Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly Modern Retro
Review: "Greetings, Program."
Remember those days, when the original movie "Tron" came out? It was like seeing your fantasy there on the screen, a computer user transported into the world of the computer, seeing what it's like to play games from the inside. Back then, it was a distant futuristic vision to think along these lines. These days, as games have become more and more realistic, that faraway vision has gotten ever closer. "Tron 2.0" is, in some ways, the realization of it: a video game in which you play someone (once again) trapped in the digital world, playing games.
In this sense, "Tron 2.0" completes the circle begun by the movie over 20 years ago. It also takes the concept of "Tron" and brings it into the modern world, incorporating technology and terminology we use today into the overall idea. The metaphor continues to work very well for the game, as your character's advancement is gained through build points and version upgrades, special abilities can be attained in the form of subroutines, which can be installed or disabled from your program memory, and healing is gained from patch routines. At some points in the game, you may have to defragment, disinfect, or port some of your subroutines using procedurals within your program. Some of the environments you'll be travelling through include a PDA, a laptop, the Net, a router, and of course the Game Grids.
Despite the updated framework, the original "Tron" is still clearly here. Your characters staple weapon is the Identity Disc, which can be upgraded and will be the weapon you have with you throughout the game. The look and feel of the game just screams "Tron" like nothing else, with the same clean lines and glowing environments that characterized the original film so perfectly. Recognizers, tanks, and Bits all make their appearances through the game. There are many references back to "Tron," both direct and indirect, as the story progresses. And we mustn't forget the lightcycles, which are incorporated into the single-player story, as well as being playable in standalone form both on- and off-line. Frankly, the lightcycles alone are worth the cost of the game...more on that shortly.
In terms of the technical stuff, "Tron 2.0" holds up quite well. The graphics are gorgeous. They meet and occasionally exceed the standard set by the film, and really allow the user to involve themselves in the story without interference. In one memorable level, one of the most vertiginous moments I've ever had in a game, the graphics go a long way to conveying the impression of height and distance and speed. The sound is excellent, particularly the effects and music, both of which work well throughout the game. The voice acting is excellent as well. The stability of the game is fairly good. I experienced a few sudden crashes in key moments on my Windows 2000 machine, but for the most part I didn't have problems.
The single-player story should sound fairly familiar. Jet Bradley, son of Alan Bradley from the original "Tron," is brought into the digital world and must find his way out. In doing so he discovers a conspiracy to not only take over his father's company and their sought-after digitizing software, but taking over computer networks all over the world. As you play through you'll learn more about Jet and what's happened to Alan since the events of the film, as well as uncovering more and more of the plans of your enemies. It leads up to an ending which was a bit unsatisfying to me. In this game, getting there is definitely most of the fun.
The multiplayer levels offer some good variety. You can participate in Disc Arena and Tournament play, which allows you to compete on some updated game grids using only your disc and your agility to defeat your opponents. There is also a Derez match, often called "deathmatch" levels for other games, in which you have a fuller arsenal to choose from and more room to fight in. And, of course, there's the lightcycle levels, which allow you to pit your skills on the lightcycle grids against other riders around the world. Now that I've finished the single-player game, I find myself spending a great deal of time racing other riders in my super ligthcycle, seeing who can run rings around who. It's completely addictive and I love it.
"Tron 2.0" is great fun. Perfect for those who saw the film in the eighties and have always wanted to re-live it from within, but also just a good game for any gamer. Fairly light, not easy but not too difficult, and playable by just about anyone. It has lots of replay value and should be enjoyed by kids of all ages. Drop yourself into the digital world for a while and give it shot.
"End of line."
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended to a particular demographic:
Review: 1) Old enough that you saw Tron in theaters in 19822) Loved the original Tron because you were a video game addict 3) You're still a video game addict today 4) You have an up to date machine with a good graphics card that can run Tron 2.0 at full bore If that's you, I can almost guarantee you'll love this game. It's a solid FPS adventure game that should please any Tron fan. The light cycle mini game itself is like a dream from 20 years ago come true. Highly addictive. The general gameplay itself isn't anything revolutionary, but it does what it does well. There's plenty of variety, but it does boil down to "traditional" FPS motifs: explore everywhere possible, find keys to open locked doors, kill enemies (before they know you're there, if possible.) The look of the Tron world is a true delight, and the new "glow" effect that was developed specifically for this game is a joy to behold. They really did a great job of mimicking the atmosphere of the movie. And who knows, even if you're too young to remember Tron or don't like it, you still might like this if you like a good FPS romp.
