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Masterpiece

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: September 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let me first say that I don't care about graphics in a game as long as I can see what I'm doing. Now that that's said, this game is visually STUNNING. The environments are wonderfully detailed and the glow effects are flashy enough without being blinding. Everywhere you go you will be bombarded with amazing level design and wonderful graphics. My machine is an Athlon 1.67 GHz, 768 DDR RAM, GeForce 4 MX 64MB. Even on medium settings, this game looked top of the line and, most of all, ran SMOOTHLY. Loading times were also quite short. Onto the gameplay!

This is formost a First Person Shooter and secondly an RPG. There's a smattering of weapons, but the one you'll be using most is the Disc, which is quite different from the guns of traditional FPS games and is very refreshing. As you move through the game and slay enemies, a large story unfolds continuing twenty years after the movie, with frequent references back to what happened in the time between the movie and the game, explaining what went on. You also pick up various "programs" which do various things for you (which is where the RPG element comes in.)

There are programs that defend different parts of your body (did I mention the body part hit detection?), weapons programs (sniper rifle, multiple discs, exploding ball, blaster, etc.), and miscellanious programs which, say, make you jump higher or tell you the health of your enemies.

The lightcycles are masterfully done, however there is NO online lightcycle play. There *is* LAN play, but unfortunately I hear it still lags. There IS online disc arena play, which is quite enjoyable. Tron 2.0 is (very much needed) shot to the arm of the FPS genre. Beautiful graphics, complex yet intuitive gameplay, and the goods far, FAR outweigh the few small bugs and annoyances. If you like FPS, if you like Tron, heck, even if you don't, buy this game.

It's about time.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: September 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have never said this before. And i doubt i'll ever say this again. There is not one thing i can think of that is wrong with this program. It's beautiful, Immersive, Musically uplifting , humorous , exciting , riveting , frightening ,and more adjectives i can't even come up with right now. I have just completed this game and i am already looking forward to another run through. Disney had a hand in creating the most unique sim/shooter/rpg/anything else you can think of that has yet to be created. This is the next level in gaming. It all started with the vision of the first system shock pc game , was powerfully updated with the system shock 2 sequel. And, now, TRON 2.0 has stepped up to the plate to give us gamers every little sweet joy that we so love. This ran beautifully on my system. I have : 900 mhz athlon thunderbird -- 1 gig pc 133 ram -- 128 mg ddr geforce 4 4600 -- soundblaster audigy 2 -- 120 gig 7200 rpm hard drive. I pushed all of the graphics to the max and it does not even lag! NOT EVEN A LITTLE! Get past the fear of the cheesy nature of TRON and grab this game. It will grow on you and you will not want to stop playing!

Excellent Presentation

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was at first somewhat skeptical of this game; I'm both a huge First Person Shooter fan as well as an enthusiast of the original Tron movie. When I heard they were making an FPS based on Tron I had mixed feelings; I was worried that the genre would provide an insufficient medium for the game and would turn off many potential player. I'll be the first to admit that Tron 2.0 does cater to some of the more obvious gameplay cliches that are nearly everywhere in the FPS world. Alot of the weapons in the game remind me of the generic weapon set in any FPS; you've got your sniper rifle (known as the LOL in this game), your shotgun, your rocket launcher (known as the ball launcher), etc. The levels were also a tad linear, and while the game length was of a good length for the story, the game overall wasn't that difficult to complete. That much was unrefreshing to say the least.

Honestly though, none of that matters. "What?!" you ask? Tron 2.0 has a lot of features that, even if not totally unique, cumulatively make it an addictive and fun game experience. The action is pretty much nonstop, and there are few puzzles (jumping and otherwise) to detract from the frenzy. Learning to master the disk makes the game very rewarding as well; it's a versatile enough weapon that it is still useful even when playing on the hardest difficulty level, and gained experience from single player disk use carries over largely to multiplay.

