[MickeysGirl]

PC review: TRON 2.0
MONOLITH PRODUCTIONS/BUENA VISTA INTERACTIVE

There's a whole generation of gamers out there who are too young to remember TRON, the 1982 live-action Disney flick that spearheaded the use of computer animation in movies while also being so cheesy it could have kept Holland's supplies of Gouda and Edam topped up for a year.

But for us ooooold-timers, seeing the return of TRON in the form of a video game sequel is like welcoming a long-lost nerdy friend back into our lives. And marvelling at how much cooler he's become.

TRON 2.0 is set in the present day, with computer scientist Alan Bradley (played by Bruce Boxleitner in the movie and voiced by him in the game) working on recovering the digitizing technology that can beam humans directly into the cyberspace innards of computer systems.

Before long, Bradley's son Jet, a hot-headed game programmer who chafes against his straight-laced pop, finds himself digitized into the Encom corporate server, which is being overrun by viruses that have been loosed upon the system by rival tech firm fCon.

Stepping into Jet's glowing circuit-printed bodysuit, it's your job to travel from computer system to computer system, fighting off soldier-like Intrusion Countermeasure Programs, virus-spewing Z-Lots, beefy Resource Hogs and other digital denizens, while relying on allies like the hottie Mercury (voiced by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and your A.I. guides Byte and Ma3a for help.

At your disposal is a sometimes daunting array of weapons, defences and other useful knickknacks, including TRON's trademark flying disc, computer-world variations of everything from a cattle prod to a rocket launcher, and enhancements that allow you to jump higher, do more damage, zoom in on enemies and much more.

The game plays a little differently from your standard first-person shooter, though. As you explore techno-trippy servers, desktop PCs and arenas which feature the excellent light cycle racing mini-game, you'll collect and upgrade subroutines that represent weapons, armour and enhancements. But since you can only have a limited number of subroutines active at once, it creates a definite element of strategy not found in most shooters. Brains versus brawn and all that.

Developed by Monolith Productions using the same technology that powered their excellent No One Lives Forever 2, TRON 2.0 captures the look of the film's abstract computer world perfectly. In fact, it looks way cooler, which is a testament to how far technology has come ... what took months to create with 1982's most powerful computers can now be rendered on the fly on a basic home PC.

It's too bad, then, that the game has a few flaws that keep it from perfection. Combat is surprisingly lethal until you become skilled with the disc and upgrade some of your weapon subroutines to beta and gold status, which take up less space in memory and do more damage. Thanks to the tough combat and a few too many jumping puzzles, you'll find yourself dying over and over again - in TRON 2.0, the quicksave and quickload keys will be your best friends.

The game is also shorter than I would have liked, especially since the final three-part boss battle is oddly easy and the game ends abruptly after it. TRON 2.0 does have several online multiplayer modes, including disc combat and light cycle racing, but I found Internet latency to be a little problematic.

Still, TRON fans - and yes, there are lots of them - will love the dozens of nods to the film scattered throughout the game, from e-mails sent by Flynn (Jeff Bridges' character in the film) to the voice of Ma3a being supplied by Cindy Morgan, who played Bradley's love interest Lora in the movie.

Now, if Disney would just make a video game sequel to their other cheesetacular old sci-fi flick, The Black Hole, life would be complete. I miss that little V.I.N.C.E.N.T. robot so much it hurts.

SCORE: 4 out of 5. While it has a few flaws and definitely comes in a little on the short side, TRON 2.0 gets major points for style, innovation and capturing the spirit of the movie while cutting out the camp.

By: STEVE TILLEY
Sun, August 31, 2003
Source: CNEWS

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