Tribes: Ascend Launches Next Month; Parody Video Now
The new Tribes PC game will launch next month, yet seats for the open beta are still available.
The classic Tribes franchise officially returns to the PC on April 12, 2012 with the release of Tribes: Ascend.
Developed around a free-to-play model, the game has been in open beta for a couple of weeks, hosting around 400,000 players thus far. Developer Hi-Rez Studios is still offering spots in the open beta, which can be obtained by enlisting here, until the fast-paced shooter officially goes live next month. Player progress in the beta will be carried over to the final release, the studio reports.
Tribes: Ascend will be the first new Tribes game to be released since Tribes: Vengeance hit the PC way back in 2004. Developed using Epic's Unreal Engine 3, the game will be the official multiplayer successor to 2001's Tribes 2. The studio actually acquired the Tribes IP back in October 2010, and is currently working on a Tribes-based MMO called Tribes Universe in addition to the current multiplayer-only shooter.
Along with announcing the game's release date, Hi-Rez Studios also unleashed a parody trailer called "Llama Island," as seen below. "Tribes is all about speed and movement," explains Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer. "In fact the community uses the term llama to refer to a player moving too slowly, like a plodding llama. So this video demonstrates the perils of trying to capture a flag while going too slow. The outcome is predictable but no less tragic."
To play Tribes Ascend, users will need to meet the following minimum or recommended system requirements:
Minimum System Requirements
* OS: Windows XP (SP2), Windows Vista or Windows 7
* Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Althon X2 2.7 GHz
* RAM: 2 GB or greater for Windows XP, 3 GB or greater for Windows Vista or 7
* Video card: ATI or Nvidia graphics card (512 MB video ram or better and Shader Model 3.0+ support). ATI Radeon 3870+ or Nvidia GeForce 8800GT+.
* Sound card: DirectX compatible sound card
* Hard drive: 10 GB available
Recommended System Requirements
* OS: Windows 7 64-bit
* Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
* RAM: 4 GB or greater
* Video card: ATI or Nvidia graphics card (1 GB video ram or better and Shader Model 3.0+ support). Nvidia GeForce GTX 560+ or ATI Radeon 6950+.
* Sound card: DirectX compatible sound card
* Hard drive: 10 GB free
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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SaucyRMD I played Tribes 2 immediatelly after obsessment with Counter-Strike dropped... it was a fun game, took forever to master all the weaponry. Jet Packs FTWReply -
CaedenV I hate all the 'realistic shooters' out there. They are not fun, they do not feel real, and I find them to be more stressful than anything else. I love games like Tribes1/2/A and UT2K4 where you just go 1000 miles an hour with 32 of your 'friends' and go nuts. Not the prettiest games out there (Ascend really looks like ut2k4 with better textures), but man are they a ton of fun to play. Even if you suck at it you at least get a good show of the ragdoll physics which can be pretty fun :)Reply -
beayn Reminds me of Quake 2 CTF where skill was required, not just spamming the map with grenades hoping to get lucky frags. I agree with caedenv. Realistic shooters are boring and clumsy. Give me something fast paced that takes practice!Reply -
gmcizzle T:A is a great game and the devs listen a ton to community feedback. I've been playing for a few months now and also started to play in the competitive scene. If you are a fan of UT/Quake or looking for a fun FPS to play that actually requires some skill you should definitely check it out...it is free after all!Reply -
Alberio Oddly enough, the sys spec requirements are too high. I can currently play 1366x768 on high with an intel Core Duo P7450 @2.13 and an NVIDIA GTX 260m. It's nice to know they heavily optimized the gameReply