Good fun. Personally I dont expect masses of depth from a game like that and I didnt get it. However, it does have some fun mechanics, it is fun to play and the FTP balancing act seems to work pretty well. A very good game well worth checking out

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?

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 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

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

Absolutely brilliant game. If you liked Star Siege Tribes, you'll love this game, it's a total throwback to the old school. It is definitely a different type of play style when you compare it to something like Modern Warfare. Also, to anyone comparing this to Halo, let me say this; Tribes was first. For free too? Definitely get it. I put it up there with TF2.

This game looks pretty, and is easy to jump in and play. For me, though, I found the physics and controls to be very wonky and unintuitive. The skiing + jet pack stuff just doesn't feel smooth to me, and I never really felt like I was going that fast either (even at speeds where I would never get shot or hit things that I was shooting at). There also seem to be class / weapon balance issues, but that's not unusual for a game like this. I can see why people would enjoy playing this, but it's just not my style I guess.… Expand

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

Oh gosh, where do i start? I love FPS genre, I play alot of shooters, single/multi alike. I got sucked into the world of Tribes almost instantly. This game is purely awesome. It does everything right and when it doesnt - devs quickly alter it to match what community demands. It's great to know that Tribes: Ascend is still expanding, still getting better. Plenty of goodies, dlc's and patches ahead of us. I dont consider it as Free to Play... because it's almost a crime not to pay for it, it is SO ENJOYABLE. Yes, it is free. It gives you three basic classes and a possibility to upgrade them without paying a penny. It will take more time to unlock your desirable gear, but it is possible to fully enjoy this game without contributing any money... Nevertheless, i felt guilty not to pay. Hi-Rez Studios should know that this game made my day a lot of times and still Im totally in love with their game. Ok, but more about the product - Tribes: Ascend is fast paced, skill-oriented, teamplay shooter. If offers great gameplay and huge, well designed maps (most of the time about 32 players at once). The gimmick of Tribes is skiing - as you move down the slope you can slide and gain momentum. Then, jet packing uphill helps you maintain speed. Combine this and you can achieve even more than 200km/h of pure speed! (when playing the lightest class) Hard to imagine? Watch some gameplays or trailers on youtube. Some people here complained about "going thru the map and meeting no one" or "it's to fast to hit anybody". Sorry, but that's BS. Game is perfectly designed and I suggest PLAYING IT for real and not making stuff up. For those saying "it's boring and easy, just wait for somebody to land" I recommend watching some 'blue plate special' (air kills) videos on yt. Also, play Capture The Flag. Team Deathmatch is more of a warm-up before the real thing. The same with the Arena Mode. It's all good, but CTF is THE ESSENCE of Tribes. Skill and teamplay is all that matters. See you on the battlefields, sandrakers! 10 out of 10. It's a perfect game for me.… Expand

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'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

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 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

If you are tired of Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Counter-Strike clones and want a much faster-paced game, check out Tribes Ascend. Team Fortress 2 is still the best F2P shooter out there, but Tribes Ascend is a very close 2nd place. Pretty much Tribes Ascend's main thing is Skiing, where you become frictionless. Most of the time you will be going at ~100 km/h, dedicated flagcappers go ~200 km/h, and the best go over 400 km/h. There are only 3 hitscan weapons: Snipers, Shotguns, and some pistols. Everything else is projectile-based, so you need to predict where the enemy will be. There are 9 classes (Unlike the previous in the series which is completely free customization), 3 light, 3 medium, 3 heavy. They all serve a different role. For example, Pathfinder is the fastest class, and is used for flag capturing and chasing. Meanwhile Infiltrator can cloak and has high-damage weapons, which make them excellent at destroying the base from the inside. Juggernauts are very slow but very powerful long-range artillery. But anyway, away from all that class discussion the game is easy to learn, difficult to master. The classes are generally balanced (Although Infiltrator is a bit too powerful currently), but usually unlocking different equipment for them is ridiculously expensive ($8 for major weapons or 100,000 EXP, for example). The community is full of /v/irgins, so mention ANYTHING Reddit and they will freak out and start blindly hating. Overall it's one of the best F2P games ever made, and you should stop what you're doing and download it today.… Expand

At first I was worried that Hi-Rez Studios would screw the Tribes formula (like what Irrational Games did) but now I want them to make the rest of the Tribes games if they can, The Graphics are great the maps are fun and huge and we still have the good ole' game mechanics of Tribes 2. Plus its Free to Play!

