Tron 2.0 | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Monolith Productions [lower-alpha 1] Lavastorm Analytics (mobile) Digital Eclipse (GBA) |
Publisher(s) | Buena Vista Interactive Walt Disney Internet Group (mobile/Steam) MacPlay (Mac) |
Producer(s) | Cliff Kamida Garrett Price |
Designer(s) | Frank Rooke |
Programmer(s) | Kevin Stephens Kevin Lambert |
Artist(s) | Eric Kohler Matt Allen |
Composer(s) | Nathan Grigg |
Series | Tron |
Engine | Lithtech Triton |
Platform(s) | Windows Mac OS X Mobile phone Game Boy Advance Xbox |
Release | Windows OS X Mobile Game Boy Advance Xbox |
Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Tron 2.0 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Monolith Productions. The Microsoft Windows version of the game was released by Buena Vista Interactive in August 2003. The Mac OS X version was released by MacPlay on April 21, 2004. The game is a sequel to Tron , a 1982 science-fiction film, although it is set in an alternate continuity since its events were decanonized by Tron: Legacy .
Jason Cottle voices the player character Jethro "Jet" Bradley, the son of ENCOM programmer Alan Bradley (voiced by Bruce Boxleitner, who reprises his role from the original film). Cindy Morgan, who also starred in Tron, voices the artificial intelligence "Ma3a". Rebecca Romijn provides the voice of Mercury. The game features a new "light cycle" design by Syd Mead, and provides explanations for the Tron arcade game (which makes an appearance in this game) and Kevin Flynn's experiences inside the ENCOM mainframe as shown in the original film.
According to Tron creator Steven Lisberger and Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski, Tron 2.0 is not part of the Tron movie canon. [9]
Tron 2.0 plays primarily as a first-person shooter. Gameplay takes place inside various computers, such as mainframes and a personal digital assistant (PDA), while some custcenes are in the ENCOM research laboratory outside the computer world. Levels are linear in format. The goal of each level is generally to complete tasks and find keys, known as permission bits that allow access to the next level. While searching for these bits the protagonist, Jet, can find upgrades and lore surrounding the game's world.
Jet begins the game with his Identity Disc, which is used for both storing data and for combat. The disc is the same format featured in the films, and when thrown can bounce off enemies and objects, but always returns to its owner. Jet can also acquire computerized versions of real-life weapons, such as a shotgun, submachine gun, sniper rifle, and hand grenades. Each weapon aside from the disc uses energy as ammunition, which can be collected at various points in the game.
Jet's abilities are customizable, as his in-computer program earns version upgrades - when earning a level, Jet 0.0.0 becomes Jet 0.0.1, and so on. He acquires new abilities, and also the aforementioned weapons, in the form of subroutines held in archive bins scattered around the levels, but has a limited number of memory slots in which to install these subroutines onto his person. Subroutines start out as alpha-grade software, but can be upgraded to beta and gold statuses, similar to a software release life cycle. Status upgrades both take up less space in memory and become more effective. The layout of Jet's memory slots changes from level to level, with immovable "base code" taking up various slots and limiting the number and size of the abilities Jet can equip. When attacked by viruses, subroutines can become fragmented or infected and cannot be used until Jet repairs them. If Jet encounters a program unknown to him, he can import one of its unique abilities to his own system.
As he moves through the levels, Jet must engage many lower-tier enemies. Although none are particularly powerful, they usually appear in gangs, making them more of a threat. Among the regular levels, there are some with boss enemies. Interspersed with the first-person-shooter levels are several light cycle races. As seen in the movie, these races are actually arena duels in which each light cycle attempts to destroy its opponents by driving them into its jetwall. The arenas contain improvements, such as speed zones that affect the cycles' speed, more complex layouts with walls and other artifacts, and power-ups that can be collected during races. In addition to Tron's regular light cycle, Jet can also gain access to the super light cycle that sports a more modern design and offers more speed.
Tron 2.0 offers some multiplayer scenarios, both in campaign mode and in light cycle mode. Internet and LAN play are available, although the vendor does not recommend that the light cycle mode be used over the Internet due to its generally high lag.
The game, like the film, is set "inside" a computer. Areas within the game feature glowing neon-colored highlights similar to the original film's aesthetic, with colors denoting the type and general ambiance of the system - for example, part of the story takes place in the flaming red environment of a firewall, while a PDA is colored plain white. Levels contain such features as energy bridges and gates, floating boxes and tiles, teleport spots, and deep chasms. Jet can take damage (or even die) by falling from too great a height, and can also be crushed by falling objects and moving platforms.
