 in my opinion). Very fast action, lots and lots of customization, and lots of free updates containing new maps and weapons! For the people who complain about weapon balance, of course there is going to be some OP weapons after new weapons are introduced. But the great thing about it is that Hi-Rez listens to player complaints and do what they can to fix. OP weapons only have their reign for 3-7 ish days. Then boom it's fixed. Also, a major complaint was the high cost of weapons. Quite recently, those prices have dropped! Now, of course there's free currency and "premium" currency. What's great about Tribes though is that absolutely everything that effects gameplay can be unlocked for free! Gold (the payed currency) is only used for custom skins, double XP boosts, and unlocking stuff early. Now about gameplay, this really is about the fastest game you will play anytime soon. Also, another unique feature is that (with most weapons) you have to think about your shots. For example, a rocket-launcher called the Spinfusor has to be shot where you think the other player is going to be in about 1 or 2 seconds. Otherwise, you are about to be blasted from the field.
    I definitely recommend this game to all players of Shooters. Once you start playing it, you'll forget it's free!    … Expand
  65. ZetanX
    Jun 30, 2012
    10
    Fans of the first wave of fps shooters featuring deathmatch (say Quake arena/Unreal) will love this. Fast paced (I mean faaast) plenty of classes and customizations, and free to play.And If you decide to go next level and spend some in the in-game shop, Hi-Rez really deserves your money, for this very well done and well refined retake on a classic title. It is also been fun to take partFans of the first wave of fps shooters featuring deathmatch (say Quake arena/Unreal) will love this. Fast paced (I mean faaast) plenty of classes and customizations, and free to play.And If you decide to go next level and spend some in the in-game shop, Hi-Rez really deserves your money, for this very well done and well refined retake on a classic title. It is also been fun to take part to the beta testing.… Expand
  66. siveZ
    Jun 30, 2012
    10
    The game that actually takes alot of skills to kill someone ya 360 no scope bastards. I would buy this game even if it was paid. In case it's free-to-play i'm gonna buy some in-game stuff to reward developers. Though there is no pay-to-win formula - everything can be unlocked free.
  67. cmeierd
    Jun 29, 2012
    10
    The original Tribes was the very first FPS game I had ever played, Tribes 2 was even better, and then the series sort of fell a little short after that. I kept trying to find similar games that allowed for such flexible vertical game play, but nothing ever seemed to quite work out. Tribes: Ascend, however, brings back the nostalgia in the most wonderful way, revitalizing the concept whileThe original Tribes was the very first FPS game I had ever played, Tribes 2 was even better, and then the series sort of fell a little short after that. I kept trying to find similar games that allowed for such flexible vertical game play, but nothing ever seemed to quite work out. Tribes: Ascend, however, brings back the nostalgia in the most wonderful way, revitalizing the concept while keeping nearly all of my favorite points from the first games. In the beginning I was a little worried about the "Free to Play" format, but it has proven to be a great move on their part, and extremely versatile. The decision to make every unlock (except vanity skins) free with enough play-time was exactly the right business move, and has kept the community thriving. Earning unlocks and their upgrades also give plenty of reasons to keep playing the game, and more goodies are constantly being added. This brings me to another positive; Hi-Rez is *very* into supporting this game. They have constant updates with new maps, class skins, weapons and game types, and they release these major content updates at a staggering rate of roughly every two weeks. I've determined that they must not sleep much over there, since there's probably twice as much content as when I started playing back in mid-April. I've seen a few people complain about having to lead their shots, skiing, and just vertical game-play in general...which makes me wonder why they've even decided to play Tribes: Ascend. Those mechanics are the very things that make this franchise so unique and special, in addition to being some of the more advertised features. There are plenty of other great shooters out there that keep your feet planted (relatively) firmly on the ground, so if flying through the air and precision shooting isn… Expand
  68. robbo
    Jun 28, 2012
    10
    Really fantastic, easily the best FPS Shooter to be released since Team Fortress 2. The game is f2p, but don't let that scare you; all equipment can be unlocked via normal play (like TF2) and no weapons are exclusive to paying users. Virtually no other recent MP shooter rewards skill and strategy as well as Tribes does, I never felt I was being randomly killed or the situation was outsideReally fantastic, easily the best FPS Shooter to be released since Team Fortress 2. The game is f2p, but don't let that scare you; all equipment can be unlocked via normal play (like TF2) and no weapons are exclusive to paying users. Virtually no other recent MP shooter rewards skill and strategy as well as Tribes does, I never felt I was being randomly killed or the situation was outside my control. The graphics and design are slick and polished, the weapons feel great, and theres heaps of play styles (from defensive turret building, to stealthy infiltration to gung-ho heavy weapons)