Rating:
Summary: Disc? Check. Light Cycle? Check. Best Game Ever? Er...
Review: Before I begin my review, I must point out the sad fact that I, myself a computer geek, have never seen TRON (though all of that is about to change, for I am going to order a copy of the TRON DVD first thing after school tomorrow). But that doesn't mean I'm not familiar with the story. I mean, TRON has inspired many things around us (who here does NOT miss the People Mover from Disneyland's Tomorrow Land? Seriously!) And for those wishing to play TRON 2.0 but have never seen the movie, don't worry. The booklet includes a brief summary of the movie, so you can pick the story right up upon reading the events from the film. With that said, let us begin. For a game like TRON 2.0, it's all just a question of "Where do I start?" First off, this game was developed by Monolith, who also developed one of my favorite FPS (first-person shooter) game series-- No One Lives Forever. And for those of you who've played NOLF (No One Lives Forever) and NOLF 2, you'll definitely see some similarities here. Example? Take a good look at Mercury. Isn't that Cate Archer from NOLF 1?! What does this game have in common with NOLF 2? The RPG elements, as well as the controlling. The controlling is simple to pick up, and the RPG elements make the game easier. To defend my last statement, I've had a lot of trouble early in the game, but as I leveled up and gained more points, the game grew much easier. Another similarity is the Jupiter engine. The graphics are absolutely stunning. My jaw dropped upon viewing the TRON universe firsthand. The TRON trademark neon-glow is everywhere in this game, and from the first time you make a move, you'll definitely feel like you're trapped in your own computer (except that if I were trapped in my own computer, I would definitely see some inappropriate material floating about. ;)). The Light Cycle levels are simply delightful. It's very much like that classic game Snake, only this time on crack. Since I've always loved Snake, this was a real treat for me. Of course, there are people who have great trouble with the light cycle sequences, but there's an update from www.tron20.net that allows you to skip these levels (though that's just being a quitter in my opinion). And now for the bad issues. Yet again with the question "Where do I start?" First off, the sound is rather buggy. I had to close my game and restart it to pick up some sound effects (this usually happens when there were way too many things going on). Speaking of sound, someone PLEASE teach Jet's voice actor how to act! At least the music was good. I also did not enjoy the micro-management Monolith seemed hell-bent on establishing. Sure, it's cool reading emails and such, but do we really have to do this every other minute? At least it's simple, otherwise this game would've been docked down another star. Another low point is the weapons; they're mostly worthless. Apart from the LOL (my signature), I've only used my upgraded Disc. But the Disc itself is cool, so I can hardly complain. As far as multiplayer goes, I've never played it because I do not want to update my computer with huge files, so I've just uninstalled my game upon completing single-player. Depending on what you do, TRON 2.0 can be a short game. Though that's a good thing, since the game becomes a tad bit repetitive not long before the game ends. And you should have a whopping good computer if you can even think about running this game (fortunately my computer is very high-end and never encountered a single lag). Oh, and the next game I receive that forces you to repair your weapons and equipment almost every time you get hit by a virus is going straight to the trash. I thought this stupid time consuming fix-your-weapons gig was only present in that terrible Dark Cloud series, but it's here, too. Monolith and Buena Vista-- do NOT do this again. This game has made me want to watch the 1982 film starring Jeff Bridges (who, sadly, is not in this game; which is a pity because he's one of my favorite actors), but TRON 2.0 certainly won't make us forget the NOLF series. If you've ever wanted to get inside your computer and run through one hell of a ride, this game is for you. But if a sequel of this game will be ever made (and there should be, given the fact that the game's ending is rushed, disappointing and abrupt), then Monolith should seriously iron out the gruesome bugs in this game. As the sorely missed computer voice from the equally sorely missed People Mover once said, "NEXT TIME YOU MAY NOT FAIR SO WELL".
Rating:
Summary: Well worth your time.
Review: I have played almost every FPS shooter that came before Tron 2.0. It is not the best of that lot but it should please you with its game mechanics and overall look. I have a Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz and a G-Force Ti 4200 and I could crank up the graphic options to the max and still have excellent framerates.
I wasn't impressed with the sound department though. The music is good but there was a sound bug with my Soundblaster Live. Nothing dramatic but it should have been taken care of since this sound card is very popular.
