Tron 2.0

The Good
Seems nostalgia works much better than originality these days to sell games, but that's ok, as I have no problem revisiting any of the coolest stuff from our childhood updated for the current times. Tron escaped me however, as I think I was a couple of years too late to catch on the Tron craze (actually... was there ever a Tron "craze"?) anyway, the point is that while interested I wasn't exactly weak at the knees when I heard about Tron 2.0, however the end result by far exceeded my expectations providing one of the more enjoyable fps experiences I've had in recent memory.

The concept is based as a sequel of sorts to the movie, with the action taking place years after the events of Tron. You take the role of the son of Tron's protagonist (I'll be damned if I remember his name) as he annoys his father (now a big-ass technician in the company) by being a "cool-nerd" videogame posterboy just like you saw in magazines like PCXL... Anyway, this wouldn't be a Tron game unless you didn't get zapped into a computer, and that's exactly what happens. Suddenly you become a digital rambo (just look at the box cover) and have to fight your way in the trippy neon world of Tron.

However Tron isn't your average generic fps, a lot of thought was placed in the development of a substantially engrossing rpg angle which governs your abilities and skills in the game. Basically you are a program, right? So you can upgrade yourself and manage your resources to fit every situation. Collect build notes scattered around the levels and eventually you'll upgrade your program version (aka: level up) which allows you to add points to your base abilities that control your speed, damage, energy storage, etc. Equipment and weaponry are (with some exceptions) actually program sub-routines, which you must load up in your assigned memory in order to use, however the memory available for you to use (represented as a series of equipment slots) varies with each level, with the ones staged in giant mainframes offering ample room for you to load up everything you desire and the ones in a PDA for instance leaving you with just a few cramped slots to load basic features like armor or special equipment. The sub-routines are also upgradable (from alpha, to beta to gold) and thus you can enhance their performance as well as decrease the slots of memory they consume. Obviously all of these options are not infinite in the sense that you can't just upgrade everything, so choosing the right options isn't always a straightforward choice which, of course, only adds to the tremendous gameplay depth.

As the game progresses you'll fight your way through a series of exciting levels based around the magic "computer-universe" of Tron, updated to include much more widespread elements from today's technology such as the internet and virus threats (which can infect you and severely cripple your abilities). Your enemies include the classic "controller" programs that compose the systems security and operational forces (those funky red guys) as well as virus-infected programs (mutated "green" monsters) and even other digitized users out to hunt you down. While the gameplay includes a lot of varied objectives and sneaking, this is an fps, so you'll eventually have to dish it out with an array of weapons that include the classic disc as well as other "Tron-ized" versions of classic fps weapons, such as the sniper rifle (called the "LOL" :)), also making a return from the movie you have the light-cycle races, which are basically "nibbles" sequences sprinkled all over the game, but exceptionally well done and quite challenging with multiple opponents, obstacles and power-ups (in fact it's available as a stand-alone game mode).

The real deal-breaker for fans of the movie however, was the replication of the Tron universe and the results were great there too. Monolith perfectly nailed the "vibe" of the movie, first by using the latest iteration of their LithTech engine to craft a near identical representation of the Tron look, complete with one of the earliest implementations of the glow technology (now seen in practically every DX9 game) that gave the game that hazy neon glow just like in the movie. Furthermore since the gameworld is mostly composed of flat textures (with some transparencies at worst) you'll be able to run it in basically any graphic board out there, with only the "glow" option being a feature better suited for newer cards. Sound-wise the game is also a winner, with sfx ripped right from the movie and a music score that takes the original themes and runs with them crafting a dynamic soundtrack that defines what a dynamic soundtrack should be. Plus, Disney secured most of the original cast for voiceovers and even included the totally gratuitous appearance of Rebecca Rom... uh.. Romjin? eh.. you know, Mystique!.

The Bad
For as good as it is I can't help bitching about a few things in Tron 2.0. First of all while the story promised a lot initially, in the final quarter of the game it just all comes apart at the seams, it doesn't amaze me that the game was based on a never-produced movie deal, as the story combines the potential and inconsistencies of an incomplete script draft. This is evident in some of the lesser subplots, but most evidently in the final parts of the game, as the story is rapidly wrapped up in the classic "damn man, we gotta finish this quick coz we ran out of ideas!" manner and quickly boils down everything so as to solve most of the main plotlines and give you the Happy Ending(tm) a Disney product demands. Interesting characters like Rebecca's are so underdeveloped that they end up being nothing but cardboard cutouts, and I think Tron himself should have at least made a cameo... worst of all.... SUPER SOLDIERS AGAIN????? What the hell is wrong with the guys at Monolith?? It seems that every game they make is based on the same storyline!! Man.. I swear if I play another fps where the plot revolves around supersoldiers I'm going to throw up.... (update: I played another one, but no, I couldn't barf... damn you bastards!)