    The pay model is virtually identical to TF2; and hence very fair. In fact I'd say Tribes pay model is probably fairer since you can choose what you unlock with XP (rather than TF2's random drops)    … Expand
  69. 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.
  70. metalmechanic
    Jun 27, 2012
    8
    Great game. Not your typical shooter. Lots of fun and a nice change of pace form all the generic modern shooters on the market. Graphics comparable to a retail product with no cost upfront. All unlocks can be attained through simply playing the game, so you will not be dominated by paid weapons you cannot attain without paying real money.

    Shooting and hit detection seem rock solid. No    Great game. Not your typical shooter. Lots of fun and a nice change of pace form all the generic modern shooters on the market. Graphics comparable to a retail product with no cost upfront. All unlocks can be attained through simply playing the game, so you will not be dominated by paid weapons you cannot attain without paying real money.

    Shooting and hit detection seem rock solid. No glaring glitches that I have seen so far on my system. The developers are constantly tweeking and balancing this game, as well as adding new content. They seem to listen to community feedback pretty well so even when the do mess up and nerf or buff something the community didn't ask for or want. They are pretty good about fixing it or finding a middle ground between their vision and that of the community. Excellent game, well worth a try. The skiing and flying make it very fun but there is a bit of a learning curve. Some of the weapons are extremely hard to master and properly utilize. To me that just adds depth and re-playbility to the game. Always something new to master! Well worth the price of... 0 Dollars!    … Expand
  71. SaintZz
    Jun 23, 2012
    10
    Tribes Ascend is a rare type of game and the best free to play FPS since TF2. Flying and skiing over 200 mp/h with firepower beyond this world it gives you a great sensation of speed and power. The learning curve is not easy one and all classes play differently so you have to learn every class bottom up, this take time, but every unlock gives you a feeling of accomplishment unlike mostTribes Ascend is a rare type of game and the best free to play FPS since TF2. Flying and skiing over 200 mp/h with firepower beyond this world it gives you a great sensation of speed and power. The learning curve is not easy one and all classes play differently so you have to learn every class bottom up, this take time, but every unlock gives you a feeling of accomplishment unlike most games. This game is too good to be true, free, skillful, good looking, great maps and awesome weapons. Just get it.… Expand
  72. 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
  73. chazden
    Jun 18, 2012
    10
    First off, tribes is without a doubt the most fun shooter game I've ever played.
    I've played competitive cs 1.6 for 6 years mainly due to the lack of skill required in other shooter games... until I found tribes ascend. This is a completely different type of shooter than cs or cod, but it's extremely addicting. Once you hit your first blue plate shot from miles away you'll know why so    First off, tribes is without a doubt the most fun shooter game I've ever played.
    I've played competitive cs 1.6 for 6 years mainly due to the lack of skill required in other shooter games... until I found tribes ascend. This is a completely different type of shooter than cs or cod, but it's extremely addicting. Once you hit your first blue plate shot from miles away you'll know why so many people love tribes. Back in the day I used to get excited if I landed a nasty 1shot on someone from across the map... That excitement has been lost for years now. Tribes has revived that child-like excitement over a single kill, which you don't find often in shooters today.

    After playing tribes for just a few hours, I was literally trying to find something I didn't like about the game.
    I still haven't found a single negative thing about this game. This new dev team has my respect and loyalty. They don't just listen to the community, they put in the work to polish the game beyond all expectations.    … Expand
  74. skmagiik
    Jun 18, 2012
    10
    Guys seriously the best game ever...I was tired of running around on the ground in typical shooters. Everything was just feeling too slow. Weapons all felt the same from game to game with nothing really standing out. I've played Tribes: Ascend since eI was tired of running around on the ground in typical shooters. Everything was just feeling too slow. Weapons all felt the same from game toGuys seriously the best game ever...I was tired of running around on the ground in typical shooters. Everything was just feeling too slow. Weapons all felt the same from game to game with nothing really standing out. I've played Tribes: Ascend since eI was tired of running around on the ground in typical shooters. Everything was just feeling too slow. Weapons all felt the same from game to game with nothing really standing out. I've played Tribes: Ascend since e… Expand
  75. 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
  76. Militaizi
    Jun 9, 2012
    8
    Brilliant game, much more than anyone could ever imagine from a free game. I will not list the good parts, as all have been said in the couple previous reviews.