Furthermore, the graphics are completely immersive. Though the game uses a Quake3 based engine which will soon be outdated, I'd never have guessed that just by looking at the game itself. The level design and stylized nature of the game looks every bit as good as it did in the movie. Trust me, it does. Really. From the "glowy" effect from characters in the movie to the virtual landscapes around you; the overall game looks totally beautiful and are creatively designed. The best part is, you don't need a state-of-art system to enjoy the visuals; this game runs very well on a 1.0 ghz 512 MB RAM based system with a Geforce 3 (or Radeon 9200+) based system, and that's on med-high detail.

The weapons you use, while being similar in function to many other FPS games, look very cool as well. The LOL is my personal favorite and I use it almost exclusively along with the disk. When you whip the LOL out, instead of having it just magically appear for no good reason, you summon a bunch of geometric figures that inevitably flurry around your hands and form into the weapon, which looks totally sweet. It, like every other weapon you collect, is an enhancement of 4 "primitives," the basic weapons you can use no matter what. You can get these special enhancements to these primitive weapons by collecting and using "subroutines" that you can find in boxes or defeated enemies.

The voice acting in the game is top notch and features guest appearances like Rebecca Romijn Stamos, Bruce Boxleitner, and Cindy Morgan. The music is AMAZING, and essentially consists of remixes of Wendy Carlos' original score from the first movie.

Light cycle racing is also here as well, and as someone said on a Tron message board, "it's like snake on crack." That's very accurate to both the gameplay and the challenge, and it accomplishes this all while staying true in form to the movie. There's even a grand prix mode that you can play through with only light cycle racing.

Overall, I think this is a very well made FPS. I enjoyed playing it and will likely pick it up again. If you're looking for a more intense multiplayer experience then I'd recommend Battlefield 1942 or Jedi Knight 3, but if you want a more visually and atmospherically robust single player experience, this is the best you'll do on the PC.

The return of a legend!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: September 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

ON the heels of the 20th anniversary of the original sci-fi epic, Tron, comes Tron 2.0, a game with more action and breathtaking visuals then any game this year or last. Just as the film broke new ground in the field of computer animation for movies, this game does the same for the first person shooter. Gone are the dreary landscapes and the boring spaceship interiors, replaced by a virtual world that perfectly replicates the feel of the movie right down to the echoing sound so walking on a surface that is not of this world or any other. Innovative weapons include the famous Disk, lightning quick reflexes are required to engage in furious attack and defend battles with you well armed and armored opponents. Knowledgeable computer users will see the humor in the clever naming of items and enemies. And you will never think about a re-format or a firewall the same way when you experience them from the inside. And let's not for get eh light cycles and the disk combat arena! Buy this game now!

A fantastic homage to a classic movie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: September 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Tron 2.0 is a computer game that lets you enjoy many different types of gameplay, from shooting to puzzles and racing!

Based on the classic sci-fi movie Tron, this game sets you in the 'future' where you are Jet Bradley, the son of the original Alan Bradley. Once again you're inside a computer trying to get out.

It's amazing how far technology has come since those early days of Tron, and this game really shows it off. The graphics are great and really do an excellent job of having you feel like you're inside the movie. The sounds are just as good, reinforcing that idea. I highly recommend you rent the movie and watch it before you play, so you can appreciate just what a good job they did.

Of course a great atmosphere can't make up for poor gameplay, but this is another area that Tron 2.0 shines. There is combat that is fast and furious with a variety of weapons, plus other games like the light cycle strategy that I've always enjoyed so much.

You can play single player through the various areas or go on the net if you want to have a virtual world battle in a virtual world!

The Electronic World Awaits....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

After reading through several of the reviews here I've noticed that the single most common denominator is that the majority of us are 30-something males who saw this movie in the early 80's and have had a deep affection for the basic idea of it all. I mean, c'mon now, who wouldn't want a few days *inside* the computer in neon highlighted clothes while throwing a guided Identity Disc at people and get to drive around in a Light Cycle? No other movie I can think of screams for some kind of sequel quite the way TRON does (especially in todays' computer-driven world), and Buena Vista has tried to fill the gap with this awe-inspiring game.