Finally the game has the serious downside of making the player feel like the fucking king nerd of dorkiness. Really, enemies shout out stuff like "in your interface" and you have to battle data fragmentation and viral contamination, indestructible enemies are labeled "read-only" and teleportation includes stuff like url and ip addresses. Mission objectives include overclocking cpus, escaping from formatting and compiling source code, etc. etc. etc... I mean, my friends and I just laughed our asses off, but it's the nerdiest game I've ever played, better hide it if some jocks come to your house, because they are gonna beat the crap out of you harder than if you were wearing a custom made Star Trek uniform.

The Bottom Line
Despite a substantial generic quality in the story and making you feel as the dorkiest geek in the universe Tron 2.0 is a fantastically deep and engrossing fps that adds just the right amount of rpg gameplay to enrich the fps experience without taking away the focus from an excellent action game. Truly recommended, specially for nerds.

The Good
Well, it has to be said that I was a fan of the Tron movie back in the day. Even when I was a little kid, I loved that movie. So now that I'm a full-grown geek and there is a game coming out based on the movie premise I am all about the idea. And I am happy to say that Tron 2.0 delivers. All of the environments and character models really do look like they come from the movie. I have never played a movie-inspired game before that captured the look and feel of it's property quite like this.

That brings us to the graphics, which are knock-you-out-of-your-chair good. Sure, the computerized Tron universe lends itself to cool graphics, but the latest Lithtech 3d here comes through with incredible translucencies and vivid glowing color displays. It's a sight to behold and will keep impressing throughout the play.

The games action is pretty heavy. You'll have to de-rez (kill) a whole lot of enemies before your through. The AI fights pretty well and keeps things challenging. If anything, they can be a little too good at times.

Your array of weapons is pretty varied, including your classic disc that featured so prominently in the movie and featuring other goodies such a weapon that are essentially a shotgun and another that is a sniper rifle, all Tron-style naturally. The animation of activating your sniper rifle is ice cold cool. You will likely rely primarily on your disc, though, and the various mods there-on.

The game also delivers deeper gameplay than most FPS's in that it has some RPG-type elements. Since you are now essentially a computer program, you are upgradable. As you continue through the game, you can upgrade your core assets such as weapons skill, energy (used to power weapons and abilities), health, etc. As well, you pick up a myriad of sub-routines, some of which use up energy, that you must choose between given your limited sub-routine space (which changed between levels depending on where you are supposed to be). Sub-routines include weapons, viral defenses, armor, increased abilties, and modifications to your disc's powers among other things. The sub-routines even come in three different levels - Alpha, Beta, and Gold - each becoming increasingly effective and taking up less space. Managing all of this is an essential part of the game and added greatly to my experience.

Another great feature of the game is the locations. You don't simply stay on one computer, but move around to a variety of different places, including a massive, crowded internet hub and a the confined space of a PDA. The locations are all very well done and lend themselves well to their themes.

One great part of the game is the light-cycle races. There is light-cycle racing at various points throughout the single-player game and there is also a separate set of races that you can run independently, with the ability to unlock new cycles. The action is fast, frantic, great-looking, and exactly what Tron fans have been wanting.

The storyline was decent enough. You play Jet Bradley, the son of Alan Bradley from the original movie. An evil corporation is attempting to take over Encom in order to gain the digitization technology for their own evil uses. It's your job to stop them. But the real treat for Tron fans will be the emails that one can collect throughout the game telling about things going on in Encom since the events of the Tron movie.

The Bad
The AI could shoot the wings off a fly at a mile off seemingly. That could be a tad frustrating.

The storyline, while decent, could have been better. There were a couple of cringe-worthy moments, such as the mother-computer entity "Ma3a", the inclusion of which was a bit more cheese than I needed. Still, very minor.

There was at least one jumping puzzle which made me want to put my head through my computer monitor. Note to all game designers: Jumping puzzles in FPS games are horrid. Leave them out.

The Bottom Line
Tron 2.0 is the best thing to come out of the Tron license since the movie itself. If you like FPS action, it's a fine example of the genre. If you like Tron, it's a great chance to explore the universe. If you are a fan of both, well, this game is gonna be sweet.

The Good
I certainly enjoyed the movie "Tron", but I haven't seen it in years and other than a brief memory involving those disc they throw around -- and of course the lightcycles -- I don't remember anything about it and it doesn't really rank among my favorite movies list. So when I picked up Tron, I wasn't particularly interested in the Tron-ninn...ninity...of it all, but it looked interesting enough, it was getting good reviews, and hey, lightcycles, eh?

I am quite pleased I picked this up. Whether or not you're a fan of the movie, I think you'll enjoy this game. Heck, you don't even need to know what the movie is to enjoy the game. The game is not based on the movie; it's just another take on the same idea. And it works brilliantly.