The RPG side of this game consists of upgrading "subroutines" and your basic attributes when you version number reach a higher level. You have to get permissions "keys" to open doors or crates. There are emails scattered in boxes that let you follow the story but I stopped reading those after the fourth level. I suspect you will be doing that too.
The voice acting is pretty lame but who ever bought a game because of the voice acting? There is a nice selection of weapons. The disc was my favorite along with the LOL (sniper rifle).
Overall, I would say that Tron 2.0 is a very good game with lot of action and is relatively bug free, except for that sound issue. Have fun with it.
Rating:
Summary: Sleeper Hit
Review: I liked it so much I went through the single-player game twice. That's unusual for me. But then, I am a fan of the old movie. The game has single and multi-player modes. The single player mode has you play through a story line, kind of like if you were a character in a movie, with the levels being parts where you do your own thing, and with short video movies that come between each level, leading you to the next task you have to accomplish. The multiplayer mode has you playing in different arenas depending on whether you're playing light cycles, or disc fighting. You can play on a LAN or over the Internet. There is no multiplayer "storyline" mode though. If you want to "play through the story" you have to do it alone. It has a good balance of action (fighting baddies), storyline, and puzzle-solving. From what I hear, it has some characteristics of role-playing games. If you've never played a role-playing game before, don't be intimidated by this. It's not a big deal in the game. It's role playing in the sense that you pick up upgrades or run across an "optimizer" device, and at certain points, you can upgrade your own capabilities, weapons, and armor. A hint is it's good to watch the trends that you see on the levels, as you go. Notice if some capability, weapon, or armor, would've been more helpful on the last level you were on, if it were more capable, and focus on upgrading that. As with other games where you have to strategize some, there are certain weapons and add-ons that are best against certain bad guys and situations. The game allows you to wander around some, but not beyond certain boundaries. Some people don't like that because they feel like they're confined to where the game designers are leading them, and it doesn't allow as much creativity. I liked it because it kept me from getting lost. The game follows a linear storyline and you can't deviate from it, or go back a level (unless you saved along the way, in which case you can always load up a previous level, back to your save point). That reminds me. F5 (Quick Save) is your friend! Use it often. The story goes that you're Jet, Alan's son. fCon, another company, is merging or buying Encom, after Encom went through some rough times. The fCon guys are not so friendly though, as Alan, and eventually Jet find out. It's more of a hostile takeover, in the literal sense. Jet gets beamed inside the computer by Ma3a, a friendly AI program Alan wrote. The point of the game is to make your way back out of the system, just like it was in the original Tron movie. What's different is there isn't a sense of alter-egos in the computer world, or an objective of "freeing the system". However, what's revealed in the short videos that break up each level was very interesting to me. Some good writing went into them. The music by the original Tron composer, Wendy Carlos, is great too. The look of the levels and the feel of the storyline preserve the spirit of what I liked about the old movie, though it's been updated, of course. The design of the levels is pure eye candy! I couldn't help but just stop and look around at it. Almost every level looks beautiful. My favorite level is a part where Jet enters "the old mainframe". The design of the level, the colors used, the background music, all bring you back to the early 80s period of technology, and the old Tron universe. Those who have been around long enough will recognize it. They did a great job. A few of the levels have light cycles on them (yes, they really do exist in the game!), and you have to battle it out against computer-controlled opponents. A couple of the levels even have the old tanks on them! They look great! One review I read (outside Amazon) criticized the ending as being "anticlimactic". I agree with that. It seems as though the creators got writer's block and just wanted to "wrap it up". I wasn't that impressed with that part. But the rest of the game? Great! Some technical notes. You can run the game on a machine that matches the minimum requirements, but I would really recommend a machine that matches their recommended machine spec's on the box, if not better, and at least a mid-level video card with hardware 3D acceleration (something around $100-$150 as of this writing). Anything less and you're likely to be disappointed since the machine will be straining to accommodate the complexity of the levels, the 3D models, and the effects. The animation is likely to look jerky and playability will suffer. Even though the game is really well made, it's not without a few blemishes. I actually had it crash on me a few times on the higher levels. Fortunately it crashed gracefully without a system lockup (it just took me back to the desktop), and I was able to just start it up again and reload from my last save point. A bit annoying, but it wasn't a big minus, IMO. This game is a classic. I'm certainly going to keep it around. Now all Disney needs to do is to come out with the movie that was supposed to come out shortly after the game! Here's hoping.