The plot revolves around an encroaching data corruption plague that threatens the computers of ENCOM, against the backdrop of a hostile takeover from rival corporation FCon (on paper it sounds like a Bill Gates-like boredom fest in the making, but it works out quite well). The main protagonist is Jet Bradley, son of Alan Bradley (voiced by Bruce Boxleitner himself), who is sucked into the computer world, a la Flynn, by Alan's brainchild computer program Ma3a (voiced by Cindy Morgan, Yori/Lora of the original movie). Needless to say the storyline is intriguing and wonderfully put into the aspect of the Digital World with such panache that I wonder how this game didn't do better sales than it did.

Graphics wise this game is a virtual feast for the eyes. Where Doom 3 might hold the title for most visually realistic FPS this game is by far the most beautiful. Syd Meade's virtual world comes completely alive in this game, and to get to be *in* it is a dream come true. Almost every surface of every character and object is gorgeously highlighted by the cool neon lines of Tron-esque cyberspace. There is absolutely no other way to play this game but on the highest possible graphics setting because to put it even a smidge below that would be almost criminal.

Gameplay is equally absorbing. You begin your stay in the computer world with your trusty disc weapon. There are a number of weapons you can pick up later in the game, such as the mesh Blaster (basically a machine-pistol), Suffusion (a cyber-shotgun), LOL (a sniper rifle), as well as a wide array of energy ball weapons. You'll find yourself highly reliant on your trusty disc though, and really there's nothing wrong with that as it's the most reliable weapon you have and a pure joy to use. In addition you can aquire various "subroutines" by downloading them from data bins located all over the digital world. These subroutines allow you to do various improved styles of combat, or give you armor bonuses, or can give you increased abilities such as jumping higher or running silently. Most subroutines start out as giant Beta versions which suck up a lot of space in your configuration, but can be upgraded to Alpha or Gold versions throughout the game, provided you can find the subroutine enhancement critter-thing (there seems to be one for each level). This increases the combat/power value of the subroutine while letting it take up less space in your configuration, thus allowing room for more. Quite clever indeed!

One of the biggest sells of the game is of course the universally loved Light Cycle. No one who tries this game can deny what a long-dreamt about experience this alone is, and the inclusion of the Syd Mead-designed Super Light Cycle only sweetens the deal further. Cycles zip around on racing grids and every sound you remember from the movies is there, from the digital "thwip thwip thwip" of your cycle passing over grid lines to the fantastic sound of an opponent running into your light-trail. There are admittedly some rather odd (and questionable) maneuvers that your computer opponents can perform that will have you shaking your head in disbelief, but overall the Light Cycles half pay for the game by themselves.

Jet begins his trek in the digital world hotly pursued by ENCOM's ICP's, basically Anti-Virus programs, who blame him for the spread of the corruption. With the help of Byte (an upgrade to Bit, from the movie) Jet travels from server to server, hard-drive to PDA, and all over cyber-creation. Some of these digital world locale's are genius in design and are pure fun to go through, notably the Net (complete with a pub called, quite cleverly, "The Progress Bar") to the old EN-8212 mainframe of movie fame. All the while Jet is pursued by ICP's and the corporate thugs of FCon, who seem obsessed with finding and capturing Ma3a.

As gorgeous and engrossing as the game is there are a few weak spots that prevent me from giving it a perfect 5 star review. Others have pointed out a dislike for the puzzle/key-finding aspect of the game, but I rather enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun exploring every nook and cranny of the Tron universe. But I will say that while most of the maps are great fun to experience there are a few that are outright frustrating. Right off the bat the PDA is a living, breathing nightmare to navigate and beat(can I get an Amen?). The old ENCOM mainframe is a lot of fun, no doubt, but something of a letdown when you discover that you can't find Tron himself but only a sparkly bubble known as the Tron Legacy Code. Further the FCon antagonists are quite a bit over the top in their sinister designs. The HR woman looked like she was on a 48 hour caffiene binge at any given time. And the tragically short encounter with the infamous digital Tank only left me wanting for more, in addition to the elsewhere-mentioned scarcity of Recognizers (the few times you see and hear them really bring this game out). And the ending was almost anti-climactic. This is a long game and to go successfully through it to an ending that was, shall we say, underwhelming at best, really just irks you.

