Really would like to return to Tribes 2 for a few huge games, in which you actually work like a team, and have a leader (the command console allows orders to be given. Wonderful tool.)

Anyone else tempted by that dream?

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Oh, wait.

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Sure its supposed to show off the game, but if you could send a dropship carrying a tank into battle through the flak…why did you need to HALO-drop your infantry?

The gameplay is enjoyable, and its clear they’ve worked very hard to make it unique, but I fear it lacks the depth or scale to have lasting appeal. Once someone pointed out to me it was ‘a professional mod for Unreal Tournament’ I struggled to see it as anything more.

Compared to Planetside’s resurgence of the last month, and I can’t help but find it lacking against a game everyone thought would have died off years ago.

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Didn’t say it SHOULD be a cult game, I’m saying it probably will turn out to be one.

The gameplay, especially the gunplay, is simply too unfamiliar to gamers. The Hardcore FPSer’s don’t even want to try to understand that Shields = better defense, but only at long range and Armor = flimsier defense, but at all ranges, especially short. They refuse to understand that the Rocket Launcher does pathetic damage vs shields (unless it’s a vehicle), and thus simply doesn’t work against infantry if they have any shields remaining. They refuse to tweak suits to get what they want out of the game — if you like Tribes and value high maneuverability, trick out your armor with all the Jetpack regeneration items; if lockon makes you so angry that you’d rage on a forum about it, make a suit that greatly hampers lockon time and duration.

No, every mainstream review will read (to them) as:

-Guns aren’t powerful or simply don’t work much of the time.
-Jetpacks don’t last long.
-There is autoaim which removes all ‘skill’.
-There is no locational damage which removes all ‘skill’.

Of course if you play the game you’ll realize:

-The guns are powerful in the situations they’re designed for (maybe excepting the Shotgun, which wasj ust kind of bad last time I played).

-Jetpacks are for quick escapes or advanced maneuvers, the weapons aren’t designed for midair combat.

-Autoaim lasts an extremely short time and is really designed to be a Sniper’s friend and a hard counter to Jetpacking enemies. In close range it’s pretty much worthless against anyone with a brain.

-Locational damage doesn’t fit the design of the game; fights would end way too fast if headshots wrecked armor faster than it already gets wrecked (and it gets wrecked very fast as is); Snipers are actaully specialists that have to sacrifice any kind of utility for raw damage if they want to do well as a Sniper, allowing headshots would allow Snipers to wear full shields and maneuverability and become a super class instead of just an obnoxious finisher class as they are now.

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It’s the opposite of Tribes. It’s everything that Counterstrike addicts hate.

I really like it. It’s a game where, while direct FPS skill is important, smart play often beats fast play. You can be the fastest gun in the west and be able to draw a perfect bead on someones head from a thousand paces, but if the other guy has cover, has support, or just plain has a plan, you could well lose.

The beta alone gave me a whole raft of little moments where I’ve overcome disadvantages through clever play. So much better than praying for a near-random headshot.

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I love Section 8, but I’m not naive enough to think it will do anything better than become a sleeper hit/cult classic like Kohan. Magazine reviews will trash it, IGN/Gamestop will stay safe at 7-8, and the more indie writers will probably dig it.

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If you’re looking for something that actually feels like Tribes (at least in control, movement and combat, if not vehicles and deployables), check out Fallen Empire: Legions over at instantaction.com

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Eek.

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