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I liked it so much I went through the single-player game twice. That's unusual for me. But then, I am a fan of the old movie. The game has single and multi-player modes. The single player mode has you play through a story line, kind of like if you were a character in a movie, with the levels being parts where you do your own thing, and with short video movies that come between each level, leading you to the next task you have to accomplish. The multiplayer mode has you playing in different arenas depending on whether you're playing light cycles, or disc fighting. You can play on a LAN or over the Internet. There is no multiplayer "storyline" mode though. If you want to "play through the story" you have to do it alone. It has a good balance of action (fighting baddies), storyline, and puzzle-solving. From what I hear, it has some characteristics of role-playing games. If you've never played a role-playing game before, don't be intimidated by this. It's not a big deal in the game. It's role playing in the sense that you pick up upgrades or run across an "optimizer" device, and at certain points, you can upgrade your own capabilities, weapons, and armor. A hint is it's good to watch the trends that you see on the levels, as you go. Notice if some capability, weapon, or armor, would've been more helpful on the last level you were on, if it were more capable, and focus on upgrading that. As with other games where you have to strategize some, there are certain weapons and add-ons that are best against certain bad guys and situations. The game allows you to wander around some, but not beyond certain boundaries. Some people don't like that because they feel like they're confined to where the game designers are leading them, and it doesn't allow as much creativity. I liked it because it kept me from getting lost. The game follows a linear storyline and you can't deviate from it, or go back a level (unless you saved along the way, in which case you can always load up a previous level, back to your save point). That reminds me. F5 (Quick Save) is your friend! Use it often. The story goes that you're Jet, Alan's son. fCon, another company, is merging or buying Encom, after Encom went through some rough times. The fCon guys are not so friendly though, as Alan, and eventually Jet find out. It's more of a hostile takeover, in the literal sense. Jet gets beamed inside the computer by Ma3a, a friendly AI program Alan wrote. The point of the game is to make your way back out of the system, just like it was in the original Tron movie. What's different is there isn't a sense of alter-egos in the computer world, or an objective of "freeing the system". However, what's revealed in the short videos that break up each level was very interesting to me. Some good writing went into them. The music by the original Tron composer, Wendy Carlos, is great too. The look of the levels and the feel of the storyline preserve the spirit of what I liked about the old movie, though it's been updated, of course. The design of the levels is pure eye candy! I couldn't help but just stop and look around at it. Almost every level looks beautiful. My favorite level is a part where Jet enters "the old mainframe". The design of the level, the colors used, the background music, all bring you back to the early 80s period of technology, and the old Tron universe. Those who have been around long enough will recognize it. They did a great job. A few of the levels have light cycles on them (yes, they really do exist in the game!), and you have to battle it out against computer-controlled opponents. A couple of the levels even have the old tanks on them! They look great! One review I read (outside Amazon) criticized the ending as being "anticlimactic". I agree with that. It seems as though the creators got writer's block and just wanted to "wrap it up". I wasn't that impressed with that part. But the rest of the game? Great! Some technical notes. You can run the game on a machine that matches the minimum requirements, but I would really recommend a machine that matches their recommended machine spec's on the box, if not better, and at least a mid-level video card with hardware 3D acceleration (something around $100-$150 as of this writing). Anything less and you're likely to be disappointed since the machine will be straining to accommodate the complexity of the levels, the 3D models, and the effects. The animation is likely to look jerky and playability will suffer. Even though the game is really well made, it's not without a few blemishes. I actually had it crash on me a few times on the higher levels. Fortunately it crashed gracefully without a system lockup (it just took me back to the desktop), and I was able to just start it up again and reload from my last save point. A bit annoying, but it wasn't a big minus, IMO. This game is a classic. I'm certainly going to keep it around. Now all Disney needs to do is to come out with the movie that was supposed to come out shortly after the game! Here's hoping.