Like the film, Tron 2.0 uses many computing conventions to explain in-game events, characters, weapons, and other phenomena. For example, players battle viruses while fleeing a system format, and wield a sniper rifle known as the LOL, additionally amplifying its damage with a skill called Megahurtz. Programs in the systems bear various names based on their functions, including names based on their creators (like Brian.exe), system tools (e.g. servwatch.exe), parodies of popular software (e.g. reelplyr.exe and netscope.exe ), and viruses and malware scripts (HA-HA-HA-0X0->???, Durandal and (Ra*mpa^ncy) - the latter two being references to Marathon ). Datawraiths, which are in essence digitized humans, feature email addresses such as AndyG@fcon.net and GeoffK@fcon.net. Jet can also find and read e-mail messages in certain systems, which partly reveal the game's background story, but also provide insight into the relationships between Alan, Jet, and Ma3a.
The plot of Tron 2.0 centers around Alan's son Jethro "Jet" Bradley. Since the events of Tron, ENCOM has been taken over by a company called FCon (Future Control Industries). During a phone conversation between Jet and his father, Alan is kidnapped. Ma3a, an artificial intelligence designed by Alan, digitizes Jet into Alan's computer. She informs Jet that she needs him to aid her against J.D. Thorne, an executive from FCon who attempted to digitize himself into the computer as well, but became corrupted during the process and turned into a virus spreading throughout the system.
Upon arriving, Jet is captured by Kernel, the system's security program, and is accused of being the source of the corruption. However, Kernel spares Jet on the recommendation of Mercury, a program also tasked to help Ma3a, and sends Jet to the light cycle arena. After winning several matches, Jet escapes the arena with Mercury's help. After the two reunite with Ma3a, the server is reformatted due to its rampant corruption, which results in Mercury's demise. Jet escapes to the original ENCOM grid with Ma3a and accesses an archive with the help of an antiquated program, I-No, to retrieve the source code for "Tron Legacy", an update to the original TRON that Alan wrote to protect Ma3a. Jet and Ma3a then access the Internet and find a compiler, which they use to begin compiling the Tron Legacy source code. During the process, Thorne attacks them and appears to kill Ma3a, while Jet receives a communication from Guest, the User who had assigned Mercury to help him. Accessing a video uplink, Jet sees his father trapped inside a storage closet, who holds up a sign telling him to not compile the Legacy program. However, the compile finishes before Jet can abort it, and Legacy activates, revealing that its sole function is to kill all rogue Users in the digital world. Jet escapes in a light cycle, and FCon inadvertently saves him by capturing Ma3a with a Seeker search program.
Having recovered the correction algorithms necessary to digitize a human, Alan is sent to Thorne's corrupted server and assists Kernel and his ICPs (Intrusion Countermeasure Programs). Meanwhile, Jet finds Thorne at the heart of the server and confronts Kernel in a duel that ends in Kernel's destruction before he can kill Thorne. Thorne, in a moment of lucidity, begs Jet for forgiveness and tells him how to enter FCon's server before he dissipates.
Alan and Jet break into FCon's server, which the corporation is planning to use to distribute Datawraiths - digitized human hackers - across the worldwide information network for purposes of corporate and international espionage. After Alan and Jet crash the server, the CEO of FCon (which the game implies could be Ed Dillinger, the ENCOM senior executive from the original film) orders Baza, Popoff, and Crowne into the system themselves. Alan, wanting to verify the purity of the correction algorithms, removes them from Ma3a to inspect them. As a result, when the three FCon employees are digitized, they become a monstrous amalgam that chases Jet into the digitizing beam. Jet battles the monster amalgam and ejects the employees out of the beam, releasing their code from the corruption one by one. Severing the CEO's control, Alan and Jet extract and save the Tron Legacy code as the ENCOM servers crash. The game ends with Alan planning to reassemble the digitized FCon team and bring them back to the real world.