It's free to play, so I can't complain much, but this is simply a F2P model that does not work, and with Sony publishing Tribes Ascend it's no surprise. It plays out as what you'd expect, you can level up normally (and rather slowly), or go the Pay to Pave option and obtain gold to buy market items, perks and skins. It's not with this that the game becomes broken, though many weapons become more and more overpowered with each consequential update that supposedly fixes these problems. It's the fact the disbalancement of F2P v P2P players becomes overwhelmingly clear through the horrible in-game matchmaking, which ends up pitting players with low points against MVPlayers most of the time. That being said, the pros of Tribes come from it's insanely fast-paced gameplay, intense objective-based modes, and unique graphically-stirring maps and designs. Cons quickly appear in minor, but overwhelmingly apparent doses still. The interface is clunky, OP weapons have not been fixed or have been made worse, and with many other problems surrounding matchmaking and gameplay, Tribes: Ascend loses its grand appeal in the first few hours, but still delivers to Tribes fans and those looking for a new skill-based shooter not unlike Quake. Given time, I'm sure that these problems will be ironed up, but the problem still lies in why they released the game when the beta clearly needed attention to fixes as well.… Expand

Can't really complain about a free game can you? The game seems pretty straightforward as all FPS games are. The game modes are pretty traditional like CTF and Team Deathmatch. The addictive part is the leveling system. Like the online of CoD, the more you play, the more you are rewarded for XP. You can use these XP to upgrade your character. While this is so much fun, the difference between the starter character and the fully upgraded character is feast or famine making a pretty unbalanced game. There are at least a dozen different classes to choose from, so "completing" the game would take a really long time. The graphics are stunning especially the weapons and the gameplay is really entertaining. Skiing down the mountains and jetpacking in the air is really fun and also creates a huge challenge that makes taking down enemy players extremely satisfying. Overall, this game is definitely worth the download.… Expand

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 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

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'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

Very fun game for free. Simple as that. Yes they release op new content that unbalances the game. The new raider gun is nuts op. But it's still a very fun game for free. You can choose to buy stuff, or you can unlock it with xp. It will take a very long time with xp, but you can do it. The most expensive weapons are 100k xp. You get probably an average of 500xp per match if you performed decently.

This is online FPS like it used to be, tactical, fast, fun, pure unadulterated enjoyment. Sure, you can complain that you don't have the best weapons, or instead you can just have a shedload of fun and cope with the fact you're probably not going to be number 1 on the leaderboard. SPINFUSER GO!

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.

An awesome take-back to the glory days of Starseige Tribes, Hi-Rez did the series justice which it hasnt seen since the very first Tribes game. SHAZBOT!

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

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..

A game that had full potential to be what it was promised to become: a salvation for competitive, rearding, skill-based PC shooters; that lost everything it has in stock over the course of the beta to come out at launch as standard, well executed mashup of Halo, Call of Duty, TF2 and Quake.
That is what Tribes: Ascend is at launch. Having been in the beta, not from day1, but VERY close to that, I observed this game descend into the abyss of developer greed, simplification and corruption from the unexpected popularity that the game has received.
Over the course of the beta, as more people rolled in, killing was simplified incredibly. Skiing too. Overpowered weapons were created and kept free (Assault Rifle, Tech SMG, >>>Thumper DX… Expand

Alright, Tribes is NOTHING special. It's a generic online shooter. Sure, you go fast, yeah, but honestly? It doesn't even give the feeling of fast that you would get from a lot of other games. Also the balance is poor. It's a given that in any online game the edge goes to more experienced players, but the experience and unlock system makes this game terribly unbalanced. Also, the crash and bullet physics are absolutely dreadful. It's redeemed by the fact that it looks pretty and it's fun to play ONLY IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS PLAYING. It's free, so it's worth a download I suppose.… Expand

Thus far I've played about 3 hours. It has some interesting movement dynamics. The game is entirely team based however, I don't think there is a community intercom to coordinate. The game also makes the same shotguns for nubs/mgs for pros error, without a stair step for difficulty. It's a decent timewaster, its enjoyable, but it oesn't draw me in with invention or divergent playstyles. Its a fairly 1 track minded shooter without a lot of the options. the pay to compete thing here isn't as bad as say World of Tanks, but it's present nonetheless. I think a 6 is suitable.… Expand

It's rare that you see a free-to-play that isn't pay to win or forces you to pay to keep playing. Tribes Ascend is F2P done right. The amount of work that went into such an amazing game is mind blowing. If I had the money, I'd send Hi-Rez the prize amount for winning the lottery.