Rating:
Summary: Great game but too short
Review: I loved this game! The graphics were awesome and I especially liked the RPG elements. This game would probably not be good for you if you do not like to have to think a bit while playing, and it is finished too quickly, but otherwise it is great. My only reccomendation is to download the demo first, just to make sure it will work with your graphics card. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: The best FPS game yet
Review: I've been a gamer for 25 years. This is now my new favorite game. For the most part you're on your own, so in that respect it's got a bit of a similar feel to System Shock 2, except you interact with other characters who are "alive" unlike SysShock2, where you only found e-mail from dead people. In Tron 2.0 you find email as well, but the email is from both past and present events in the real world, meanwhile you are in the computer; so it's meant to give your character an idea of what's going on outside (you, the player, don't really need it since you're given cinematic movies of outside events). I can actually say that this game does Tron (the movie) justice. This caught me by surprise. I was avoiding buying this game thinking that it would suck. A friend bought it for me and I became addicted with it almost immediately. The music is good, too - it's mostly peaceful and without words, very very much like the movie had. That's very appealing to me, personally. Light Cycles
The light cycles form very much like in the movie, they look like the ones in the movie, and they've extended the game to include light cycle powerups, obstacles, and special surfaces that speed up or slow down the cycles while on that surface. The light cycle simulations are tough, and the computer players are able to do things that you cannot (like make 6 turns in half a second) so you've got to try to avoid direct confrontations and outsmart your opponents from further away. Enemies, FPS
Okay, the FPS portion and dealing with the enemies is hard. Even easy mode is challenging. Sometimes you cannot even get through an area unless you figure out what weapon you should use, and that's just something you've got to experiement with on your own to figure out what works for you. For some people that can be very frustrating. However, personally I find this kind of challenge very enjoyable and hard to find, so I was really thrilled that I actually had to "hack my own way" in this regard. I haven't been able to put this game down since I've gotten it, and my friends who have seen the game are addicted to just watching me play it! FPS gamer people who we've told about it have gotten it and have loved it. The storyline is pretty good, it depicts numerous portions of real-life network administration challenges. The parallels between real-life and "inside the computer" duality is fun. Along the way there is a ton of geek humor that some of you will find very funny; others will find it cliché. I found it very enjoyable and fitting. I haven't quite finished the game for the first time, but I can say that this is a game that I'm going to finish more than once. I haven't yet had the chance to try the multiplayer portion; I'm hoping that will be vaguely as fun as the single-player portion is. Computer Hardware
On a 1.2 GHz Athelon with a GeForce4 video card on MEDIUM detail level there are still some areas that cause my computer to struggle. There are large expanses that get real-time rendered (which can be proven with zooming into details "a mile away" and finding that they're still being rendered). Don't try giving this to a person with an older computer.
Also, the game is designed specificaly for Nvidia or ATI video cards (and there are two more from Matrox on the compatibility list). It may work with others, but this is generally a high-end real-time rendered game and can likely tax any video card of today. I highly recommend this game if you liked Tron and like FPS games. Be prepared for a beutiful but challenging game. I think for $20 this is an awesome game. HAVE FUN, ALL!
Rating:
Summary: this review brought to you by old milwaukee
Review: I've had this game since the day it came out. What, about a year now? Anyway, I very much enjoyed playing the single player game through. After I completed it, I set it aside. Coming back to it, it's still the second best game in my collection (Deus Ex is hard to top). If you enjoy FPS games, then you should give this a try. It's a cut above the usual Doom and Quake type shooters, as you are allowed plenty of flexibility as to how your character performs in the game. You are given upgrade points, and can put them towards whatever attributes you want.. which basically means you can play the game in a number of ways. You aren't really given the freedom that a game like Morrowind or Deus Ex gives you, but the game does ask you to think about what you want to do, and it accommodates your decisions better than most games.
However, after coming back a year later, the single player FPS part of the game isn't what keeps me playing it. I'm addicted to the Light Cycle races, now. The light cycles are the most innovative, hyper, and fun thing I've seen in a game in a long time. I'd rather play Light Cycles than buy Half Life 2 at this point.
Overall, this game has a lot to offer you. It isn't the kind of game that you'll stop playing after it's done. With the multiplayer and light cycle modes, you shouldn't be done with this game until the sequel comes around.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the original movie
Review: The original Tron video game was the "other side of the video screen". IE- The "users" were only seeing what the computer was projecting to us. This game lets us play not only the original movie, but everything that's happened in the computer world since the original. If you liked the original movie, you'll love the storyline of this game. Even if you never saw the original movie, you'll love the amazing graphics and sounds and incredibly fresh gameplay. This is NOT another first-person shooter. It's really a new kind of video game. I finished the game and loved every minute of it. Now I want Tron 2.5 or even better, 3.0.
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