Tribes: Ascent aka Tribes: WTF happened to my inventory station?!

I got to spend a good bit of time with Tribes:Ascend this weekend and I've got to say.... awesome!  This game is insanely fun.  I really hope that in the coming months that they put it together just right and make the Tribes community very happy.

The game is very engaging and a whole lot of fun.  That doesn't mean that it isn't without faults.  There were some random bugs and issues, but nothing major.  The overall experience was really very good.  The jetpacks felt natural and even though skiing is again a "feature", they didn't make it feel super cheesy.  The feel of the game is very much the same as Tribes 2 (which was my favorite), but without some of the customization... I'm not sure how much I will truly enjoy it.

There were only two maps available for play.  They were actually fun, but got very boring very quickly.  I am used to large and more open maps, both of these were kind of small and compact.  That doesn't make them any less good, it just doesn't give them quite the same feel as the older games.  The first thing I did on both maps was find the generator and flag stand and then find the best spot for turrets.  Then, I got to work.  I have always been a defender or a chase.  Since there isn't a good loadout for me to chase with, I decided to sit around and defend.  The layout of the bases are pretty much what you would expect from a game in the Tribes franchise.  Nothing super amazing, but still well put together.  There are multiple ways to approach both (the gens and flag), which makes defending and attacking much like a chess match.  You have to be able to see your opposition making multiple moves before they do it.

The loadouts were an extreme disappointment for me.  I won't go into full detail, but I just couldn't find loadouts that made sense with my playstyle.  I understand that not everyone plays like me, but surely that level of customization should be there in the Tribes games.  Even in the shitsuck that was Vengeance you had custom loadouts.  Sad panda.

HOWEVER, my only issue being with the loadouts and the game being MONTHS away from launch...  That means that this game is pretty fucking good.  I am really enjoying the game and to be honest, I've played this more than BF3 since I got my video card back.  BF3 being a triple-A title with huge hype behind it AND it's losing my attention to a game in closed beta by a pretty mediocre developer, what does that say?