    But the biggest cons of the game is totally that there are a little overpowered classes (Not weapons), but the difference is so small, that you can actually play with any class against any class, expect Pathfinder of course,    Brilliant game, much more than anyone could ever imagine from a free game. I will not list the good parts, as all have been said in the couple previous reviews.

    But the biggest cons of the game is totally that there are a little overpowered classes (Not weapons), but the difference is so small, that you can actually play with any class against any class, expect Pathfinder of course, because he's used almost only for flag capping. Plus the game is only meant to capture the flag, I can't find any fun of Deathmatch or Arena, i'm not saying that they are not bad, but they are not for me.    … Expand
  77. MelonPan
    Jun 6, 2012
    9
    If you enjoyed older styles of FPS games like unreal tournament or quake arena, you'll probably like this game a lot. With a very fast pace (literal and figurative) and a very high skill cap, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a lot of punishment early on in your game, but stick with it. Sure you might find it unreasonable to ask that you hit a target half a mile away movingIf you enjoyed older styles of FPS games like unreal tournament or quake arena, you'll probably like this game a lot. With a very fast pace (literal and figurative) and a very high skill cap, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a lot of punishment early on in your game, but stick with it. Sure you might find it unreasonable to ask that you hit a target half a mile away moving at 30 miles an hour with a jetpack, but that just makes it all the sweeter when you do pull it off. The game operates on an unlock system, you accumulate points for playing the game and winning matches, and you use these points to unlock classes, weapons, and gear for your characters. You can choose to speed the process up by spending real money on this unlocking process, but you won't be denied any part of the game for not doing so. Overall, it's not the most friendly to players who are new to hardcore FPS games, but it is incredibly rewarding for those who stick with it and learn the ropes… Expand
  78. 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
  79. cambria
    Jun 2, 2012
    9
    I think this game most accurately is a reboot of Tribes: Annihilation, which was the definitive base game community on T1. Great new visuals and a design team that constantly improves maps the players deem 'untribesworthy'. Anyone complaining of the weapon balance is silly, this game has so many variables it's really more of a 'rock paper scissors' and everyone has a weakness. You'llI think this game most accurately is a reboot of Tribes: Annihilation, which was the definitive base game community on T1. Great new visuals and a design team that constantly improves maps the players deem 'untribesworthy'. Anyone complaining of the weapon balance is silly, this game has so many variables it's really more of a 'rock paper scissors' and everyone has a weakness. You'll find the best ways to use every weapon. 350 hours and counting, the distance shots only get more gratifying, do yourself a huge favor and try the fastest most beautiful shooter on the market in 2012. And it's f2p, but not pay-2-win. Seek therapy when you start seeing routes to ski among large mountains in your vicinity, or worse, holding the CTRL button on a keyboard that doesn't exist.… Expand
  80. random2001
    Jun 2, 2012
    10
    The best FPS in a very long time. I do wish that all weapons were unlocked from the beginning to give everyone equal footing, but I understand Hi-Rez needs to make money. Fortunately, I found the starter weapons to be just as effective as the later unlocks. The only thing I miss is the ability to make custom mods for the game...

    Overall though a must play! Though a warning, this game does    The best FPS in a very long time. I do wish that all weapons were unlocked from the beginning to give everyone equal footing, but I understand Hi-Rez needs to make money. Fortunately, I found the starter weapons to be just as effective as the later unlocks. The only thing I miss is the ability to make custom mods for the game...

    Overall though a must play! Though a warning, this game does take a significant amount of skill. The ranking system does do a lot to segregate the better players from the noobs, but once you get up to rank 8 or so, the skill of players improves dramatically. If you are feeling overwhelmed though, you can always repair the base :).    … Expand
  81. Scuba
    May 31, 2012
    8
    the game is really the best starting around end game. You can really tell the developers paid ATTENTION to the old community of tribes players from 1 + 2.

