Tron 2.0 Killer App preview

The release of Tron 2.0 for the Xbox is getting closer, and it’s time to take a look at how the game has changed since the PC release. What can we expect from a game based on the classic movie from 1982?

The single-player portion is more or less identical to the PC version, so let’s start with that part for those of you who haven’t played Tron 2.0 yet. You’ll see the significant differences as soon as you want to play against human opponents, but we’ll take a more detailed look at that later.

The background story goes like this: Your farther, who works at the same company as you do, has been kidnapped and at the same time major malfunctions start to happen in the company’s internal computer system.

Welcome to the machine

When you walked into a laboratory, the computer suddenly transfers you from the real world into its digital world and your priorities change abruptly. Your task is to delete damaged files in the forms of enemies with an extremely potent arsenal of weapons. The references to computers and the dialog is very entertaining and very true to the original movie.

The unique thing about Tron 2.0 is that in contrast to other first person shooters your main weapon is a futuristic disc/frisbee, not a gun. It takes some practice to learn how to use the disc effectively and it can even be used to deflect your enemies’ attacks, but you’ll need a perfect timing to achieve that.

Don’t despair though, you can find more traditional weapons that are easier to use, but the disc will probably be your main weapon, making Tron 2.0 are rather difficult and at times frustrating game.

Visually it’s like being in the world we got to know in 1982 – but the 2004 version is much more beautiful. Colours, architecture and level design are so perfect that you often catch yourself in staring in awe.

Thus you shouldn’t put too much emphasize on the fact that the movie is more than 20 years old – the game developer has clearly had very good material to work with. The stylish yet simple levels are in stark contrast to the level of detail we usually demand from our first person shooters. Naturally this sort of graphical design improves the frame-rate, too.

However, as we’ve already mentioned in the introduction, the most interesting aspect of Tron 2.0 for the Xbox is the game’s multiplayer portion. You can compete against up to 15 players via Xbox Live in several gameplay modes. It was nearly a scandal that the PC game didn’t include an online mode for the movie’s famous light cycles as they are really Tron’s outstanding creations.

Lightrider

Light cycles are a kind of motorbike travelling at very high speeds and leaving a solid wall a light behind. The objective is to force the opponent to smash into your light wall. Sadly, while the Xbox version DOES include light cycles, the game mode isn’t as fun as we’d expect. Once you’ve gotten used to the controls it soon becomes a bit repetitive.

Luckily Killer App offers variations to the pure light cycles mode such as overRIDE, where the players move around huge maps both on foot and on light cycles. The maps are divided into sections, thus you can’t rely on the cycles at all times.

Data Capture uses a class system forcing the players to support each other with their unique skills while both teams aim to control several points on the map. This is similar to Battlefield 1942’s conquest mode and the team that captures all points first, wins.

You can also take on a disc duel for those who crave the challenge of learning to wield the disc well enough to beat a human opponent. Finally, you can always resort to the classic deathmatch modes if these fancy modes aren’t to your liking.

Tron 2.0: Killer App is certainly going to be a solid movie license, which is sadly still a rather infrequent sight. However, it will still appeal mostly to gamers who are familiar with the movie as you might easily dismiss the game’s look as simplistic or meaningless if you don’t know Tron. The only major gripe at this stage of development seems to be the controls, which I really hope the developer will tweak before the game is released in early December.