[review] T:V's Single Player game

After finishing the Single Player game (or tutorial); I didnt hate it.. but I dont think i'll play it again. That made me kind of sad. I enjoy SP games, but this didnt grab me like some other SP FPS's (max payne, deus ex, thief, half-life, doom) did.

FIrstly, I'll just say I give Sierra/Irrational credit for trying to make a MP game into a SP game. But thats kind of the problem. T:V single player should have been its own entity. Much like Unreal and Unreal Tourneyment. T:V single player wasnt very 'epic'. The story is decent, but 1/2* the game is 'learn how to play". Maybe if I was new to tribes it would have seemed so obvious/preachy (at times, it was like what does this have to do with the story). If another SP game took the time to introduce me to the game that this did.. i think i'd find it just weird. That being said, the 'tutorials were actually nice/fun (yet made me sad that they had C&H, and what i thought was a better version of fuel, in the SP game).

As for the other 1/2* of the game (the story part), I felt IG did a good job with it, but I guess i was wanting something more. While most FPS are just kill kill kill (i dont have a problem with that), I was thought that there might be more to it. Being a single player game, the game could add elements that MP game couldnt. Add a puzzle game to 'hacking the system'. Or, have an inspace battle (with starships) or maybe a HERC scene. . Something to draw more upon the Starsiege Universe. SHAZBOT, maybe throw in a monster boss or something ;) . The look of the game was pretty cool, and the atmosphere (shadowing) I kept hoping for a monster to pop out and make me need to change my underwear . As running around inside bases made me feel like i was playing UT/Quake/whatever.

*NOTE: 1/2 =figure of speach, not actual play time (though it felt like it)

A question was put before me by a friend "why did they bother making a SP game?'". My answer was that not everyone wants to play multiplayer games on-line. So of possible buyers, that elimates them from buying straight off. But also, to introduce new players to the game. Though after playing the SP part, I'm not sure the full blown game will make someone more MP aware. There are 3 scenes (Julia's arena game, daniels arena, and the phoenix 'trial') that could have stood alone as tutorials (like T1/T2's did).

Obviously a lot of time had to go into the SP part of the game, and so the question is not so much "why bother?" as "was it worth while?" And while I give props to IG, i'd still have to say it was not. The SP game doesnt have the excitement/appeal as other FPSs. Sadly it doesnt have a lot of replay value. (After finishing the game it might have been nice for them to 'unlock' the chapters, so you could jump to the different tutorials if you wanted). Most people buying the game, I'd bet, are mainly wanting the MP game. Therefore, a lot of levels are wasted (and by that I mean; the structures wont likely be used by mapmakers for MP maps.) There are some items/elements in the SP that could be useful for people wanting to make C&H, F&R, D&D/seige, ball, or other game types... (assuming they know how to work the TVed, have 3dMax, and know how to script or in otherword do the job of a IG). So instead of having these gamestypes/maps ready to go out of box, the community has to wait for them.

No, please no monster battles, no scary people jumping around corners, no random killing etc...

The game rocked IMO.

single player and the manual is the result of hazing the junior devs

I personally think it's the other way around.

The concept of Tribes (being able to move in all dimensions) is fundamentally a single player concept. Certainly it attracted multiplayer enthusiasts, but obviously that's the case because SS: T was made solely as a multiplayer game.

If Tribes had originally been a serious attempt at a very good campaign, with the player as the god amongst ants (the player as one of the sole powered flying armor-wielding infantry) then I'm certain the roles would be reversed, and the idea of Tribes being a multiplayer game would be an oddity. ("How would you even balance that? It would be so frantic it wouldn't be worth playing.") That's why the series isn't attracting as many new people as it once did, IMO - because the concept has already been resolved, and there's nothing new to attract people to the game. SS:T fans who love their game may stick to it because there's nothing new to pull them to a sequel game. In story-driven sequels, most of the players buy the game not to see a slightly rehashed interpretation of their own game, but to see a story they've grown attached to.

eathseige through starseige were all single player campaigns. Then Tribes started with the MP only. But, you also kind of hit on my point. There is nothing new to draw in new players. Obvoiusly you cant stray to far from the original MP game. But the single player could tell a bigger story. that might bring in more players. maybe no giant monsters.. but i know a player or 2 that would have liked to have seen bioderms (in some form). The cybrid (as talked about in another post) is just lighty touched on , and new players might be like WTF is this? HERCs are definately part of the Tribes history so seeing them in some form wouldnt have been so shocking. anyways. just my interpretation ..

I agree with most of the original review there. I was really suprised with how much fun SP was, but then I was expecting zero.

When it was finished, I was pretty dissapointed. I expected another 10 hours or so. The SP portion is way too short to stand on it's own, and not really interesting enough.

One thing I really agree with is
Obviously a lot of time had to go into the SP part of the game, and so the question is not so much "why bother?" as "was it worth while?" And while I give props to IG, i'd still have to say it was not.

The time spent on it aside, how about the hard drive space???

4.5 gig installation folder, when the demo is ~250 megs. Take out the SP and I'm sure the retail T:V game is under a gig. The worst part of this is, I will never play the SP again, but that space is wasted.

That was the real let down from SP for me. When it was finished I was sitting watching the credits roll by, and was just :-|

There is no desire to play it again. No variables in the game or anything to add replayability. Now I bought T:V for the MP so I'm not going to complain, but again the point is was it worth it?