Tribes: Aerial Assault

Tribes: Aerial Assault is a science fiction FPS and a spin-off to the popular Tribes series of online PC shooters. Unlike the full-fledged installments of the series created by Dynamix, the console edition of the game is the work of Inevitable Entertainment, founded by former employees of Acclaim. Although the game is based heavily on its direct predecessor Tribes 2, this is not a normal port, but a production prepared specifically for console players.

Plot

The action takes place five years after the events shown in Tribes 2, i.e. in 3945. Although the invasion of the barbaric BioDerm has been stopped, the rebels do not intend to lay down their weapons so easily and launch another attack - this time somewhere on the fringe of human-controlled space. During the game we play the role of the newly recruited soldier J. Ransom, who, after undergoing appropriate training, takes part subsequent missions, the stake of which are not only the interests of his own faction, but above all the welfare of all humanity.

Mechanics

Like the two previous games in the Tribes series, Aerial Assault focuses on multiplayer, being one of the first games to use the PlayStation 2 Network Adapter. Up to 16 players can take part in the game, and it is also possible to play two games (offline and online) on one console. In addition to typical gameplay modes such as Capture the Flag, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, players are also provided with the Assault mode (where two teams alternately attack or defend a fortified base) and Hunted mode (a kind of "all on one" game). Unlike the PC games in the series, console players have also received something like a single player campaign, which is a combination of different elements of online gameplay, in which the players' roles are taken over by the bots.

Tribes: Aerial Assault offers also a large number of changes in terms of mechanics, mainly due to different target platform and the preferences of console players. Compared to the original PC, the game has become much faster and more dynamic. Vehicle speed and weapon speed have been increased, but in return both conventional weapons and shooting towers deal much less damage. The time of operation of jetpacks has been extended and their strength has been increased, so that we can use them over much longer distances. In order to make the gamepad control a little easier, a special, three-stage auto-aiming system was put at the disposal of players.

Last updated on March 1, 2020