It is 2014 and the following TurboCharged Tribes2 Game is still revered and being PLAYED!!

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Addictive Squad-Based Game of the Year, May 12, 2001

You engage your cloaking pack and walk right past the enemy base defenders; unnoticed. You make your way to the enemy flag, which is guarded by 2 heavy-armored defenders. You whip out your close range shocklance and electrocute the defenders. You nab the flag and make it back to your base and score! This is just one of the many complex and varied strategies and tactics available to you in this game.
Do you like to be a defender? Setting up base turrets and sensors and waiting for enemies to come by only to be ripped to shreds by your strategically placed turrets is the job for you.
Or are you an attacker? Flying deep into enemy territory and raiding the defense, trying to weaken them as much as possible with the help of a teammate waiting not far off with a ride home for you to escape with.
Perhaps you like the stealthy approach due to your Counterstrike skills. No problem. Slap on a cloak pack and a shocklance and you can go wreak havoc on unsuspecting enemies.
Maybe your a good pilot thanks to your flight sim practice. You can fly 1 of 6 awesome vehicles. The Havoc, for example, allows you to carry 4 passengers, and a tailgunner, totalling 6 people in one vehicle. You can then unload this heavy firepower-packing group right by the enemies base for an all out offensive.
Such teamplay is necessary to succeed in Tribes 2.
The graphics engine is able to render uber-huge, neverending enviroments in real time. Seamless transitions from indoor and outdoor make for realistic and intense gameplay. The weapons and packs allow for a seemingly endless amount of tactics. This game, to put it simply, rocks. =)
Graphics and gameplay aside, there is one thing that seems to get on everyones nerves- frames per second.
Dynamix made a wonderfully gorgeous engine, but it runs like a snail on all but the top end systems. There are exeptions, but I’n not going to lie to you- you really need a serious computer to run this at good detail levels. I have a P4, GF2 Ultra, and 256MB RDRAM. I get an average of 40fps at maximum detail. I’m lucky.
I would reccomend a P3 or Athlon running at 700MHz or more, 128 megs of Ram, and any GeForce2 video card. You’ll be fine with that. Anything less and you’ll need to lower the settings and resolution a lot to even get playable frame rates.
But if you’ve got the juice, get the game. It’s one of the most addictive and immersive games you may ever own. It redefines online teamplay. It is one of the few first person shooters that require brainpower.
You owe it to yourself as a gamer to have this work of art on your hard drive.
🙂

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great game; great improvements!, July 24, 2001

This is the best game I have! I had the original, and I thought it would be hard the beat the gameplay, but Tribes 2 delivers.
The game runs great. I have a 650Mhz, VooDoo 3 w/ 16MB vram, & 128MB sdram, and it runs smoothly. It’s true you can’t have all the settings cranked without a killer machine, but setting texture detail at 80% keeps everything fast and still good looking. You’ll be much too busy keeping the enemy at bay to notice any graphic problems. My only recomendation is to have a fast conection to the net. My 56K allows me to play, but you get killed quickly when the server starts lagging. A fast connection gives you an easy advantage. I was online playing after only 20 minutes. I only had to download about 3MB of patches before I was ready.
Gameplay is also much better. It is even easier to communicate with your team. I can tell my teammates when I destroy a turret or a generator, or ask for a tailgunner for my bomber. The best improvement overall is inventory handling. No longer can people clog a station for an hour picking guns. You pick before stepping up and the arming up takes only a second. You also get 20 favorites by name. There are more guns, more packs, and more vehicles.
Sadly there is one downside: If you, like me, have a VooDoo card, you are forced to used OpenGL or D3D drivers instead of the fast, accurate Glide driver. Tribes 2 does not use Glide like the original. That is the only problem I have found with this game. Buying this game is still highly recommended. If you want a great game for multiplayer action, buy this game!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A flawed, but fun experience, July 8, 2001

This game, Tribes 2, if far better than the original. Unfortunately you need a powerful PC to run it at decent framerates.
If you’ve played the original, than the interface should be quite familiar and easy to get into. What differs is the single player. The original only had training. T2 is VIRTUALLY the same thing. There are 5 ‘campaign’ maps (which are essentially training) and the ability to play against bots. The problem with the bots is the fact that they can range from incredibly smart to incredibly stupid. If you like bot matches, get Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament.
Online-wise, this game is the champion. It is fun, but it still boils down to one thing: you need a powerful PC. When the screen is loaded with explosions, flying equipment, and players, your system will be put to the test. Slowdown is almost inevitable (unless you’ve got a good 64MB video card).
Pros: Better than the original Easy to get into Addictive
Cons: High system requirements
Pitiful single player Broadband internet connection almost a must-have.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This game is outstanding!!, April 12, 2001