    The grind is kind of annoying at first, but once you start playing TDM and getting decent scores, you end up with so much exp it's not funny
  82. diablo3helpme
    May 29, 2012
    0
    My god this game is bad.. How can people rate this so high?

    How can people play this pay to win game?

    They really have shot themselves in the foot by focussing on money grabs instead of proper balance and fixing core issues.
  83. Nasher
    May 29, 2012
    9
    Best multiplayer FPS in years gameplay wise. More balanced than prevous tribes with a lot less focus on vehicles. But also lacks some of it's features which does let it down a bit and the maps are a lot smaller as well. Also no 3rd party modding was what kept the old tribes alive, it doesn't have that either.
  84. KroipyBill
    May 26, 2012
    10
    I cannot understand why any person, who has played shooters in their life, can pass this game up. First off, it's free, and it being free, automatically can turn a gamer off as it being "lesser quality". Well let me just say CoD is infinitely lesser quality of a shooter than Tribes when it comes to any type of creativity, and that game is $60. I mention CoD, because apparently that is theI cannot understand why any person, who has played shooters in their life, can pass this game up. First off, it's free, and it being free, automatically can turn a gamer off as it being "lesser quality". Well let me just say CoD is infinitely lesser quality of a shooter than Tribes when it comes to any type of creativity, and that game is $60. I mention CoD, because apparently that is the top shooter of all time. Tribes requires actual FPS skills, not aiming down sites, hiding behind cover, running around knifing people. Leading targets, pass by kills based on speed, honestly these things bring back the classic shooters which actually required practice to get right. And you don't need to spend $60 to get it right.… Expand
  85. santosx
    May 26, 2012
    0
    Mediochre game. Unlike basicaly all modern shooters, Tribes does not use unlagged code, which means that latency (ping) is not compensated. This does for a "back to the 90s" feeling, where low pingers always had a massive advantage. Plus its not realy "free to play", its more "pay to win" unless you will spend hundreds of hours to even get the basics for free.

    If you got a very low    Mediochre game. Unlike basicaly all modern shooters, Tribes does not use unlagged code, which means that latency (ping) is not compensated. This does for a "back to the 90s" feeling, where low pingers always had a massive advantage. Plus its not realy "free to play", its more "pay to win" unless you will spend hundreds of hours to even get the basics for free.

