| Tribes 2 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) | Dynamix |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Director(s) | David Georgeson |
| Producer(s) | David Georgeson |
| Designer(s) | Eric Lanz, David Meddish, Jesse Russell |
| Writer(s) | Robert Kraft |
| Lead Programmer(s) | Mark Frohnmayer |
| Lead Artist(s) | Craig Maitlen |
| Composer(s) | Timothy Steven Clarke |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Linux |
| Release(s) | March 29, 2001: North America April 13, 2001: Europe April 19, 2001: Linux |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Tribes 2 is a first-person shooter multiplayer game developed by Dynamix and it was first published by Sierra On-Line on March 29, 2001 for Windows in North America, with the PAL region receiving the game on April 13, 2001. The Linux version by Loki Entertainment was released six days later. Part of the Metaltech universe, Tribes 2 is the sequel to Starsiege: Tribes and it would be the last game in the Tribes series to be made by Dynamix before shutting down on August 14, 2001.
Plot
Set in the Earthsiege universe in the year 3941, players take the roles of soldiers in one of many factions (referred to as tribes in the game): The Children of the Phoenix, the Blood Eagle, the Diamond Sword, and the Starwolf. Players can also opt to play as the BioDerms, a rebellious human-created soldier/worker species. While none of the factions differ in terms of strengths or weaknesses, each have their own appearances and backstory.
Gameplay
Tribes 2 is a team based multiplayer game that can be played on the Internet or over a local network with up to 128 people (64 against 64) or bots. With options to use either first-person or third-person perspectives, there's also a short single-player tutorial mode that teaches player the controls and rules to the games. Each match takes place on a map inspired by the Earthsiege series. Tribes 2's engine is based on an early version of the Torque Game Engine, which was used to create large maps for indoor and outdoor environments. The player can navigate around the battlefield on foot, with a jet pack, or as a pilot, co-pilot, or passenger in numerous ground and flying vehicles.
Each match is played according to one of many game types, each of which has its own set of rules for Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Rabbit, Arena, Hunters, Siege, Gauntlet, and Bounty. Players can choose their own role and deploy a wide range of weapons, vehicles, and emplacements. Many of these devices may be left unattended to run on their own, or players can take control. Each player can also select among three armor kinds: weak but quick, strong but slow, or middle. There's also weapon and equipment loadouts that can be changed at any moment throughout the game.
From straight battle to stealth, the enormous variety of equipment and deployable objects allows players a wide range of creative play and approaches. There's plenty of jet pack-powered flying that adds vertical aspects to fighting, as well as a skiing action to slide down slopes. Playing styles can vary greatly for each player and from one instant to the next.
Credits
Staff Roll
|
Linux Credits
- Linux Version: Loki Software Inc.
- President: Scott Draeker
- Programming: Sam Lantinga, Joseph I. Valenzuela, Michael Vance
- Installer: Sam Lantinga, Stéphane Peter
- Q/A and Support: Andy Mecham, Mike Phillips
- System Support: Rafael Barrero
- Editor: Kayt Sorhaindo
- Graphic Artist: Jason Kim
- Business Manager: Yvonne De Sollar
- Customer Support: Brandon Carter
- Beta Testers: James Atwill, Brandon Beattie, Fionn Behrens, Jonathan Bowser, Patrick Calhoun, Wayne Chang, Nash Clemens, Mike Delaney, Matthew Eaton, Rodney Gordon II, Pavan Gupta, Christopher Hahn, John Hall, Jesse Hanna, Steven Hatfield, David Hedbor, Matt Helsley, Simon Hill, Gareth Hughes, Zephaniah Hull, Guy Hutchinson, Joshua Kleiner, Geoff Lewis, Jason Lundy, Gregory McLean, Patrick McNeill, Jeff Mrochuk, Patrick Mullen, Prof Dr. nao, Jody Newell, Bob O'Brien, Kyle Olsen, John Osborne, Chris Osgood, Jon Revie, Michael Ritner, Aron Rosenberg, Yuri Sagalov, Marinus Schraal, SKILL5, Ryan Stotts, Dan Temple, Terry Warner, Chris Watkins, Michael Whitten
Reception
Tribes 2 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Kevin Rice of NextGen said of the game, "It's not terribly friendly toward newbies, and the system requirements are stiff, but wow... There's nothing else this incredibly good for team-based multiplayer mayhem."[1]
The game was a success commercially. Dynamix's Dave Georgeson stated that sales had topped 200,000 units and were continuously increasing at the time of the company's collapse in November 2001.[2] According to PC Data, sales in North America alone reached 245,069 units by the end of 2001. This generated $9.7 million in revenue.[3] Edge declared it the 70th best-selling computer game in the United States from January 2000 and August 2006, with total sales of all Tribes computer games released between those dates topping to 480,000 units in the United States.[4]
External Links
- Legacy - The Junkyard, Tribes 2
- Sierra Help, Tribes 2 Manual
- Sierra Chest, Tribes 2
- Moby Games, Tribes 2
- GameFAQs, Tribes 2
- Steam Games, Tribes 2
- Strategy wiki, Tribes 2
- Wayback Machine, Tribes Universe
References
- ↑ Internet Archive, "Tribes 2". Next Generation, Issue #79, pg. 87, July 2001
- ↑ "Dynamix: End of a Dynasty", Computer Gaming World, Issue #208, pg. 40, November 2001
- ↑ Wayback Machine, "Markel Forum on Children and Media (N.A. PC Data PC Titles 2001)", New York University, pg. 14, January 31, 2002
- ↑ Wayback Machine, Edge Online, "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century (Page 4)", August 25, 2006