By A Customer

After reading the T2 forums and looking over the reviews here, I have to add in my 2 cents worth. This game is excellent.
On a Thunderbird 1.1Ghz, 256MB PC133, GeForce2Ultra 64MB DDR, SB Live running Win 98SE, connected via a cable hookup, I have flawless framerates, with 1024×768 res, 32bit, everything maxed.
If you have a gripe about game play or lack of teamwork, join another server, there are only, what, 700+ of them. Or join a clan/tribe and develop teamwork skills. Compared to the first-erson shooters I’ve played before (Unreal, Q3), this is head and shoulders above them. Yeah the weapons aren’t BFGs and they don’t have unlimited ammo caches all over the freaking place, but hey, take the good with the bad. IF you’re a good gamer, that’s not gonna be a problem.
The learning curve is VERY steep however, so do a lot of training sims until you get the hang of piloting vehicles (anti-grav vehicles that is, make sure you understand how inertia and vectoring works) and learn your keyboard layout. Above all, remember it’s just a game, if you find yourself getting stressed, turn it off and try again later when you’ve cooled off.
IMHO, this is one of the better games I’ve gotten in a long time, it’s refreshingly different and challenging enough that I won’t get tired of it too quickly.
Plus it just kicks … to pick someone off at several hundred meters with a laser and not get in trouble for it :).

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars TRIBES 2 is an absolutely spectatular game, July 28, 2001

TRIBES 2 is an awesome online multiplayer 3D-shooter game, and is the sequel to the smash-hit 1999 game, Tribes [1]. I have been playing Tribes 2 since the day it after it came out, and its a blast to play. There are many different game-types to play, and I have them listed with a description a little farther down.
Tribes 2 features 10 weapons, two of which are new to the game (the shocklance, which is a close-quarters melee weapon, and the missle launcher, which lets you lock onto a target and fire a target-homing missle at it/them), the rest are the original weapons from Tribes. That may sound lame, but Dynamix (the creators) wanted to keep the gameplay level relatively the same, but bring updated graphics and new community features to the game. Also in the game are 6 vehicles, and are EXTREMELY fun to play around with. They add a new level of gameplay to the game, especially the bomber. Games in Tribes 2 feel more like a battlefield than what you would find in something like Quake 3, especially since the majority of the maps are outside. The game supposedly was to include a single player mode, but it does not, unless you count the single player training, which is only training for when you actually play online. You will need atleast a 56k modem to play properly, although broadband is better – you can be a LPB. 😉
Joining and creating a tribe (aka, a clan, guild, ect) is now official business in Tribes 2. One of the community features is the ability to create a tribe. You click a button, and can type in information (like what you want your tribes’ name to be, or what you want your “tag” to be), and your Tribe is created. Or, you can be recruited to a tribe. Since the game has a built in mail system (called Tmail, which means Tribes-mail), you can send a recruitment message to somebody, and they can either accept it or reject it. Your tribes tag appears in your name (such as H^H, or -A-), and will appear yellow.
When Tribes 2 was released, many people complained that the game ran terribly and that it was full of bugs. That was somewhat true, but they have fixed all those issues. The game will still require a speedy computer to run comfortably. Despite what the box says, a Voodoo3 or TNT2 and a 600 MHz CPU is highly recommended for optimum playibility.
In the game, you can either be human, or a new orkish-like race alled Bioderms. Like in the original Tribes, you have three armor sizes: Scout (light), Assault (medium), and Juggernaut (heavy).
The game has multiple modes to play, some are team-based, some aren’t. First up, the team-based game types:
Capture the flag: By far the most popular, in CTF the goal is to grab the enemy flag, and bring it back to your own base, and “capture” it by touching your teams own flag with it. Capturing the flag scores your team 100 points, but just touching the flag will get your team 1 point, which means you don’t need to cap the flag to win.
Capture and Hold: In CTH, there are a number of bases, towers, or command posts, where teams have to ‘capture and hold’. The longer you hold them, the more points your team gets. The winner is the team with the most points by the end of the game.
Siege: In Siege there are two teams, and two bases. When the game first starts, one team is defending their base, while the other team is attacking. The team that is attacking has to, effectively, capture the other teams base by touching the switch. Then, the teams switch, and the other team (which was defending), is now the attacking team, and has to capture back their base faster than the other team did it. If no team captures, the game is a tie. Sound confusing? It really isn’t, and its highly enjoyable.
Team Hunters: Just like Hunters [See below], except you play in teams. When you return flags to the Nexus, the points count towards your teams score. The team with the most points wins.
And now for the non-team game types:
Deathmatch: Pretty simple, its basicly a free-for-all. Every person is for themselves. But instead of simply getting the most kills, you also have to becareful that you don’t get killed. The winner is the player with the best kill:death ratio.
Hunters: Like Deathmatch, except when you kill a player they will drop a flag. You pick up the flag, and you carry it with you. You score by walking over the “Nexus”. The more flags you have the more points you get. The player with the most points at the end wins, but kills do not count torwards your score. If you kill a player who has atleast one flag, they will drop them all.
Rabbit: In Rabbit, there is one flag which is at a central location. When the game starts, everyone runs and trys to get the flag. The player who has the flag becomes the “rabbit” and is chased by all the other players, who are trying to kill him. The longer he has the flag, the more points he gets. When/if he is killed, the flag is dropped and anyone else can get the flag and become the “rabbit”. Player with the most points wins.
Overall, TRIBES 2 is great fun and I recommend you checking it out. Pardon the long review, but I just had to list all the gameplay types (just so you know that it isn’t only Deathmatch, or only CTF, ect). Hope this helps.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For best results, get your friends hooked with you, June 8, 2001

