More Tribes goodness on the way!

Gamespot Australia Previews TRIBES Vengeance with a look at the next installment in the online teamplay shooter series. In addition to a look at the game, the article also offers a Q&A with Michael Johnson and Alex "Marweas" Rodberg on the game, which includes a status report on how the project is progressing, saying "Tribes: Vengeance is about 65 percent complete, which means we're on target for a release in Q4 2004." Here's another bit, describing the game's new weapon:

The first new weapon we're announcing is tentatively called a rocket pod. It fires a cluster of spiralling rockets that constantly move in the direction you're aiming, which lets you control them while they're in the air. Tribes 2 had a missile launcher, but it was an auto-aim weapon that we didn't really like. The rocket pod is a replacement for that weapon. It's designed to be particularly effective against larger targets, such as vehicles, because you can potentially hit them with every rocket in the cluster. It can be used against players, too, but you might end up hitting them with only a few rockets.

Currently, the rocket pod is a bit tricky to use. We're exploring ways of making it fun while ensuring it remains a skill-based weapon. I should mention that, unlike Tribes 2, Tribes: Vengeance doesn't have flares to counter rockets. Your only defence is to be aware and dodge accordingly.