I was being sarcastic with the specs I listed, With maybe the exception of the Radeon.
You have to realize though.. This isn't the same DEV team.. And these people unlike Sierra, spent more time playing Tribes than T2, because it is blantly that Tribes is much better.
Half-Life 2 has just as good, if not better graphics than T:V. Don't kid yourself thinking they are trying to hide something with them. Games of this day and age need graphics, or they just won't sell.
As for the single player.. Though they say it has a really nice story, it will also teach you some of the skills you will need to develope for online play..
Remember, the game won't handle like Tribes and T2. Not with new netcode, and a smoother engine. That however, doesn't mean that it still won't have the classic Tribes feel to it.