By A Customer

Tribes 2 is an amazing game with a lot of depth. The range of things you can do – fight mano-a-mano, pilot a fighter, pilot a bomber, drive a tank, take remote control of turrets, etc – means that you’ll never run out of new things to try. Get a few buddies hooked so you can try some coordinated tactics and great fun can be had.
As far as the system requirements, I didn’t have any problem on my “relatively” low end system – a Celeron 333 with 256M of RAM and a TNT2 card. Had to keep the graphics settings a little low, but it was definitely playable.
Recently upgraded to a PIII – 700 and a Radeon video card, and the graphics are fantastic with most of the settings cranked up.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practice makes perfect., May 22, 2002

As a long time player of Tribes 2, I would like to put in a few modern updates for this wonderful game.
There has yet to be a game which rivals the sheer scale of this game, all with impressive graphics and, yes, “seamless joining of indoor settings with outdoor settings.” It becomes second nature to go into a building to load out your persona with weapons and armor, and you simply do not notice the difference. No frame rate jumps, no sharp changes in the look of the game, nothing. With distance between bases ranging from a mere half kilometer to over several kilometers, the game allows for incredible expanses and different styles of gameplay.
With three armor types, ten weapons (and only 3-5 weapon slots depending on your armor), numerous backpacks, grenades, etc. the role you decide to play in the game is completely up to you. From the rocket fast capper who flashes in and out of a base at over 120kph (about 60 mph for us americans) to the heavy tank who deploys automated defenses and then picks off players with the mortar, everything is up to you. Snipers, infiltrators, farmers, defenders, cappers, decoys, bombadeers, pilots, tailgunners, midfield defenders… the choices are nearly endless. As you practice, you will find yourself making your way through the ranks, becoming one of the elite.
Which brings me to my biggest point. Practice really does make perfect with this game. Cheaters are few and far between, as there are no “aimbot” scripts possible with the Tribes 2 game engine. True skill shines through here, with very few one hit kills available to any player. Cheaters have ruined many other games, using scripts and other devices to make the game totally unenjoyable to the average player. This is not so with Tribes 2. The person who always seems to make the incredible shots is the same person who spends his days and nights practicing these shots. This means anyone can do it.
Finally, I would like to tip my hat to the Tribes 2 community. Tribes 2 is hugely customizable, allowing for thousands of custom maps, and support scripts (or totally different games based off of Tribes 2) available. Some of these make the game incredibly fun, and with a new update to the game coming, you can easily expect this game to continue with it’s popularity for years to come.
Pick up this game. You will not be disappointed, and remember: Practice does make perfect.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better then the original…, May 31, 2001