I should note though that Tron 2.0 is left open for a sequel story-wise, but that the luke-warm sales of this game probably told Buena Vista Games that it wasn't necessary. And that's what really saddens me because the Tron universe has a truly rabid following. The Light Cycles alone could make a fantastic game in and of itself, and it's included in the package! The ending leaves a number of questions. Where's Flynn? Is the CEO of FCon who I think he is? And most of all, where the heck is the sequel??? Overall a fantastic game that I find myself playing again and again! Fantastic work Buena Vista and Monolith!

Unique and Original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Well, first-off, I do need to recommend one is sure their video card meets requirements before purchase. Though they're not unusual compared to any other new videogames these days, Tron does make extensive use of glow effects--though they can be disabled, they're really a must-have for true enjoyment (think NVidia Geforce 3 series and up, more recent ATI cards...).

Fans of the original Tron movie from 1982 will **certainly** not be disappointed--the game is even rumored to be a feeler for a potential modern sequel.

Though some basic and *very* generic computer understanding (subroutines, viruses, formatting, etc.) can add to one's appreciation, it's certainly not necessary as one plays as a human form digitized and minimized into a humanistic, "symbolic" computer world.

As one progresses, it is possible to find and download "subroutines" than can be adjusted and upgraded within one's personal computer "memory" to aid one in various forms of offense, defense, and ability (e.g., the ability to jump higher, or defend against virus attacks). The technique is a very original capability that allows one to markedly affect how they play the game and what their priorities/strategies are.

Those familiar with the disc and light cycles of the original Tron movie will be most enthused. Use of the disc as a "weapon" is *very* well done, and light cycle incorporation is absolutely magnificent, even playable as tournaments separate from the main game. (N.B.: Some *may* find the light cycles initially frustrating. There is now a general patch from the developer that allows one to skip the few light cycle portions of play should they desire to progress regardless. I personally would recommend players select the option to invert mouse Y-axis during light cycle portions to make things much more natural. They can be mastered without too much effort.)

Tron 2.0 obviously had much thought put into it. I don't recall any "bugs", glitches, or inappropriate/unusually confusing situations, and found it a *very* welcome change from the standard bloody shoot-up stuff that can be out there. Though still primarily a first-person "shooter" / basic puzzle / jump game, the unique "bouncing" disc (and other weapons) are a welcome change from standard "guns" in other things.

Though very different games in multiple ways, it can certainly show Tron 2.0 came from the same folk who did No One Lives Forever 2. As with that game, my biggest critique would be that despite all the various "weapons" possible, it is the most basic (in this case, the three forms of the disc) that remain readily most useful throughout the game save one or two levels. The extras are there, but unlikely to be actually useful most of the time.

One will certainly appreciate and understand Tron 2.0 if they've seen the original Tron movie in advance, though the game is at a whole new level beyond the 20-year-old movie, simply building on the movie's basics. The entire, separate potential for light-cycle tournaments would be a quality game in and of itself, and are really magnificently done.

Ultimately, I believe Tron 2.0 is a great game, and one that really breaks the usual mold of shoddy games based on movies. It may be one of the most cohesive, polished games I've encountered in a long, long while, period. Though one may desire to balance against the virtually simultaneously released Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Tron 2.0 is truly impressive as far as I'm concerned. (Just make sure your machine can handle those glow effects.)

Tron 2.0 readily removes any question as to whether Disney could make a successful, modern sequel to the original Tron movie. With some of its originality and polish, it also deserves Game of the Year awards in various categories.

Better than the original movie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

Loved it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

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.

Tron 2.0

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: August 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Being based on a movie which, pretty much set the standarts on
digital worlds, and created by MONOLITH(creators of the increadible "No One Lives Forever" series),
the game is well designed, well built,
and with planty of gameplay,such as lightcycle races from the films, a nice array of standart and non-standart weapons based onthe film and the real world,nice locals representing different
hardware such as internet hubs,PCs,PDA,Routers and so on,
a good cast of characters(and voice actors, featuring REBECCA REMOIJN STAMOS(X-MEN) and BRUCE BROXLEINNTER(TRON,BABYLON 5),
and a good story which unfolds in a way movies atracts viewers
via (wicked)engine-based cut-scenes and gameplay.
YOU GOTTA TRY IT!
sci-fi fans(and everybody who loves PCs and films)
owe it to themselves...

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