    If you got a very low ping, fail to excel in modern shooters and desperately need another fps, Tribes might just be the niche game you are looking for. Otherwise, move on, waste of time. Oh, and note how most positive user reviews here have been written on certain days, like april 12th ... small and dedicated community ;) So most likely the user score for this game is fake.    … Expand
  86. Deific
    May 25, 2012
    8
    For the first time in years, I feel like I'm playing an old school multiplayer FPS and it's a fantastic feeling. It's true to Tribes - yes, there's flaws, but it can qualify as a Tribes game. It's fast paced, it's exciting, the addition of classes works well, the variation of weapons is nice and the learning curve as well as the skill requirement that should be in an fps, is there.For the first time in years, I feel like I'm playing an old school multiplayer FPS and it's a fantastic feeling. It's true to Tribes - yes, there's flaws, but it can qualify as a Tribes game. It's fast paced, it's exciting, the addition of classes works well, the variation of weapons is nice and the learning curve as well as the skill requirement that should be in an fps, is there. Thankfully, this is one FPS that consoles haven't had a chance to butcher. However, that's not to say it doesn't feel simplified in some respects. Map design, in comparison with previous Tribes, is poor - both the terrain and base placement feels lackluster and obvious. The addition of SMGs feels as though its attempting to cater to a CoD crowd who would be scared away by the notion of spinfusors as primary weapons and some of the weapons/items just feel like they cheapen the Tribes experience. For example the Sentry class (sniper) for some reason or other, is seen fit to have the best SMG for close combat in the game, whilst anyone who does decide to don an explosive weapon is punished for it when an SMG user can deal the same amount of damage in the same time-frame with greater margin for error. Many weapons are severely imbalanced in similar ways. The maps are also small, meaning a good team/capper can perform several second caps repeatedly. Regenerating health is a bit of a hit and miss mechanic, I'm undecided on it currently. I preferred the old method of deployables which wasn't subject to class and also preferred vehicles from previous games. In T:A you currently have a Grav Bike, a novelty item which is largely useless, a Beowulf Tank, whilst effective is a PITA to manouvere around the field due to physics, and a Shrike, a one man aircraft which is more often than not exploited to run over flag carriers. However, for all the bad, there's a ton of good, and I haven't seen a more tense, competetive and skill-based shooter come out for years. The soundtrack is also fantastic, with scores you could swear were straight from old UT/quake games. I'm impartial to the current payment model, but don't find it too offensive. Whilst payment is a fast track to better weapons, you'll still be outmatched by a better player, and with just a little time invested, you can unlock anything you want reasonably fast anyway. Highly recommended for seasoned tribes players, old school fps lovers, and new players to the genre alike.… Expand
  87. 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
  88. kranky
    May 24, 2012
    9
    Very good multiplayer shooter. Imo it has not enough maps right now and matchmaking is not very smart, but anyway it is #2 in list of my favourite deathmatch games, right after Dystopia and before Warsow.
  89. PlusEighteen
    May 23, 2012
    1
    Tribes: Ascend is a solid game buried by poor balance and developer greed. At first it seems fair, everyone has the same choices in gear so it's mostly skill based unless someone buys unlockable weapons via the cash shop, but in the beginner queue these crutches don't give much of an advantage over a more skilled player. After ranking up past 6 though, the entire game goes to **** MatchesTribes: Ascend is a solid game buried by poor balance and developer greed. At first it seems fair, everyone has the same choices in gear so it's mostly skill based unless someone buys unlockable weapons via the cash shop, but in the beginner queue these crutches don't give much of an advantage over a more skilled player. After ranking up past 6 though, the entire game goes to **** Matches are stacked regularly, all the high ranked players flock to one team and curbstomp the other, unlockable gear is extremely unbalanced/overpowered and goes weeks with no fix, certain classes are just better versions of others, and the biggest point is automatic weapons completely defeat projectiles which is the main drawing point of tribes in the first place. Weapons take over 20 hours of gametime to unlock, and many of them are straight upgrades over vanilla gear, so a person with vanilla will always lose to a person with unlocks, and this is how they make their money as you can buy unlockable weapons with real cash, 10USD for a single weapon when each class has 3+ weapons to unlock. It's a damn shame because the actual gameplay is a lot of fun, but when you lose to someone with unlocked gear every single time, not because they're better than you, but because they bought an advantage, what's the point of even playing the game? At this point the game can't be fixed barring a complete rebalancing of almost all the weapons and classes in the game, and they can't do that when people have already paid real cash for their easy mode gear.… Expand
  90. Qlmmb2086
    May 22, 2012
    4
    After about a month of this game, I think I have played enough to form a proper opinion.

    Tribes: Ascend has two severely conflicting features. It has the Tribes game mechanic, which are incredible, and it has the Free to Pay scheme, which is terrible. If everyone was equal, this would be a truly amazing game. Combat is fast-paced, based entirely around accuracy and split-second timing,    After about a month of this game, I think I have played enough to form a proper opinion.

    Tribes: Ascend has two severely conflicting features. It has the Tribes game mechanic, which are incredible, and it has the Free to Pay scheme, which is terrible.

    If everyone was equal, this would be a truly amazing game. Combat is fast-paced, based entirely around accuracy and split-second timing, and has rich tactics. The classes all play differently in a good way, and excel in different situations, and different weapons can be used differently depending on your environment and range to target.

    Unfortunately, you don't get to any of that unless you spend money on the game. You start with three classes, and those classes in turn start with less health, less energy regeneration, less ammo, less weapons, and less perks than anyone who has paid into the game, even if they're using the same class that you are. For being "not pay to win," this is surprisingly noticeable in the game. In theory, everyone would be able to unlock weapons through "experience points" at a reasonable rate, but unfortunately the way Hi-Rez has weighted the costs of the items, it takes (litterally) about 300 matches at 20 to 30 minutes each to unlock ONE new weapon, never mind classes, perks, armor upgrades, and upgrades the weapons you've unlocked.

