Tribes takes place in the StarSeige universe. Humans discover jump gates, which allow travel over great distances, and begin settling in new worlds. They began forming groups called Tribes. Four of which stood out above the rest, and of course, they began to wage war on each other. Fast foward 10 years later, and we're at Tribes 2. A group of bio-engineered beings called BioDerms threatens all of humanity, and all the Tribes have called a cease fire to combat them. That sums up the story, but it doesn't really translate into the game, as the four tribes fight each other anyway. There's one page in the manual the explains the story, compared to the more in-depth one in the first game.

My first impression from this game was that it was a bigger, souped up version of Tribes 1. A dozen or so games later, I still feel the same. It takes everything that makes Tribes 1 so cool, tosses in better graphics, and more of everything...even bots for solo play. Gameplay was tweaked to address certain issues, such as skiing, which was left in, but made less useful for heavy armors which are supposed to be less mobile in the first place. As for the new stuff...You get a bunch of new items and vehicles, as well as new worlds to fight on. While you get two new weapons, they're a little more specialized than the older ones. The Shocklance must be used up close and is only fully effective if done to someone's back. Then there's the Missile Launcher, which locks on to anything flying around in the air, vehicles and and troops alike, and sending a tracking missile towards them. That's a quick summary of the new things...moving on to specifics.

Gameplay is just like Tribes 1. Getting around is just like any FPS, except you have a jetpack to help you get over hills, and to cussion your falls. Jetpack fuel comes from your suit's energy (which recharges automatically). Your suit's energy is also used to work certain weapons and items, which you get from inventory stations. Simply step on it for a few seconds, and you're ready to go. To choose what you want, you're given 20 slots for custom item load-outs, which you can configure on the go by pressing Enter on the keypad.

Gametypes include the ever popular Capture the Flag, where you defend your own flag while trying to take your opponent's. Capture and Hold, where you capture certain structures for your team, and defend them to gain points. Seige, where team 1 defends certain objectives, while team 2 tries to take them. Once that's done, the sides switch, and team 1 tries to beat team 2's time. Hunters, which can be played as a free for all or a team game, where each player drops a flag after dying. Players pick up these flags and bring them to an area called a Nexus to score points. More flags yields a higher bonus. And finally, Rabbit. A free for all mode where there's one flag. Whoever has it gains points, while all the other players try to take him out, and get it themselves.

As mentioned before, working together and being organized pays off more than just running around doing your own thing. One thing that was sort of tossed aside in Tribes 1 by the players was the Commander System. A player could use a terminal in their base to command the other players to do certain tasks. In unorganized public games, there was hardly a use for this...So in Tribes 2, each player can access a screen that's similar to it anytime, and give each other simple orders. Also making a return are the ever useful pre-recorded voices, that you can easily use for a long list of commands and acknowledgements. This is teamwork made easy.

There are 3 types of armors, Scout, Assault, and Heavy, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Inventory stations are where you usually get your gear. They give you a healthpack, mines, and your choice of grenades, backpacks and weapons. Backpacks range from repair packs, to repair base equipment and allies, to deployable turrets and inventory stations. All the old weapons are back, including the popular Storm Hammer, which shoots explosive discs at high speeds. The Sniper Rifle is self explanitory, but like several other weapons, requires an energy backpack. Having a full energy bar, and aiming for the head increases the damage dealt. Mortar Launchers are powerful explosives, capable of doing massive damage, and can only carried by Heavy Armors. A new item worth mentioning is the stealth backpack, which renders you invisible but uses energy rather quickly.

You might not notice right away, but the graphics in have been totally upgraded. Models and textures are of course more detailed. Bases can be, and are much bigger. Some are even maze-like and require a little getting used to. Fog forces you to keep your eyes peeled for incoming enemies, and lightning on stormy levels strikes at random. There's even trees and rocks scattered around a few of the maps to give it a more realistic outdoors-ish feel. Some levels also have lava and rivers of water. Sometimes you'll even be able to swim through them as alternate passages to an enemy base. A few bases look a little bland on the inside, but only a few. Either way, you'd better be packing a decent system for this game.

The game's sound department has nothing to complain about. The explosions and vehicles make your room rumble provided you have good speakers. You can hear rain hitting the ground and other ambient sounds as you run around the map. As mentioned before, there are dozens of pre-recorded voices. They range from "I need a vehicle escort!", to "Good game" and can be activated by pressing a combination of keys. For instance, V-A-G, V (VoiceCommands Menu) A (Attack) G (Generator) = "Attack the enemy generator". They're easily memorized, and help alot when something needs to be done. The music in the game is the usual rock/techno sort of thing usually found in FPS. Each world has it's own theme, for a total of five songs. They're kinda cool, especially when it happens to pick up when as you make a run for the flag.

A new, or much improved rather, are the bots. If you're like I am, and your internet connection is so bad that just being online can be a frustrating experience, then you'll probably be happy to know that the bots are much more playable this time. But considering that they were real bad, that might not mean much. Tribes 2 bots will go after objectives and at the highest difficulty level, even offer a good combat workout. You can -try- to command them...Order them to escort you via the Commander System, and they'll probably acknowledge, but you usually don't get any help. They get stuck in buildings very easily, even small ones. Often times you'll see a bot running into a wall and stay there the entire game. Sometimes you can run past enemy bots without them opening fire at all...even if you have the flag. They don't even pilot vehicles. Add all this to the fact that they're available in less than half the maps and this is one area where Tribes 2 dissapoints. As an interesting tidbit, bots get their own skins and robotic voices though.

Now I can't take too many points off for bad bots, since playing online is what it's all about, and thankfully, that's real easy to do. The in-game server browser will find all available servers (usually over 500 for me), ping them, and return all the info you could want. You can then sort these by gametype, current map, ping...etc. Or you can make your own filter so it displays only the type of server you want. There's also an in game IRC chat type thing. Useful for organizing games or recruiting people for your clan. The net code on this game is nice and smooth, even for 56Kers like myself. Lag is virtually non-existant as long as you're on a good server.