Tribes: Vengeance unveiled

At a press event today, Vivendi Universal Games revealed that a new Tribes game is in the works. Tribes: Vengeance is in development at Irrational Games, the creators of System Shock 2 and Freedom Force, and it will feature a story-driven single-player campaign in addition to an enhanced multiplayer component. The game's story is said to put players in the middle of a "roiling galactic thriller," and they will experience it from multiple viewpoints and see glimpses of interrelated story threads unfolding behind the scenes.

Tribes: Vengeance will be powered by an enhanced version of the Unreal engine. The game's visuals will include realistic facial expressions, vehicles that kick up dust, and vivid weapon effects.

"Our plan is to not only enhance the multiplayer component of Tribes, but to also blow people away with a single-player story unlike anything ever seen in a video game," said Ken Levine, general manager of Irrational Games.

The game will also build on the multiplayer gameplay that the Tribes series is known for. To help with the multiplayer design, Irrational Games has hired Michael "KineticPoet" Johnston, an established developer in the Tribes community and the author of the Team Rabbit 2 mod that Sierra commissioned for Tribes 2's rerelease in late 2002.

"Being involved in the design and execution of Tribes: Vengeance is a dream come true," Johnston said. "In the coming months we will be actively working with the Tribes online community to make sure they get the multiplayer game they've always wanted."

Tribes: Vengeance is schedule for release in late 2004 and will appear only on the PC. We'll have more details on the game as they become available. In the meantime, check out the first images of the game.