    That's right; it takes well over one HUNDRED hours of play time to get a single weapon. Grand total cost to unlock everything (currently) in the game directly? About $150. And that's only currently existing items; expect more to be added faster than you can unlock them at your pitiful one-weapon-per-month rate with free points alone.
    Because different weapons are better in different situations, "all weapons are good in some way." Unfortunately, all weapons are also BAD in some way... usually some way that is extremely easily exploitable by someone using... you guessed it: a weapon they paid money to unlock. The real issue isn't the different weapon matchups; the issue is that the combat in the game is 90% about switching weapons, classes, and loadouts to exploit your opponent's weakness, which is literally impossible to do without paying money into the game. As a result, spending money on the game gives you a clear advantage, which is the one thing Free to Pay schemes should never do, from a gameplay standpoint.

    To be fair, this wouldn't be a problem if it was consistent. The problem lies in the fact that some people are earning their way up the ladder, while other people bought the weapons and classes directly, and then simply spend all their XP on upgrades so that even if you DO get the same class and weapon, their version of the class is STILL more powerful than yours.

    Technically, you can unlock everything in the game with XP. But you won't. You won't even come close. The most generous estimate my calculator gives me is that it takes about 1250 hours of matchmaking to unlock everything in Tribes: Ascend without any payments. That's six months solid if you treat the game like a full-time job. And by then, you'd have to start over on everything that had been added to the game since.

    TL;DR: Great game mechanics, but expect 9 out of 10 of your deaths to be from someone using a weapon you haven't unlocked yet and probably never will.    … Expand
  91. freesta
    May 22, 2012
    8
    I've played tribes: ascend for a few weeks now and it's simply fun to play from the very first second you are in a match. It's very easy to start a game: Just select the mode you want to play and your desired class and start playing. The servers (as far as I can tell, me being a player from Germany) are very good as I have never experienced any lag issues. I don't like how paying "free toI've played tribes: ascend for a few weeks now and it's simply fun to play from the very first second you are in a match. It's very easy to start a game: Just select the mode you want to play and your desired class and start playing. The servers (as far as I can tell, me being a player from Germany) are very good as I have never experienced any lag issues. I don't like how paying "free to play" games works nowadays and if you do not pay, you are definitely playing with a handicap! But it doesn't matter too much, because this game is fun anyway. So if you like shooters like quake live and open, easy maps which don't require hours of memorizing every corner before you can enjoy the game, you should definitely try tribes: ascend.… Expand
  92. kotay
    May 22, 2012
    0
    A great fun game, but you will soon realise that overpowered weapons are released every month, meaning that if you do not get them straight away you will be at a severe disadvantage. Then one month later, a nerf to the old and overpower the new. Really is a shame as they had a great product at the start. So a month has passed since I wrote the paragraph above, guess what, nerfed the old OPA great fun game, but you will soon realise that overpowered weapons are released every month, meaning that if you do not get them straight away you will be at a severe disadvantage. Then one month later, a nerf to the old and overpower the new. Really is a shame as they had a great product at the start. So a month has passed since I wrote the paragraph above, guess what, nerfed the old OP weapons, released an attempt at a balanced OP weapon. Automatics dominate the game to the point that it is just another shooter, no point in going fast because you will be gunned down, no point in using any other weapon other than the smgs because if you are not using them, you will constantly die to them, this really drags the gameplay down, from a fast paced shooter to another spray and pray title.

    Loads of issues with the mechanics, badly optimised, every patch lowers framerates and they do not fix any problems instead they focus on releasing more content to get a quick dollar. I very much doubt this game will last longer than another couple of months unless drastic changes take place, even then it will probably be too late as the playerbase is already dropping fast. It is getting harder and harder to get a full game.

    They really have shot themselves in the foot by focussing on money grabs instead of proper balance and fixing core issues.

