While there aren't a whole lot of people/servers, I actually have an easier time getting in a good action-packed server in T:V than I often do with UT2004 (why the hell doesn't UT show number of bots like they did in Tribes2?).
I originally liked the first two Tribes better... but this one has grown on me. The restictions they placed on the gameplay actually makes it more fun. Examples: the exclosed areas prevent idiots from wandering off into infinity. The lack of elaborate waypoint systems makes the the game faster and easier to get right in to. The three-gun limit means you can access any weapon instantly with your mouse wheel.
And the grappling hook totally kicks ass. I think it surpasses the HL2 gravity gun as the coolest game-gadget ever. The tricks you can pull off with it... dang...
I'll often use it to grapple a tree, swing behind a pursuer, instantaneously switch to disc launcher, lob a nade and a disc a quarter-of-a-second later, then switch back to the hook and release going in my prefered direction... all in one smooth motion... leaving behind a dazed and confused corpse.
The stuff I've pulled off in T:V has often made me holler out loud.