Do yourself a favor. Ignore the negative reviews and try the game. The only reason there are negative reviews are because people are bad at the game, and it's not the game's fault. Screw anyone who gives it less than a 6 or 7.… Expand

Tribes:Ascend seems like a good game, and is mostly. However, this is the kind of game where the little things are eventually going to become annoying. I mean mostly weapons with area of effect only, deathmatch where kills do not matter (but holding the flag does) , capture the flag maps that seem to be impossible to defend, a generator that doesn't do much on the best days, and loses the game on the others. Even the unlock system is pretty obnoxious, you get to unlock a weapon or a class that might be virtually useless, without any information whatsoever, and they do cost a bit. The practice/training session could let you try all classes, but no. That would be too easy, I guess. The innovative skiing system is nice, but tbh I wasn't really so good at it. I can ski, but I can't really sky and shoot so much. I guess I should mention, most of the weapons fire plasma projectiles with weight, so you have to lead your aim. What's worse, they inherit your speed and momentum, so if you jump, for example, the plasma "blob" will inherit the jump momentum, and go slightly upwards. This is actually a pretty neat change from the usual point and click. Oh, yeah,and I forgot to mention the voice chat spam. "Shazbot" will become a part of the english vocabulary soon enough, and part of your nightmares way before that. I did have fun killing some guy or the other, so the game has it's moments, but for me, games are about winning. I couldn't figure a way to win in this game. Maybe you can.… Expand

been playing since alpha and really enjoy the game. improvements seem to come at a steady and often pace. my only real complaint is that the alternate costumes cost too much.

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

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.

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.… Collapse

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.

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.

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.

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 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

This game is one of the best F2P FPS I've played since TF2! The graphics are crisp, the gameplay is awesome, and the sound effects and music adds to the pace of the game...Which is really damn fast!! This game maybe fantastic, but there are somethings that tarnish it's glory. In Tribes: Ascend you will be playing for a long time to unlock one single gun with XP, but Hi-Rez studios gives the option to buy gold which can be used to unlock weapons and equipment. This means that there will be rich kids playing with their fancy guns, but the weapons that all classes start with are decent enough to confront anyone in combat. In terms of balance, each class seems to have their advantages and disadvantage with one exception...The sentinel class which is very weak and doesn't even scratch other classes with it's sniper rifle! Tribes: Ascend does get regular updates which includes new weapons, equipment, skins and maps. Tribes: Ascend is great fun, fast paced and free to play!… Expand

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.

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!

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

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.

Do you like fast paced,old school shooters?Well,if you do,you must have been waiting for another one for years.The waiting's over.Tribes Ascend is what you are looking for.This is the kind of shooter PC community deserves.Designed for PC,no hitscan weapons,you need to go fast and shoot efficiently,a lot of teamplay involved.Hi-rez should be praised for a product like this.Graphics are as good as UE3 can get,the style is awesome and unique,gameplay is satisfying and rewards the skilled players.What else would you expect from a Multiplayer shooter?Oh wait,it's FREE to play as well!

We surely need more games like this.Thank you hi-rez studios.… Expand

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

Fast paced and with a high skill ceiling. So refreshing being able to move around with speeds of 300 sanics flying through the skies. In fact, whenever i play another game, the walking feels like crawling. Combat is fun and trades the point-and-click hitscan of your usual generic FPS in for projectile based weapons, which in combination with high speeds, need a certain level of skill to effectively use. Team based play is fun all around, when using the VGS system, tactics are easily coordinated without the use of VoIP. A number of modes and custom servers keep it diverse and every class plays entirely different and load-out allow for even more costumization. Gotta go fast.… Expand

Wrote a review earlier that was pretty critical of the game for its balance issues, pay2win elements, herpity derpity autohp regen mechanic, and its not so relevant base structures/vehicles (gave it a meh 5 score). While those issues haven't gone away - as I play this game more I must say it has slowly begun to grow on me for the things it does do right so I thought it only right to re-post a new score reflective of that. Still not my favorite FPS, but it easily could be if they would just take the time to balance what needs to be balanced and remove what needs to be removed (sniper rifle damage, fractal grenades, ranking display that promotes team stacking, etc).… Expand

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.