    Don't let me put you off, try the game out for yourself, it is free after all. Just do not rush into buying gold, you will probably not spend it. Adios Tribes Ascend, you could've/should've been so great.    … Expand
  93. Scarrnix
    May 22, 2012
    9
    There is not a lot of variation in regards to guns, but the gameplay is so fun I hardly even care. Its one of the fastest paced FPSs out today and hardly anyone even dies because you are going so fast (which is not a bad thing). I love the skiing because it is a very nice break from standard FPS. High speed chases and exploding projectiles make this game extremely fun to play.
  94. X19
    May 22, 2012
    10
    It's free, it's fun, it's not pay 2 win, and it's not a ripoff of Call of Duty or Battlefield. What more could you ask of a modern day multiplayer FPS? Graphics- All is good in this department. Stands up as the best looking F2P game along with Blacklight. Gameplay- Tribes has always had this unique fast paced gameplay of sliding and gliding. This concept is original to only the TribesIt's free, it's fun, it's not pay 2 win, and it's not a ripoff of Call of Duty or Battlefield. What more could you ask of a modern day multiplayer FPS? Graphics- All is good in this department. Stands up as the best looking F2P game along with Blacklight. Gameplay- Tribes has always had this unique fast paced gameplay of sliding and gliding. This concept is original to only the Tribes series which is always a win in my book. Capturing a flag is one of the most exhilarating experiences you will ever take part in. Imagine a high speed chase and you'll get the idea. That said, Tribes game mode of choice is capture the flag. Design- Tribes is elagent in this department. Purchasing new equipment and upgrades is easy to do and not a hassle. Navigating the menus is a breeze.… Expand
  95. True-Saber
    May 20, 2012
    3
    A good break from the every other slow fps these days. Sadly the developers did not understand the importance of only the Heavy classes (other than sniper/sentinal) having high velocity projectile weapons, which prevented the unbelievable amount of spray-and-pray-spamming that takes place in this game. They also completely ruined the amazing customization of player characters. No longerA good break from the every other slow fps these days. Sadly the developers did not understand the importance of only the Heavy classes (other than sniper/sentinal) having high velocity projectile weapons, which prevented the unbelievable amount of spray-and-pray-spamming that takes place in this game. They also completely ruined the amazing customization of player characters. No longer can you choose Heavy, Medium, Light, instead they are uselessly split up into 9 "different" classes. Most of which have only 1 or 2 packs to choose from and as few weapons. In comparative terms its like going to checkers after playing chess your whole life.… Expand
  96. RetRap
    May 20, 2012
    8
    Tribes: Ascend is like a breath of fresh jet vent in an otherwise stale FPS genre. As this is a F2P game there really isn't an excuse not to try it out. The combat is fast paced and exciting. The initial classes on offer really give you a good feeling for how you want to play. The three class stereotypes of light, mid & heavy really give the game three dimensions and rather more literallyTribes: Ascend is like a breath of fresh jet vent in an otherwise stale FPS genre. As this is a F2P game there really isn't an excuse not to try it out. The combat is fast paced and exciting. The initial classes on offer really give you a good feeling for how you want to play. The three class stereotypes of light, mid & heavy really give the game three dimensions and rather more literally the fact everyone has a jet-pack and the ability to 'Ski' [essentially slide really fast using inertia] makes every fire fight a pleasure.

    That being said, as this is a F2P model it seems that there is a risk of the premium equipment being rather over powered. Of course this can be patched but we've already seen a few instances of new equipment giving unfair advantages. However, on the whole the actual pricing of the various equipment is fair and if you only spend money to unlock the classes you won't feel cheated in the long run.