The two main criticisms of the game are this:
1. You need a killer machine to play it. True. But if you do got a fairly good machine(Maybe around 800 mhz or higher, Geforce 2, etc) then it rocks.
2. Its too much like the original. While this game adds a ton of stuff and innovates, at its base it is somewhat similar to the original. But thats fine with me-I love the original, and there is still plenty of new stuff here to make it worth buying.
That aside, this game rocks. It takes a few days to get used to if you didn’t play the original, but you can practice some offline, and for people who played Tribes 1 its easy to pick up. This game has a lot of variety- You can play it 1000 times and never have the same game. There are about 64 maps in box, and many more are playable(Most are server side, you don’t even need to download). I can snipe from a ridge, cloak and sneak into their base, or put on heavy armor and a shielf pack and mortar them. I can man turrets, pilot vehicles, or set in at base and give orders. And there are already many modifications to make sure the game doesn’t get old. And there are many kinds of play, from the standard Deathmatch and Capture the Flag to the original Rabbit, Bounty, Siege, and Capture and Hold modes, plus Hunters, Team Hunters, and more. Its beautiful,too, with rolling landscapes and eyepopping special effects. The maps also don’t have a limit-they go on forever. The built in community features work great-I can chat, post in forums, browse Tribes sites, read news, and send and recieve e-mail all without having to leave the game. All in all, this is definitly worth a buy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone…, November 6, 2002

Tribes 2 has been around for about 2 years as I write this, and is still going strong with an active player community. It has survived despite competition from more well-known games and despite the closure of the Dynamix division at Sierra which originally produed the game. Why?
Tribes 2 (the sequel to a previous Tribes game) is a first-person shooter (FPS). Using accelerated 3D graphics, the game is visually stunning, with large outdoor areas and detailed texturing. Tribes 2 is designed specifically for team-based multiplayer games. Many people have complained of the lack of a true single-player campaign (there are 5 training missions included) but purchasers will need to be aware that the game is not meant to be played alone.
While most Tribes 2 games are a form of Capture the Flag, there are several other game types included that change the rules of traditional play. Despite what I have seen written in some of the other reviews here, I should point out that there is an active mod and mapping community churning out new content for this game to keep things fresh and interesting.
Tribes 2 caters to players of almost every ability. By allowing players to choose from various armor and weapon types, players who may be turned off from standard “twitch” games have a home with this game. Even if you have a slower computer, or Internet connection, or even slower reflexes, you can play a useful role in a Tribes 2 team as a defender, repair man, etc.
While there have been issues with various video cards and drivers, and a few maps which really stress the frame rates, Sierra recently put out a massive patch for the game which is the culmination of nearly a year of testing. The new patch resolves nearly all the frame rate issues (within reason) and adds a ton of new maps and several new game types. They are even re-releasing the game in a jewel-case edition which should be available by now. Note that it is imperative that playrs actually purchase the game for Internet play as VALID CD KEYS are required for creating an account with Sierra. The new price is a steal, as the new Jewel-case edition includes all the latest fixes, and there are NO montly charges for play other than your normal Internet connection fees.
Tribes 2 gives the user a lot of options for tuning to accomodate slower computers and network connections. Sliders and option boxes for a huge number of features allow users to downgrade the graphic detail and special effects where necessary, and tune the networking code to accomodate for bandwidths from 56k dialup all the way up to LAN speeds. I personally have been playing for nearly two years on a dialup connection, and although I am looking forward to having DSL soon I have been able to enjoy the game despite my “laggy” connection.
While the game is somewhat violent, there is no blood and gore displayed which makes the game somewhat more palatable for younger players. Flying, running, shooting, and blowing up all sorts of equipment is great fun in this game, with marvelous sound and graphics. The “third dimension” of being able to fly (all players carry jetpacks as well as having optional vehicles on some maps) also makes this game pretty much unique among shooters.
Wrapping up, let me say that I think this is one of the best games to appear in several years. Atretail price, this is now a fantastic value.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pay attention to requirements and keep up on driver updates., April 9, 2001

Having read all the previous reviews I was very apprehensive about purchasing the game. I have a PII 350 with 256M of Ram, GeForce Video Card, and a 56K modem. I was very concerned that my system was up to the task. On initial install the updates were run on the system. After the updates are run, make sure you read and do the following: search your entire hard drive for any files containing a file extension of .dso and delete them. They are compiled using the original code and do not take into account the new updates. Once deleted, you will run the game and it will compile using the updates. This is very important.
I run the game and the OpenGL version kept giving me memory errors and I had to use the DirectX play only. I was very disappointed. Playing online, I had to reduce the graphics detail so much I was playing against nothing but gray blobs. Very disappointed. I then noticed there is a file on the CD called something like glsetup.exe. This file is a program that does auto updates of your OpenGL drivers. You can get the file from … DO THIS IF YOU WANT THE GAME TO NOT … After the updates, the game played better than I had hoped. I can run the game on the best graphics with the most detail (using OpenGL where before it would crash) over a 56K modem. I get some slight lag but nothing like I did on the previous attempts.
You can make this game work if you pay attention to the recommendations and UPDATE YOUR OPENGL DRIVERS!