The graphics are wonderful, and there's something in this game that I don't think HAS been done before -- every plot-character looks different. Not just a different texture, but they actually all look different. Different sized noses, different looking faces, etc. It jumped out at me, because most games I play, the only difference between characters is usually texture changes, and that's it. It was great seeing different characters that had an individual voice and look to them.

The graphics are superb. Not only does the Tron world look just like it should, but the 'real world' scenes also look incredible. Nothing looks like 'filler' in either sense. The Tron world is filled with primitive polygons and lines along the wall that form some sort of unnecessary design stand out at you. Your suits are filled with that glowy-blue stuff; programs speak with that odd distorted warbled computer-like voice. It's straight out of the movie, and again, the guys here did it absolutely perfect. In an extreme contrast, the real world looks just like the real world should. It's obvious there was a talented group of artists working on this game, and I was pleased to find they spent just as much time working on both worlds, even though the real world is far less significant in the game.

Voice-overs are well done, and the dialogue sounds just like it's coming from a movie, with the dramatic parts being overlaid by a great soundtrack. As well as the voices being great, the character animation is also some of the best I've seen. Quite obviously done with motion-capture technology, it's on par with, say, No One Lives Forever 2 (if you've played that).

The game features an "RPG" system very similar to Deus Ex's. As you do certain tasks, or pick up upgrades, your 'version number' increases, with every 1 version you gain, you gain a level and can upgrade some of your five stats, which include health, energy, weapon efficiency, transfer rate and processor. Each one plays an important part in the game. Along with these stats, you also pick up 'subroutines', which are upgrades and weapons that (provided you have room and you're not needing a defrag ;) ) you can use to aid you in the game. These can become infected by corruption if a corrupted program gets a lucky shot in, forcing you to either abandon your subroutine or anti-virus it. Nothing adds more to a game than these little RPG elements. It's one of the reasons Deus Ex was such a thrill to play, and it does just as well in Tron 2.0.

The game is still a first-person shooter, even with bits of drama, the occasional jumping-puzzle (don't run away! There's not that many and they're not hard at all) and dialogue and cutscenes, the game's main focus is combat, whether it's disc-dueling with an ICP or battling it out in a lightcycle battle. While you have your selection of a number of weapons (each that looks awesome in its Tron-nessence...ense....) your disc will probably by the most used, as it requires no energy to throw and you can block other discs thrown at you.

If this were called by any other name, I would say the level design was pure crap. But in this case, level design is spot-on. Most areas are very basic to look at from a level design point of view (although in-game it looks spectacular, with odd computer-stuff running around off in the distance), but it is as you would expect from Tron. And the bonus is, because of basic level design, the game runs flawlessly on my almost-outdated computer on high detail. The best part, however, is the areas infected by corruption. Those basic design soon become torn to bits with green corruption tearing apart the levels and oozing across the area.

And the levels themselves are great. One level requires you to escape the deadly reformat! Another level you travel back into a very old, old computer and help overclock it! Some levels require you to pass through evil corrupted sectors of computers, and you even get to visit the Internet! And who wouldn't want to spend some time off at the "Progress Bar"?

The story is also great, and told well through cutscenes and dialogue. The ending is appropriate, with a "big bad boss" who was quite a fright, really.

The Bad
Two things that happened in the game made me curious. First, there's a part where you engage in a lightcycle battle -- but there was no reason to! You weren't being forced into it, you weren't using it as a means of escape...you just...decided to go do it. For no reason. Now, it was certainly fun, but it seemed oddly out of place when in one scene you're heading somewhere, and the next you find yourself in a lightcycle, and then the next scene you're where you thought you were going to be after the first one!

The second odd thing was a certain character, Mercury. Be warned: the rest of this paragraph is a spoiler. This chick helps you out early in the game, but due to a format in the server, she loses her memory. The next time you see her, she is back to being nothing more than a program, with a boring yes-or-no attitude and complete loss of her memory. However, at the very end, she greets you again, only she has her memory back. There's never an explanation for this, and it seemed really out of place, as she had no real reason to be there.

More work should have been spent on the final boss level. The boss himself was cool, but it was way too easy to get him stuck so that you could hurt him but he couldn't hurt you. I mean, it wasn't only easy to do, it was almost inevitable.

One thing I didn't like was that, in lightcycle combat, most battles were won by simply trapping the opponent in his own trail. A good tactic, to be sure, but it would make the opponent run circles within his own trail until he had no more room to make a circle. Since the opponents are so damned good at getting just close enough to the edge, it can take up to ten minutes to wait for him to get himself killed, if you trap him at a great enough distance. Meanwhile, you can't progress until the computer has killed himself, so there's not much for you to do except drive around and hope you don't screw up by running into your own trail.

The Bottom Line
A solid game, all around. I highly suggest picking this game up. This is one of the few hyped of first person shooters that I've really enjoyed, as it's one of the few that actually lives up to the hype. Fan of the movie or not -- it's a great game.