POSTED 4/12/10


TRON: EVOLUTION

Disney Interactive
PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC)

Alright, give me room... here we go! Ah, TRON. Does it get any more gloriously geekular?

The 1982 Disney film, in which The Dude got sucked into a computer and took out a nasty program that done gone rogue, sits loftily in the geeky greats pantheon. Finally, almost 30 years later, a sequel’s set to hit cinemas – and ironically it’s a revisited property that’s not a ‘reboot’...

This is where TRON: Evolution enters. It’s the missing link between the two cinematic excursions, filling holes so fans don’t get perplexed in the cineplex. Some seven years (we think) after TRON, programs called ISOs have spawned from nowhere, causing similar us-versus-them community sentiment as humans vs Collingwood supporters. Somebody’s really unhappy about it, and starts wreaking binary havoc.
 
Seven years has seen décor improvement. Gone are the stark, 8-bit grids of the film, in favour of a solid-yet-drab, neon-highlighted effect (darlink!).

Game-wise, TRON: Evolution is basically the first ‘next-gen’ Prince of Persia gone geek, as core gameplay is near-as identical: third-person run-’em-up with combat bits inserted. Yep, it’s fiddly wall-run ‘n’ jump time, with the adorable habit of fucking you over just when you think you’ve nailed it. Meanwhile, two other games pop up. A decidedly average light cycle affair that’s supposed to support Move, but ours, even though calibrated, just glowed a natty shade of TRON blue and did nought else. The second’s pretty much Tiananmen Square in the TRONiverse, where you go Battlezone in a tank, with the explosions and the trundling and the squishing and whatnot. This rocks, and should feature more.

Despite frustrations – notably Groundhog Day effect until you suss the often obtuse next requirement - TRON: Evolution is one of the better film tie-ins to hit the game grid.

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