Vivendi Universal Games Tribes: Vengeance, the next installment in the world-renowned and award-winning Tribes videogame series. Due in late 2004 only for PCs, the game is being developed by Irrational Games, known for some of the game industry’s most respected and revered titles, including System Shock 2 and Freedom Force.

“One of the goals for Tribes: Vengeance is to take single-player story telling to the next level,” said Philip O’Neil, VU Games’ SVP of Sales & Marketing. “We want to immerse the gamer in the story similar to the way a blockbuster film pulls you in. Our challenge to Irrational Games was to create a game that grabs hold of the player and never lets go, and they have risen to the task.”

In Tribes: Vengeance’s single-player campaign, gamers become immersed in a roiling galactic thriller. Throughout the game, the player catches glimpses of other, interrelated stories that are unfolding behind-the-scenes. In addition, gamers are given the opportunity to experience the full scope of the single-player story through multiple viewpoints and characters. Powered by an enhanced version of the Unreal Engine, the world is brought to life with characters that have facial expressions and fully-realized personalities, vehicles that kick up dust as they pass by, and weapons that display spectacular 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 anyone has ever seen in a videogame,” said Ken Levine, general manager of Irrational Games.

Tribes: Vengeance will also build upon the series’ legendary online multiplayer action. Irrational Games has hired one of the Tribes community’s leading developers, Michael “KineticPoet” Johnston, to head up the design and creation of the game’s multiplayer component. Johnston previously created Team Rabbit 2, a major Sierra-commissioned game modification for Tribes 2 that was included in the game’s commercial re-release in late 2002. “Being involved in the design and execution of Tribes: Vengeance is a dream come true,” said Johnston. “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.”