    Another plus is that the community behind this game is so far fantastic. As such there is plenty of free information available and hundreds of videos with the express mission of making your time with Tribes more enjoyable. Do yourself a favour and download it today, after all it costs you nothing. If you tire of FPS' this won't likely hold your attention for that much longer but at least it isn't yet another £40 brown marine simulator.    … Expand
  97. MilkSteakMaster
    May 19, 2012
    10
    Wonderfully fun and free game. Just skiing is fun in it self. The only negative thing I can say is that after playing all of the classes the juggernaut seems far and away op. I may just not know how to play the others though.
  98. omanra
    May 17, 2012
    10
    A very creative and multifaceted take on the FPS. I recommend it to anyone who has grown tired of the genre. It is free after all, so you don't have much to lose...
  99. BrainTrust
    May 15, 2012
    10
    So forgive me if Im wrong here but isnt this supposed to be a game where guns matter? I can't figure out whether or not Im being trolled when I log into the screen and see the white dot. Ive contacted support and spent hours on the phone with them, I taked to a really cute girl on there who's name I will keep anonymous because she asked me to. I just want to say thanks for the supportSo forgive me if Im wrong here but isnt this supposed to be a game where guns matter? I can't figure out whether or not Im being trolled when I log into the screen and see the white dot. Ive contacted support and spent hours on the phone with them, I taked to a really cute girl on there who's name I will keep anonymous because she asked me to. I just want to say thanks for the support and thanks for the advice you gave me, it gave me the courage to keep going and I will forever be greatful for that. I want to add that the secret to being really good at this game comes with time and patience. I have mastered all of the different aspects and areas that anyone with a similar level of education can appreciate. Its not the little things that count when trying to excell at this game that matter but the continuous effort you put into abusing what is wrong with the system and taking advantage of what needs to be taken advantage of. I am not the average PC Gamer with a basic understanding of CMOS, I come from a long line and generation of individuals who share the same values that I do and strive to keep those values in line with what the creators of this game intended those playing it to achieve. A lot of people will read this review and be confused but that's normal when you haven't been to the places I've been and seen the people I've seen. This game really is just like a purple neckless that dangles from the wrist of an overbearing giant you'd commonly see on a planet rotating near two closest binary stars are to our solar system. Once you see the neckless and focus in on it you forget about all the soft and squishy heartwarming feelings you once thought were important. It's just like that time when you were eight years old and the world was so bright and the future was so far in the past that you forgot about why you were playing in the street without any shoes. Scooping up tar with your mothers silverware and shooting your neighbor with a bee-bee gun are all things of the past. Regardless of whether or not you have the notion to recollect and discover all the infinite possibilities this game can offer you there is one thing for sure; and that is that you have wasted a serious amount of time by reading this review. thumbs up please, if you desire the same things that I desire. Its not everyday that a german speaking CEO gets to work in the limelight of other popular titles that overshadow the really important ones. Money talks, and if you want to make a change that will have any kind of everlasting impact on the way that people take for granted the things you and I hold so dear to our hearts you should know that these types of opportunites don't come that often. A lot of people have spent hard earned money to enjoy false shadows cast on the wall, accepting these images given to us by false teachers to be "Real" images. We are all shackled to a dungeon wall deep inside of a cave looking at shadows cast onto a wall infront of us by a fire. This false light and the years we have spent believing in what society tells us is "important" and "real" is nothing more than the shallow desires that will bring an end to this tiny bit of sand spinning in the Multiverse. If you stepped out of this cave and travelled up the winding path to the outside world you would be blinded by the sun. The brightness would overpower you at first, but soon you would want the glory of the sun for others so they too could see what real light was. Imagine yourself returning to that dark cave and trying to explain to the others what you had seen and what they were missing out on. They would be angry with you and want to kill you. You are that person tied to wall, the sooner you accept this the sooner you can change. There is "Truth" out there, there is more to this world than Money and Possessions. Stop being materialistic, stop thinking that the pretty pictures you see of individuals are the way you should be. We are an MTV generation raised up to believe that one day we would all become rockstars and movie gods, well the sad truth is that this won't happen. Advance your goals, make time for your family and those who you care about. We need to rally together as a world and realize that space exploration and energy conservation are more important than fighting these useless wars over Oil and Power. If we don't make changes to the way we live as humanity, and start taking care of this little bit of sand we call Earth, we just might destroy it. My message will go unheard because I'm making it on a review of a game that I downloaded and played, but that doesn't make my message any less true. If you imagine the distance of the Earth to the sun, which is 93 million miles away being compressed to the width of a piece of paper. The nearest galaxy to us would be a stack of papers 73 miles tall. We are nothing, this tiny bit of sand spinning in a forever expanding multiverse is all we have.… Expand
  100. Rangerage
    May 15, 2012
    9
    The most fun I have had with a shooter since UT2004.
    It harkens back to the old days of shooters, when twitch reflexes and brain power mattered.
    The high speed of the game promotes a unique gameplay amongst recent FPS games and the CTF centric gameplay is a great change of pace from releases in the last decade. Definitely a game worth playing once if you're a fan of shooters but can't    The most fun I have had with a shooter since UT2004.
    It harkens back to the old days of shooters, when twitch reflexes and brain power mattered.
    The high speed of the game promotes a unique gameplay amongst recent FPS games and the CTF centric gameplay is a great change of pace from releases in the last decade.
    Definitely a game worth playing once if you're a fan of shooters but can't stand modern military shooters.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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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