Tribes: Ascend is like almost nothing else I have played in the past five years..

[Kemuel]

..and I just can't get enough of it!

It might just be because I've not been paying much attention to the FPS scene recently, but I can't remember the last time a big multiplayer FPS came out that wasn't set in some gritty modern or near-future setting. Ascend's so fast and bright and sci-fi, it feels like something from a completely different era. I'm reminded of Quake Wars, Half-Life and UT2k4 mods like Dystopia and Clone Bandits, of Quake's bigger CTF maps, of the original Planetside.. There's something special about it that I've just missed in gaming lately which I can't quite put my finger on.

Maybe its the high-HP and difficulty of hitting, which leads to longer, more tense firefights. It feels so different to modern games, which have become more and more about positioning, or simply shooting first, or sniping. Bouncing in circles around your opponent, forgetting all about the rest of the map while trying to just sneak that second shot in you need to finish them off.

Maybe its the jetpacks? There's no crates or chest-high walls to take cover behind in this game, because you spend most of your time airbourne. Rather than slogging along on foot to the flag or objective, you launch from your base towards theirs, or towards the flag carrier, or towards the nearest red enemy icon, ski down a hill, and you're there, in the fight.

Maybe its because at its heart the CTF is just old-school CTF, like you really don't see these days. Get in, get the flag, get the hell out as quickly as possible. Where TF2's CTF feels like some immaculately planned heist, with someone disabling defences, someone providing invincibility and some big hitter keeping the enemies dead, Ascend feels like a quick smash-and-grab where outrunning the defense is more effective than simply blasting a hole in it. The rush I get from snatching a flag in Ascend and launching myself down a slope at 160mph has already made it one of my games of 2012.

Is it just me? Have I somehow been missing the faster, more interesting multiplayer FPS' of recent years? Or is Tribes: Ascend really something special?

[Herzog]

Tribes:Ascend mostly reminded me of Tribes and Tribes 2 and even back then I didnt enjoy playing it so much. I think that is the reason why Ascend did not click with me. But somehow I enjoy watching it and I can understand that many people have fun with this game. Just not my style of a mp fps.

[Ayam]

Kemuel, you've pretty much defined how I feel about Tribes Ascend, too. I'm not devoting much of my gaming time to it at all, but I've recognised how different it is to the current crop and how refreshing that is for me. I spent a lot of time with Tribes 2 and it's a very similar experience, but the time between playing Tribes 2 and this has been long long looong enough for things to continue to feel refreshing. It's also the first f2p I'm considering actually paying into, which is quite an achievement.

My only gripe is I would have loved mutant and female models also a la Tribes 2. Loved playing a mutant, they said 'Shazbot' in ways Mork could only dream of.

[Kemuel]

I think some of the appeal for me comes from the fact that this is the first Tribes game I've played. I've enjoyed all of the defining elements spread out across separate games, but never experienced them all in one place before.

Right with you about the F2P thing. I spent a little bit of cash on Poxnora years and years back, and bought a couple of cheap TF2 items at Christmas, but I expect when I have the money I'm gonna splash £20 for the full VIP starter pack here. It feels so much more polished than most F2P fare.

[alset85]

The main thing that would get me to dive right into this if there was a 20-30$ option that got me all the classes, weapons and perks unlocked without the upgrades. The cost for some things is absolutely insane.

[agentorange]

I agree with you completely. I've been glued to it since I picked it up last weekend; went so far as to pay the $30 to "buy" the game - first time I've purchased anything in an F2P game. The game-play is like nothing I've experienced in the past decade: the combination of large, open maps, and extremely fast acrobatic movement is just something you don't see any more. Even Tribes: Vengeance was comparatively slow.

There's also the large emphasis on team play, a system which goes beyond just giving you the choice of a class - which plenty of games can do: whether you're making off with the flag at 200 sanics as the Pathfinder, standing on your teams flag as a Doombringer to block enemy cappers, or raining down mortar fire on the enemy defences as a Juggernaut, the part you play feels like a cog in a larger machine, and you end up not caring about getting a kill but rather caring about helping that flag get back to your point.

