Tron 2.0: Killer App represents the worst possible scenario for a game reviewer: a game you want to like because of its subject matter and the high hopes you had leading up to its release, but find that the actual game just does not measure up in the end analysis. At that point you find yourself wanting to punish the game with a low score because it disappointed you, while at the same time give the game its due for what it does do right. I think I have mastered my inner demons and can honestly give Tron 2.0 a fair 3/5. The game is good. It does wonderfully take the player into the world of Tron, but there are enough flaws in gameplay to seriously hamper the game’s overall appeal.
If you’re any kind of serious gamer, you surely know all about “Tron.” It was a 1982 Disney movie with groundbreaking computer-generated special effects that depicted a world inside a computer and chronicled one user’s struggle, along with a security program named Tron, to destroy the oppressive Master Control Program. The events of Tron 2.0 Killer App take place about 20 years later. The original writer and user of Tron, Alan Bradley (once again voiced by Bruce Boxlietner) has gone missing. His son, Jet Bradley, is looking for him when he is zapped into the computer by the same laser-digitalization equipment that started off the original movie. Once in the computer, Jet realizes all is not well. A viral infestation is attacking the system and computer protection programs are battling it. Jet finds himself in the unenviable position of being shot at by both sides as he makes his way through the system trying to find out what is happening and where his father is.
The story is not the best quality. The end especially is a bit weak. Though I have to admit, as much as I revere the movie, the story quality is about on par with the flick. Both are honestly pretty cheesy.
The high point of the game is the wonderful graphics. If you ever wanted to step inside the Tron universe and just walk around in it, this game gives you the opportunity. The generally dark colors with bright, neon lines for details of the movie have been perfectly implemented in the game. Everything moves well and just feels right for the insides of a computer … whatever that might actually look like. Of course since this is 20 years after the movie, there have been some upgrades to the system with new enemies and characters, but for the purist, the game does find a way to bring in fan favorites like recognizers and data tanks.
In the audio department Tron 2.0 is almost equally impressive. The sounds of weapons, light cycles, ambient noise and even your own footsteps are all movie-perfect. The musical soundtrack contains a bit of Wendy Carlos’ original work as well as new music. It all just fits very well.
The game starts to lose style points almost immediately after the disc is popped in. There is a long load followed by the company credits. After these is another long load and the game begins with game credits. When the player dies (and the player does die a lot) there is another interminable wait as you reload and get back to your last save point. Throughout the game there are numerous long loads and I even had the game crash once during a load.
Speaking of crashes, the game seems to be riddled with small programming problems. Sound drop out, framerate problems, buttons fail to register presses on occasion. The game is still playable, but it can be annoying.
Between the loads is a fairly uninteresting shooter. Even though there are numerous weapons, in the end the gamer can get through almost the entire game with only two: the trusty disc that is thrown then returns and the LOL sniper weapon. The disc is excellent at short and medium ranges and can be greatly upgraded with subroutines (more on these later) to make it an awesome weapon. The LOL is the preferred long-range weapon – even if it is an energy hog. By happy chance, the disc uses no energy when thrown, which means power can be conserved for the LOL weapon and for downloading items.
Items are found in archive bins. The bins can contain e-mails, permissions and/or subroutines. E-mails may be downloaded for free. They move the story along but are not really necessary to play the game. Permissions, which give the player access to various things in the game, come at a small energy expenditure, while subroutines vary widely in the energy expenditure required to download them. Subroutines are auxiliary programs that Jet may add to his limited memory locations. Once added to memory, they may be used in the game. At any time acquired subroutines may be substituted in and out of memory to adapt to the changing situation. Subroutines include such useful functions as weapons, armor, enhancements to weapons and utilities that protect against viruses or even quiet Jet’s movements. They are available in alpha, beta and gold builds. Not only are the higher builds more effective, they also are more compact and take up less room in Jet’s limited memory.
In addition to improvements through adding subroutines, Jet also earns and finds build points in the game that can be used to increase energy and health storage capacity, transfer rates and processing power. This gives the game an RPG element seldom found in first-person-shooters.
The game also adds a bit of a platforming element to the mix. This has generally not been a good idea for FPS games going all the way back to the original Turok Dinosaur Hunter on the Nintendo 64. It results in a lot of cheap deaths as the player makes a leap of faith, often without being able to adequately see and judge the position of his feet, and falls to his death. Falling off things to your death is a regular occurrence in Tron 2.0. Fortunately the game lets the player save at any time so that he starts right back where he was before he took the jump. Of course that does necessitate dealing with the long load screens as you try a jump a couple of times before succeeding.