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 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

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 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

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

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.

All the memes and viral marketing in the world can't help this dime-a-dozen pay-2-win online FPS. Do you enjoy playing against spoiled children with game-breaking paid unlocks? Then you'll love this game.

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

I've been playing non-stop since the game was released and I have to say that Hi-Rez have made a big step up from Global Agenda. This is a lot more fun and it's what the users want. Free to Play where most things are unlock able with xp earned while playing (Paying money doesn't give any combat advantage). Fast paced action, easy to play but hard to master.

At first I was skeptical. A free to play game in this modern age of gaming. I was expecting a dumbed down Tribes with horrible graphics and every way possible to make money off you. But boy was I wrong. This game is absolutely beautiful. The maps have nearly flawless design. The balance of weapons is very stable. And everything in the "modify class" area, you can either use real money for the inpatient player. Or earn your way all the way to 100k xp and feel like a champion on a pedestal. The game is not "pay to win" but pay if you want to unlock some stuff faster. I personally bought the 19.99 pack. But mainly because a game like this is FREE. I had to give them something. Hi Rez deserves the 20 bucks. They made one of the best FPS I've seen in years. The classes all have strengths and weaknesses. No class is too strong, and no class is too weak. There aren't enough gamers playing this game. All they need is one advertisement during prime time television. Announcing that it's FREE and 10/10. And then everybody will be playing this. And the nice thing is, the people who are every day Call Of Duty players, would find the game incredibly bad and annoying. So they would quit very quickly. As this game is only for elite gamers who actually look for a challenge. I can admit. When I first started playing I died ALOT. And when I say alot. I mean it took me like 6 deaths to get 1 kill. But now after playing day in and day out. I get kills all the time. And that's what this game excels in. MAKING you play the game over and over until you get better. This is what modern gamers don't want to hear. They want to be able to jump in a game and instantly have the capabilities to be just as good as veterans. The people who are good at Tribes Ascend are good because of hardcore playing. Not because they have the right perks equipped or a certain gun. This game SHOULD be FPS of the year, But it won't because it will lose to Black Ops 2. Oh well. C'est la vie.… Expand

Undoubtly the best f2p shooter on pc! Fast speed, highly competitive. You should have a try if u are a fps fans.
Although some weapons and abilities require tons of exp or bucks if u want, but IMO, pay about twenty bucks for such a awesome game is ok for me. GOGOGO!

Words cannot describe how happy I am to have fun competitive games again. Shazbot 4 life! Fast, great gunplay, and tons of customization for your class (if you're into that).

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

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.

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 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

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.

The game itself is pretty great, but Hi-rez have made some HUGE mistakes that makes the game boring. 1.The balance SUCKS BALLS! They say that the game is F2P, but it is P2W. I have played 50 hours of Tribes: Ascend and I still don't own 1 good weapon. To be good at the game and to really have a good time, you will need to buy weps for money. There should be more weps, right now there are like 10 weps for every class and all good weps costs 76000 and you get like 300 from 1 battle.

2.There are to few gamemodes and maps. There should be lots of more...

3.The healthregeneration. Sometimes, in the middle of a battle your opponent will try to flee. When you haven't hit your opponent for a certain period of time their healthregen will start, which means that the opponent can first retreat until they have full hp and then they can kill you easily. This is really annoying and destroys a huge part of the gameplay :(

First of all, I am no hater. This is really the truth. Don't believe me? Then try it yourself. It's free after all. The guys giving this game a 10 are nerds who have been playing this for forever. Tribes: Ascend is only entertaining in the start, it gets boring really fast... 6/10… Expand

This review is for the beta up 'till april 10th. Good: -The game is fast paced, the maps are well designed and it's generally fun and addictive -the ski mechanic feels new and cool effectively makes big maps fast to travel on foot -vehicles are cool -good optimization options (except for the mouse in the menu) Bad: -I miss faster weaponry -I also miss more color diversity in some maps -the leveling up system is a little slow for non paying users (but maybe that's the point of it)
-the paid perks are too expensive right now.… Expand

The game is officially out now and I would like to say that it is amazing. The speed, the shooting, the skiing. It all feels awesome. I would recommend that everyone check this game out immediately.

