Oh
TRON, how I recall the glory days of my youth replicating
the disk arena scene with frisbees, roman candles
and old, used parkas for extra protection. Oh TRON,
how I recall when said roman candle penetrated one
warrior's armor (parka) causing it to burst in flames.
Oh TRON, how I recalled that said warrior managed
to discard the armor (parka) off his body before receiving
any burns to his bodice. Oh TRON, how I recall that
all these games were played in a forested area in
the heat of a summer's eve. Oh TRON what the hell
were we thinking?
Disney's
TRON makes a lot more sense to me now than it did
twenty years ago. The only thing that I knew about
computers was that they were all up to no good. All
computers were scary back in those days. The only
thing we knew about them was what we were told from
the movies we watched. Did you ever see a good movie
about a friendly computer? Sure there was The Computer
That Wore Tennis Shoes and Short Circuit but I said
"good" movies. If you know who HAL is, you'll
know where I'm coming from.
Not
only did I play some TRON games in real life but I
spent a fortune on the videogame. I probably still
suck at it but you'll never know because you're probably
not even reading this review anyway.
TRON
2.0 takes place twenty years after the events in the
original movie. At last year's E3 I sat in one of
the Lightcycles that were on display and attempted
to play the demo. Instead of a controller the girl
gave me a keyboard and began giving me all kinds of
instructions which I never paid attention to because
I was so distracted by all the music and blinking
lights everywhere. "Look, there's Shrek."
The
Lightcycle I was sitting in was akin to one of those
kiddie barbershop chairs disguised as a boat or a
horse or some kind of plywood space vehicle. When
it came my time to play little did I know the demo
girl would be watching my every move. I didn't have
a clue what to do and with my nametag proudly labeling
me as an Editor Journalist for CCCP, I told her I
was really a baker by trade and I only came here with
a friend because I heard there was free coffee and
donuts. I gave her back that awkward keyboard and
instead went over to bust a few moves with Britney's
Dance Beat.
TRON
2.0 takes us back into the digital realm as the son
of Alan Bradley, Jet, who is thrust into the computer
to solve the disappearance of his father. Jet is no
slouch when it comes to games and computers, he's
almost as smart as his old man who created TRON all
those years ago. One inside the computer it's shoot,
fight and jump as you enter various files, programs,
servers and networks. Corrupt programs, viruses and
other enemies manifest themselves into digitally tangible
characters that can be eliminated by the use of weapons.
The main weapon of choice is the disk. There are more
than a dozen weapons including an assortment of guns,
grenades, lasers and close-range devices but nothing
acts as a better overall weapon than the disk - and
herein lies the rub.
What
looks like a brilliantly produced game is actually
an interactive movie. Much of the gameplay is comprised
of shooter and platform elements. While there is all
kinds of geek-speak taking place about programs and
scripts they are really just nerd words used to describe
enemies and locations in the game. While the story
is interesting, unraveling at a measurable pace during
the cutscenes, you have little to do with actually
solving the mystery as you more or less collect various
components and emails which trigger the next series
of cutscenes where the story continues to be revealed.
In this way I almost feel like an employee of TRON
2.0 Ltd, specializing in security and data mining.
There's
not enough involvement in this game. Lightcycles are
included but almost as a series of mini games as opposed
to a serious component to the game. The multi-player
mode makes good use of both the Lightcycles and the
Disk Arena in a few modes but how many people are
going to go through the trouble of using LAN? I know
I'm not going to.
As
its predecessor did two decades ago, TRON 2.0 doesn't
fail to impress with incredible graphics. Colors blend,
wash, overlap and interact to create a pulsing, living,
digital environment. Characters look about as good
as they did in the original movie complete with glowing
electronic suits. Although the levels are linear they
are highly imaginative. The interface will help you
sort out some of the information which can seem a
little overwhelming at first. Controls are tight and
commands are easy to execute. Voiceovers are strong
and convey a movie-like quality to the game. Music
and sound effects are perfectly cued and rich in timbre.
Crank this baby up.
If
TRON 2.0 allowed you to use more of your brain along
with the action elements, it would be a more rewarding
experience. As it is, TRON 2.0 underneath all the
glitter, glimmer and high-tech processing is just
a 386.
|