The Tribes series arguably helped define team-based shooters. While many first-person shooters put a weapon in your hand and let you run through environments so that you can shoot at anything hostile, team-based shooters emphasize teamwork and coordination in the accomplishment of goals, such as those of capturing enemy flags or seizing and holding important territories. Starsiege: Tribes was one of the first games to place heavy emphasis on teamwork, and its innovative gameplay, which involved playing as one of three different kinds of futuristic soldiers (armed with a jetpack for limited flight), earned a loyal fan following that still plays the game to this day. However, Vivendi Universal Games and members of the original Tribes team, along with Irrational Games, are now hard at work on the next game in the series, Tribes: Vengeance.

Tribes: Vengeance will have a single-player game with complex characters and an all-new story.

While the previous Tribes games focused solely on online multiplayer play, the new game will actually have a complex single-player story that chronicles a power struggle between three major factions of soldiers: the Imperials, the Blood Eagles, and the Phoenix. Interestingly, the single-player game will switch between different characters in different points in time. So in one mission, for example, you may play one character as an adult, and then you'll flash back to another sequence to play that character as a child. Then you'll switch to an entirely new character. This narrative method will switch you between characters that use different types of armor and weapons, so it should familiarize you enough with the game to prepare you for multiplayer. However, it's also intended to bring you closer to each character, rather than having you play as only one character and then meeting up with the others just a few times. Producer Chris Mahnken reveals Tribes: Vengeance's cast of characters for the first time in this updated interview.

GameSpot: Thanks for sitting down with us, Chris. Could you tell us about the major characters of Tribes: Vengeance? Which ones will you be able to play as?

Chris Mahnken: We have 10 new characters to reveal.

General Albrecht

General Albrecht has trained Julia from a young age and keeps her out of trouble as much as is possible. His position in the empire's military is vague, as he is actually a mercenary, but he frequently joins Julia on missions and has been chief advisor to the Empire for many years.

Daniel

Daniel is the popular "political" leader of the Phoenix. He's a good fighter, if a bit brash. He wants better things for his tribe, and he's willing to take what he sees as reasonable risks to attain them. You will be able to play as Daniel.

Esther

Esther is the religious leader of the Phoenix. She is both their soul and their conscience. Like all Phoenix, she can fight if the need arises, but she would rather think her way out of a problem, if possible.

Julia

Julia is heir to the Imperial throne and is fully trained in the arts of combat. She is driven by her own inner demons to defeat the various tribal factions. She is also the number one player in the coliseum battle-sports that are played within the empire. You will be able to play as Julia (both as an adult and at the age of five).

General Jericho

General Jericho is the military leader of the Phoenix. He's not interested in politics or religion. He sees both the Empire and the Blood Eagle tribe as grave threats to the safety of the Phoenix, and he will do anything to protect his people from these threats. He is the older brother of Daniel. You will be able to play as Jericho.

Mercury

Mercury is an assassin. You will be able play as Mercury.

Olivia

Olivia is the oldest daughter of the emperor. She was gravely injured as a child and has some illegal cybernetic implants that were used to save her life. As a result, she was removed from the chain of succession. She advises her father well and later performs the same role for her sister, Victoria, and her niece, Julia.

Seti

Seti is a Blood Eagle warlord. He liked to pull the wings off of bugs as a child.

Tiberius

Tiberius is the emperor. He is very formal and is a good businessman, but he's not a military leader. Under his reign, the economy runs well for the empire (and poorly for the tribes), and political intrigue runs rampant.

Victoria

Princess Victoria is the youngest daughter of the emperor and is heir to the throne. She is a bit spoiled but is very bright. You will be able to play as Victoria.