Tribes: Ascend slaloms its way to the public

In case you were wondering, Hi-Rez Studios’ Tribes: Ascend has now been officially released to the general public.

The PC only title is entirely free-to-play with all gameplay-oriented content being available free of charge. However, impatient users can make use of meat-space dollars to purchase in-game gold to quickly unlock classes and weapons as well as exclusive cosmetic skins. Players that make any minimal purchase with real money are given access to a lifetime ‘VIP Status’ which provides a 50% bonus to experience in every match.

Right now, Tribes: Ascend features 16 playable maps, nine character classes and five game modes including such originals as capture the flag, deathmatch and team deathmatch.

While I haven’t gotten around to playing the game myself, it’s been described to me as “Tiny Wings meets Unreal Tournament” thanks to the ability to ski down cliffs and hop around using jetpacks as well as its incredibly fast, frenetic action. Also possibly because the game (unsurprisingly) runs in Unreal Engine 3.

If you’re not sure if Tribes: Ascend is right for you, you can always check out Mike’s preview from PAX East right here. And, you know, it’s free. So what do you have to lose other than your equilibrium?