Aggregator | Score | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
GBA | mobile | PC | Xbox | |
GameRankings | 67% [10] | (LC) 70% [11] (DoT) 61% [12] | 84% [13] | 71% [14] |
Metacritic | 68/100 [15] | 84/100 [16] | 69/100 [17] |
Publication | Score | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
GBA | mobile | PC | Xbox | |
Eurogamer | 9/10 [18] | 6/10 [19] | ||
GameRevolution | B+ [20] | C+ [21] | ||
GameSpot | 6.1/10 [22] | (LC) 6.9/10 [23] (DoT) 4.2/10 [24] | 7.1/10 [25] | 6.7/10 [26] |
GameSpy | [27] | [28] | [29] | |
IGN | 7.8/10 [30] | (DoT) 8/10 [31] (LC) 7/10 [32] | 8/10 [33] | 7.8/10 [34] |
Nintendo Power | 3.7/5 [35] | |||
Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 6.9/10 [36] | |||
PC Gamer (US) | 91% [37] | |||
The Cincinnati Enquirer | [38] | |||
The Times | [39] |
The PC version received "favorable" reviews, while the Game Boy Advance and Xbox versions received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [15] [16] [17]
The Cincinnati Enquirer gave the PC version four-and-a-half stars out of five and said: "Whether or not you're a fan of the movie, TRON 2.0 oozes with style and substance. Developer Monolith Productions deserves credit for creating one of the finest and most unique PC games of the year to date". [38] Maxim gave the same console version a score of eight out of ten and called it "a must for those out there who still like their CGI old school". [40] However, The Times gave the Xbox version three stars out of five, saying that "the controls take some time to master, and there's a surfeit of useless jargon seemingly designed to prevent you getting to grips with the gameplay. Nor is this a game for the short-sighted, since the on-screen captions that supposedly offer guidance are minute and virtually illegible". [39]
Despite the good reviews, the PC version underperformed in sales and BVG eventually dropped support for the game two years after it was released. [41] Despite the lack of support from BVG, additional levels and multiplayer maps have been developed by fans of the game, including an expansion game and modification. [42]
Slave Labor Graphics produced a Tron 2.0 comic book sequel miniseries called Tron: The Ghost in the Machine .[ citation needed ]
Computer Games Magazine named Tron 2.0 the fourth-best computer game of 2003, and presented it with awards for "Best Sound Effects" and "Best Art Direction", the latter of which it shared with Uru: Ages Beyond Myst . The editors called Tron 2.0 "easily one of the year's best looking games, and a textbook example of how graphics rely just as much on art design as they do technology". [43] The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Tron 2.0 for their 2003 "Shooter of the Year" and overall "Game of the Year" awards, which ultimately went to Call of Duty and Knights of the Old Republic , respectively. [44] It was also nominee for PC Gamer US 's 2003 "Best Action Game" award, although it lost again to Call of Duty. The editors declared it "a movie license done right". [45] During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Tron 2.0 for "Computer First-Person Action Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Innovation in Computer Gaming". [46]
In 2009, GamesRadar ranked the game third on their list of the seven best Disney games, saying "Not to discount the gorgeousness of 2.0’s neon lined environments, nor the wonderfully tech savvy 1337 speak [...] but the Light Cycle arenas remain the game’s crown jewel. All the nausea-inducing camera angles and impossible turns of Tron’s deadly game of competitive Snake were preserved, and you could bring the action online where it ran like a fanboy fever dream." [47]
In addition to the Mac, the game was ported to mobile phones in two versions: the first, called Tron 2.0: Light Cycles, which was released on November 21, 2003; and the second, called Tron 2.0: Discs of Tron, which was released on May 12, 2004. The same game was later ported to the Xbox with significant changes to the single and, especially, the multiplayer modes. The Xbox version is titled Tron 2.0: Killer App. Changes to the single player mode include optional jumping sequences, and overall console-tailored controls. The real changes were made to the multiplayer modes. Added is up to sixteen player multiplayer disc arena, light cycles, or overRide modes for system link or Xbox Live. The new overRide mode allows for first person gameplay with the ability to ride light cycles at any time. There is also a version of Tron 2.0: Killer App for the Game Boy Advance that has a different story and gameplay elements from its Xbox counterpart. A version of the game was planned for the Gizmondo, but was canceled during development.
Microsoft Windows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry – Windows (unqualified) for a consumer or corporate workstation, Windows Server for a server and Windows IoT for an embedded system. Defunct families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.
Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 1981 with games for the ZX80. Minter's games are shoot 'em ups which contain titular or in-game references demonstrating his fondness of ruminants. Many of his programs also feature something of a psychedelic element, as in some of the earliest "light synthesizer" programs including Trip-a-Tron.
A killer application is any software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as its host computer hardware, video game console, software platform, or operating system. Consumers would buy the host platform just to access that application, possibly substantially increasing sales of its host platform.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a 2002 stealth game developed by Ubi Soft Montreal and published by Ubi Soft. It is the first game in the Splinter Cell series. Endorsed by author Tom Clancy, it follows the activities of NSA black ops agent Sam Fisher. The game was inspired by both the Metal Gear series and games created by Looking Glass Studios, and was built using Unreal Engine 2.