I really hope the game catches on because I hope to be playing it for years to come. Hi-rez are really pushing for it to be featured in E-Sports, and from some of the pro matches I've seen it looks like it could make it (watch some if you haven't, those people pull some unbelievable moves).

[Kemuel]

Main reason I'm planning on spending money on it is to broaden my role on the team. It is fun flagrunning and chasing as a Pathfinder, but I'd love to have access to something more supportive like the Infiltrator or Technician.

[Gergin]

Playing this has ruined me for other FPS's. I tried playing some Section 8 Prejudice (I considered it a very fast pace game) after playing Tribes quite a bit and the game felt absolutely glacial.

I went FAST once and I can never go SLOW again...

[Scumbag]

Best game in a decade when it comes to speeding along and playing dodge the exploding Frisbee.
As daft as it sounds, the crappyness of the weapons really adds to the game. First FPS in a while where grenades seem less spammy noob toys and more focused on skill.
Also the FTP model is rather inoffensive tbh as, from what I can tell, only the cosmetic skins are only buyable with real money, and they aint in the game yet. The XP costs are quite high for some items, but still unlockable if you don’t want to spend cash on them.

[Reinhardt]

Where is everyone playing this? I went to the website and only found a closed beta so I'm just waiting for a notification or something after registering. Were all of you invited?

[Sarlix]

Main reason I'm planning on spending money on it is to broaden my role on the team. It is fun flagrunning and chasing as a Pathfinder, but I'd love to have access to something more supportive like the Infiltrator or Technician.

I unlocked the Technician after playing about four matches or something. It's only 7000xp to unlock, and the same for the Sniper (sorry forgot proper name) It's the secondary gear that is expensive - to unlock the Tecs next secondary weapon is like 40000xp or something.

I signed up for the beta on their site and got a code the following day. I'm really enjoying it, It's been so long since we had a decent fast paced shooter on the PC. My only disappointment is that it doesn't run that great on my PC and they only have basic graphic settings on offer (low,med,high etc) I'm currently going through the .ini file to try and tweak it a bit.

[Sarlix]

Where is everyone playing this? I went to the website and only found a closed beta so I'm just waiting for a notification or something after registering. Were all of you invited?

You can sign up on their website for a Beta code or if you 'like' them on facebook you get one apparently.

[Anthile]

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[Kemuel]

First FPS in a while where grenades seem less spammy noob toys and more focused on skill.

To be honest, the Thumper grenade wand's the only thing I've had an issue with. Ten shots? For something with that splash damage? Should be five, maybe, if not three. Had so many fights against Thumper Soldiers with my Spinfusor when I've gotten two decent 500 point hits on them, needing a third, only to be taken out by their umpteenth wild Thumper shot in my general direction.

[MOKKA]

I'm not much of a FPS-Player, especially mulitplayer-FPS, but I think I will play this game a lot in the next time. I just had my first matches and although I sucked for the most parts, those short moments where I was able to do something right felt so good that I definately will continue to play this game.

[Reinhardt]

keys

Thanks! The first one worked for me.

[pkt-zer0]

The game is cool, there hasn't been a Tribes game in a while, and this seems like a decent enough incarnation of it. The F2P part makes it quite expensive unfortunately, it's like 60 bucks + 60 hours of grind to get everything. Also team balancing seems a bit a random/nonexistent, so you get one-sided matches quite often.

[Scumbag]

To be honest, the Thumper grenade wand's the only thing I've had an issue with. Ten shots? For something with that splash damage? Should be five, maybe, if not three. Had so many fights against Thumper Soldiers with my Spinfusor when I've gotten two decent 500 point hits on them, needing a third, only to be taken out by their umpteenth wild Thumper shot in my general direction.

Was talking about the hand grenades mainly. Thumper is a weird weapon, but its really a pair for the Assault Rifle and I really dont like that weapon.

[Mistabashi]

Another key in case anyone wants it:

FR94FC6A93752B4E428B53A33

[Reinhardt]

I played it this afternoon and really enjoyed myself. Once you get the hang of skiing it's a blast just to move around. I do wish I could unlock things faster... I'm tempted to pay but I know I shouldn't.