Tron 2.0

Like Ghostbusters and Pink Floyd, Tron is something that every new generation eventually discovers. I myself am very fond of this movie and took the chance to see Tron: Legacy. In brief, Legacy is a good sound and light show but story wise it was as sound as Sark’s carrier after being derezzed.

It was tempting to get a hold of the game tie-in, Tron: Evolution, but my experience with Avatar was far from pleasant. Hence I am steering clear of it and any other movie tie-in.

So instead, I turn my attention to Tron 2.0. Released around the 20th anniversary mark, Tron 2.0 was the second FPS I ever played and finished – the first being the gem that is Half-Life. And despite its weaknesses, it is a very sound and enjoyable game.

Overview

Twenty years have passed since the event so Tron, and Encom, the place of work for the key characters finds itself the target of a takeover with the rather secretive fCon organisation. For the game’s protagonist, Jet Bradley, this is the least of his worries. Someone has kidnapped his father, Alan, and in the process of looking for him ends up being transported into the world of the computer.

To add to the problem, a vicious virus is spreading throughout the system corrupting everything in its path – causing civil programs to become hostile and attack Jet. And to add a final layer of tension, Jet is even accused of being the source of the said virus. Thus, as well as finding out what has become of Jet’s father, Jet is also fighting for life from three fronts.

Thankfully, Jet is not alone in his task. He has numerous allies from the maths expert Ma3a, the elite fighter Mercury and the (at times) philosophical Byte. All contribute to Jet’s progress at various stages in the game and equip with traits of their own.

Game Play

For the majority, Tron 2.0 is a first person shooter – though instead of a gun, the player starts out with a disk. As the player progresses, new weapons are discovered ranging from guns to balls that spread the same infection as the virus. While there are only three primitive types, players are able to extend their weaponry by finding subroutines which create additional attack modes for the three main primitives.

The other element that stands out is adventure/platforming. In some levels, the player approaches a door or obstacle that can only be overcome by finding a required item elsewhere – often a permission or subroutine. And of course to move through the area the player sometimes has to jump along various platforms to get over bottomless bits.

In terms of collecting items (a staple of the adventure genre), players mostly collect items from containers called archive bins which are scattered throughout the various levels. Through the expenditure of the player’s own energy various items from additional subroutines to emails and even permissions (keys) needed to advance past locked areas.

Tron 2.0 also has an RPG flavour to it. Throughout the game, players gain build points – either through completing objectives or by finding build notes – which slowly increment the player’s version number. At major milestones, the player is able to upgrade the character stats. The stats vary from how fast a player can conduct porting – a process where an unrecognised subroutine is identified and made useable – to reducing the amount of energy weapons consume when fired.

While a nice touch, the stats system feels more like it was added at the last minute. It only provides minor improvements over time and it is safe to say that if notifications were not given, the system itself would have been ignored throughout the whole game.

Of course, no Tron related game would be complete without a light cycle race and Tron 2.0 has numerous instances of these races at various points in the game. In general, the player is given control of a cycle that runs in a straight line and leaves a coloured ribbon in its wake. In these stages, the objective is to try and force opponents into the ribbon itself, box them in, or force them into a wall thus resulting in their ultimate demise.

Story

Genre wise, the story of Tron 2.0 is mix of action and mystery. Action wise, Jet has constantly fight for his (digital) life from three fronts – the fCon personnel who are taking over various Encom systems, a vicious virus that is turning infected programs hostile towards Jet and the Encom systems themselves which deem Jet the source of the virus.

Most of the mystery comes from Jet’s endeavours to learn what has become of his father and just what fCon’s motivations are. While a large portion of the story is conveyed as the player progresses through the game, most background elements are actually learned via the downloading of emails from the archive bins scattered about the game levels. As well as providing background, some emails also provide additional details about the characters, such as how Jet ended up working for Encom in the first place.

Character wise, the story of Tron 2.0 have effectively a whole new cast, each one well designed for its own environment – the stern demanding Kernel that over sees the whole system, the gentle ally that is Ma3a and the comic relief that is Byte.

While a good action story with a well-designed delivery there is still one core element missing – character development. In the case of Tron 2.0, the nature of the characters is effective static – they are still the same as they are at the start of the game.

Graphics and Sound

While the environments of Tron 2.0 are entirely made from basic geometric shapes, they are not without their own intricate details. Every environment is full of colour and each with a colour scheme that reflect the nature and current mood of the environment.

The Kernel’s base of operations is full of reds and oranges given a strong sense of seriousness and at times confrontational. Encom systems are given a pleasant, cool, calming blue scheme and finally corrupted regions are given a stickly, glaring green tone that really indicates a sickening feeling to the environment.

There is also significant variety of with the characters both inside the computer systems. Those who follow the Kernel are of a strong build and are effectively designed around the weapons they use. Some actually do not have a connected waist so they can better throw their disks.

Those who inhabit the Encom system are of an average build mostly follow the same character styles as the original Tron movie – mostly wearing tunics and may have head caps. However there are some variations – some characters have a punkish feel to them, sporting spiked hair, permanent visors and even binary-like patterns for tattoos.

Then there are the programs that have been corrupted by a virus – unlike all other characters there is no elegant, uniform styling to their circuitry – they are effectively hunched forward and look as though they are falling apart due to the corruption that has taken over them.

Finally, there are those that support the fCon organisation. In what can only be described as almost a Tron version of Tolkein’s Ring Wraiths, those for Encom are light on their feet and quick thus have a lean almost skeleton like build and are basically faceless with only masks and glowing eyes on their heads.

Lastly, as I have said with any Tron game being incomplete without light cycles, gird races in the game have two types of light cycle – the type that matches the version found in Tron and a new version made just for the game by Syd Mead.

My only complaint with the visuals is it sometimes becomes difficult to know where a floor ends and where a bottomless pit begins. While the visual keep with the theme of the Tron movie where all objects emit their own light source, everything else is mostly a dark, flat tone thus making it easy to mistake a new pit with another panel that makes up a floor.

Of course, good visuals should be accompanied by good soundtracks – a point made with my review of the tie-in game, Avatar, and subsequently dismantled with it.

Thankfully, the developers have put a lot of thought into the soundtrack of Tron 2.0. In terms of music, the game sports a varying soundtrack – there is a track for current situations such as battles and each environment has its own theme that plays when battles are over and the player is able to investigate. They vary from the strict military beat of the Kernel’s base of operations, to the soothing tone of Encom and friendly systems to the dirge like tone of corrupted systems.

Finally, there are the voices. It certainly helps that the developers have secured the voice talents of Bruce Boxleitner and Cindy Morgan – both of which appeared in the Tron movie.

My only complaint with the sound is the effects are very simplistic. Surprisingly, it is characters that have fallen to the viruses that stand out sound wise – walking in corrupted areas have a sticky grunching noise while all other areas have a clean, clear thump and when the infected programs throw their weapons they give an organic splat when they make contact whereas all other weapons from all other characters have the same clear hit.

Overall

In general, Tron 2.0 is game that stands very well on its own – it does not ride on the success of the movie nor does it embarrass it. An action packet platformer with puzzles, colourful characters, superb soundtrack and creative environments Tron 2.0 is a must for both fans of Tron or those who like a good first person shooter.

It has its weaknesses – narrow sound effects, hidden pits, an easily overlooked stats system and a story lacking character development – but they are minor when compared to the effort put into the visual, levels and even the characters. In short, this is a near decade old game that has somehow stood the test of time and continues to stand tall over current new releases.