Tribes: Ascend is the next Quake. There. I said it. Extraordinarily unique, yet refreshingly classic...Tribes: Ascend takes so many pages out of so many classic shooters, it is impossible for any FPS fan to not like it. Coupled with the Freemium business model...Tribes: Ascend's appeal and replayability is sure to last far after Ascend 2 is announced and released.

The golden age of FPS games is returning! Tribes Ascend is fast and skill based - nothing like the "realistic" shooters peddled primarily on consoles. I've only been playing for a few hours, but already I find the gameplay deeply satisfying. Some kills are easy, but the hardest of them mean chasing that bastard across the whole map - at break neck speed (skiing) peppering them with the assault rifle the whole time! Tons of fun!

I find the store/upgrades are a little hard to navigate and understand, but some things are simple enough to understand (i.e. +4 clip size, +5 ammo carry etc.). It's already been through a long beta, but I suspect we'll see the store improve now that they are making money from it.… Expand

Brutal old school Deathmatches and CTF's with a sprinkle of new school graphics and "Modern Warfare". Free skis and jetpacks makes it all more fun. There's quality entertainment for everyone here, as it is Free 2 Play.

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 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

You would have to be dead not to enjoy this! Plus, it's free - so don't read any more reviews, just download it and make up your own mind :) I would say it will take you less than 10 minutes before you are totally addicted. I just can't express how much fun it is to be hurtling through the air, turning in mid-stream to lob a grenade at a guy that just flew past you, to have it blow up in his face. Seriously good fun, and I bought myself a gaming mouse just for this. I don't normally play FPS games, but this is the most fun I have had since Swingball when I was about 7 years old. Excellent, excellent game!!… Expand

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

Great competitive MP game it is not for casual players if you see negative review it mostly from some noobs VGS . I love every thing about the game : the fast Gameplay is VGCA specially Ski , the 9 classes with different tactics and uses , the big large sexy Maps , the chat system is cool VGW , so if you are hardcore player looking for new great experience then Tribes is your game .

I was very surprised to be able to play this for free. Tribes 2 was my favorite game for a long time and now its predecessor was FTP??? Life was great. Then I spent a lot of money on gold. Life is still great. Download it and continue to build this community. It's a great game with so many options. Don't miss out!

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 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

Aside from several overlookable latency issues that have hit-scan weapons and spinfusors dealing zero damage on direct hit, you gotta go fasterr as this is Sanic Hegehog world of shazbots.

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

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

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 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

Tribes Ascend brings me way back to the old days when unreal tournament and quake ruled all FPS gamers and games like Tribes found a niche among great shooters because of the twitchy, skill-based gameplay that found it's balance based more on your individual skill level and time played over equipment and guns used. The games classes are well balanced moving from high flying pathfinders to slower & armed to the teeth Brutes... and a several in between. the fact that this gangs is free to play is amazing... and contrary to popular pay to win models, in this Tribes Ascend there is NEVER a point when you hit a ceiling unless you throw down some cash, you can merely speed up the progression process by spending a little. Very very fun game, definitely keeping me occupied in my free time! 10!… Expand

Where can I start with this game? Rough edges on the graphics, boring sound effects, running around the map waiting to find SOMEONE, ANYONE to kill, and then suffer due to the atrocious controls, which are by far the worst of any game I have ever played. Not only is the game simply boring, but games often end as completely one-sided as I've seen across any game I've ever played. I realize this is a beta, but the base gameplay of this leaves me with a rotten taste in my mouth. The maps are also far to big, as I spent a good 90% of my time trying to get back to my team. All that is really left to say is: Thank God it was free.… Expand

AWSOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! You must play this game it is so fun. Really fast passed shooter if you don't like fast pace games then don't play this game. I dont want you comments if you have anything bad to say about it because also its still in beta.