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer and video game developer who is transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer where he interacts with programs in his attempt to escape; it also stars Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes. Tron, along with The Last Starfighter, was one of cinema's earliest films to use extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI).
Max Payne is a 2001 third-person shooter game developed by Remedy Entertainment. It was originally released for Windows by Gathering of Developers in July 2001, and was later ported by Rockstar Games to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in December 2001, and by MacSoft and Feral Interactive to Mac OS X in July 2002. A version of the game for the Game Boy Advance, featuring an isometric perspective but retaining most of the original's gameplay elements, was released by Rockstar in December 2003, and an enhanced port for mobile devices was published in 2012 to coincide with the release of Rockstar's Max Payne 3. A Dreamcast version of the game was also planned, but was canceled due to the discontinuation of the console in 2001. Max Payne was also made available on Xbox 360 as part of Xbox Originals program in 2009, on PlayStation 3 as a PS2 Classic in 2012, on PlayStation 4 in 2016, and on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2021, due to the consoles' respective backward compatibility and emulation features.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. The first installment of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, it was released for the Xbox on July 16, 2003, and for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003. It was ported to Mac OS X, iOS, and Android by Aspyr, and it is playable on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S via backward compatibility. A Nintendo Switch version was released on November 11, 2021.
James Bond 007: Nightfire is a 2002 first-person shooter video game published by Electronic Arts for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows, with additional versions released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003, and Mac OS X in 2004. The computer versions feature modifications to the storyline, different missions, and the removal of driving sections used in home console versions.
Tron is a coin-operated arcade video game manufactured and distributed by Bally Midway in 1982. The game consists of four subgames inspired by the events of the Walt Disney Productions motion picture Tron released earlier in the summer. The lead programmer was Bill Adams. The music programmer was Earl Vickers.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is a sports video game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions, Headgate Studios for the Microsoft Windows version, and Backbone Emeryville for the Game Boy Advance and N-Gage versions, and published by EA Sports for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox, Game Boy Advance and N-Gage.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a video game based on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television series. The game was developed by Radical Entertainment, published by Ubi Soft, and was released for the PC in 2003. It was also ported by EPCConnect, and published by Aspyr on the Macintosh.
Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter is a first-person shooter video game developed by Warthog Games, published by Black Label Games and released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. A GameCube version was in development, but was cancelled.
NHL 2002 is a video game released by EA Sports in 2001. It is the predecessor to NHL 2003. The game's cover man is Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and owner Mario Lemieux, who had just made a comeback after being retired for three and a half years. It was the first installment of the NHL series to be released on Xbox.
The Xbox is a home video game console manufactured by Microsoft that is the first installment in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was released as Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002. It is classified as a sixth-generation console, competing with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo's GameCube. It was also the first major console produced by an American company since the release of the Atari Jaguar in 1993.
Tron: Legacy is a 2010 American science fiction action film directed by Joseph Kosinski from a screenplay by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, based on a story by Horowitz, Kitsis, Brian Klugman, and Lee Sternthal. It serves as a sequel to Tron (1982), whose director Steven Lisberger returned to co-produce. The cast includes Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner reprising their roles as Kevin Flynn and Alan Bradley, respectively, as well as Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, James Frain, Beau Garrett, and Michael Sheen. The story follows Flynn's adult son Sam, who responds to a message from his long-lost father and is transported into a virtual reality called "the Grid", where Sam, his father, and the algorithm Quorra must stop the malevolent program Clu from invading the real world.
Tron: Evolution is a 2010 action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It serves as a tie-in to the 2010 film Tron: Legacy, with its game taking place before the events of the film. It was announced at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards and was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable. It was released on November 25, 2010, in Australia, November 26, 2010, in Europe, and December 7, 2010, in North America and Asia.
Tron is an American science fiction media franchise created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. It began with the eponymous 1982 film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The original film portrays Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a genius computer programmer and video game developer who becomes transported inside a digital virtual reality known as "The Grid", where he interacts with programs in his quest to escape.
The Microsoft Store is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It was created as an app store for Windows 8 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps. With Windows 10 1803, Microsoft merged its other distribution platforms into Microsoft Store, making it a unified distribution point for apps, console games, and digital videos. Digital music was included until the end of 2017, and E-books were included until 2019.