Really fantastic team based FPS, personally have only problems with very long load times (it appears like game is just not responding), but it did not prevent me from enjoying the game. My only problem is the F2P model that developers use, weapons and upgrades are so expensive (either Gold or EXP) that spending 60$ on game will probably give you just about the half of content now. This is really disappointing.… Expand

There is so much potential with this game, but sadly it falls short by straying too far from all the things that made Tribes great and adopts too much from Call of Duty. I played Beta since September so I am speaking with months of gameplay experience when I say what a huge let down this game is. 1. Physics aren't quite right. Skiing is more like skidding on ice and jetpacks don't regen fast enough. 2. Too many machine guns. All previous Tribes had one machine gun style weapon for a reason: it's by far the least interesting, unskilled and abused weapon in the game. 3. The preset load outs and 2 weapon limit greatly reduce the customization and gameplay options when compared to previous Tribes games. 4. Mortar is broken. Arc is wrong, distance is pathetic and the arming time is too long. 5. Disc jumping is terrible. Regenerating health is terrible. Spawning in your loadout is terrible. Orbital bombardments are terrible. All these things serve to unbalance the game.… Expand

Really fun, easy to get into. However I think its fair to say if you are not use to these types of games its going to be extremely difficult at first. A few minor problems not even worth mentioning about the game.

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.

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 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

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 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

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!

Fantastic game, the Tribes 2 style and community being resurrected, hell yeah ! Not only is it A Tribes game done right, it is free to play !
But honestly, the $50 package is by far the best and you won't regret it.
Also please gives some kudos on Twitter to Chris Rickwood (@chrisrickwood).
He is the genius composer behind that awesome music.
Really, that game has everything right, TRY IT !!

Fast and balanced gameplay. I picked up the game really fast and enjoyed it. Maps are huge and the gameplay is fun. If you want similar to lets say unreal tournament games but more flying this is the game.
AND OF COURSE ITS FREE!

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 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

A competitive multilayer shooter that doesn't feel like it was developed for thumb sticks, or the people that use them.

-Unique
-Solid Graphics
-Great Gameplay
-Strong Community
-Fantastic Developer

I can find no issue with this shooter, either you'll like it or you wont. I'm in the former camp.

This game reminded me my childhood with quake 2 CTF , really refreshing in age of cod/bf3.Try it since its free , its big chance that it will suck you in.I would give it 10/10 if weapons mods wasnt so expensive (xp).

This Free-to-play FPS is one of the best games I have ever played. even in comparison to full price games. It matches all those full-priced games in terms of game play, graphics and best of all it's not pay to win. All weapons can be purchased with in-game XP

This game is definitely a break from every other shooter out there, requiring a lot of skill, teamwork and speed. Great game, and I hope to see more from this developer in the future.

I am so very happy with this game. The fact that it's free to play, with no real loss in gameplay if you pay nothing, makes it one of the best free to play models I've seen. I'm so happy with the game, actually, that I'm worried that if enough people don't pay anything, that maybe the game's future will be hurt, but I can't imagine that being the case. This game is truly an example of a game that's worth spending some money on, if not to give yourself a little boost, then to support something that is very well made, and fun to play. It's not exactly like Tribes 1, or Tribes 2, and believe me when I say, I played a LOT of Tribes 1 back in the day. It was my most played game back when it was out. It was the reason I'd spend money buying a new video card(wasn't just Nvidia vs ATI/AMD back in those days), so the game would look and play even better. Tribes 1 is one of the greatest games I'd ever played, and while I'm not sure exactly how this one stacks up against the old game, I can definitely say it's faithful to the series. It's different enough to be able to stand on it's own in comparison to Tribes 1, and with some future tweaks, could very well surpass it. I'm confident Hi-Rez will continue to tweak this game for the better, and should some popular Mod servers come about, with mods like Shifter, or any of the Mods that were like that style of gameplay, including some additional weapon slots for classes, and the old glory days of Tribes 1 will be back.
The game still needs some more optimizing, including more advanced graphics controls, rather than requiring .ini tweaks, and better keybinding, but I can't really hold them against the game when it JUST came out of beta, and they've been updating it so much, that I could see where that would be regarded as a lesser issue that'll be taken care of in time. Therefore, I can't take a point off, and that's pretty much the only thing that'd drop this down to a 9. I'm actually giving this a 10. If you can make a game that reminds me fondly of one of the previous 10s in my gaming history, then you sir, get a 10 as well. A new System Shock that was as good or better than System Shock 2 would be another game that'd get a 10 out of me.… Expand

great game they are one of the few that managed to nail the free to play model u can easy buy the weapon perks and armor u want just by playing the game and its fast paced like the first tribes and higly compeditive great game :D

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.

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 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

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.

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.