Tron 2.0 Screenshots The Final Say! Gameplay 8.9 Graphics 9.0 Sound 9.0 Value 9.0 Tron 2.0 - reviewed by Jay Review Date: 9 September 2003 Review Score: 9.0/10  Distributor: EA

Almost 20 years after the original movie Tron was released, Tron 2.0 finally arrives on the PC that is a cross between first person shooter meets adventure game, and unlike movie sequels, Tron 2.0 is a PC exclusive. The story takes place twenty years after the movie where Alan Bradley (played by Bruce Boxleitner), the creator of the original Tron program has vanished without a trace. Although the suspects point to the real world of mankind, it appears that he was once again taken by the programs that he created. Searching for his fathers whereabouts, Alan Bradley's son Jet, is also drawn into the cyberspace of Tron, that takes the gamer into a fully 3D world that is unlike any game that they shall ever encounter. As gamers take control of Jet, they soon discover the insidious happenings of cyberspace that not only threatens cyberspace itself but also the very existence of all information worldwide that could see a humanitarian catastrophe. As with all EA games, the installation of Tron 2.0 was flawless and simply self-installed when the CD was inserted into the CDROM drive. The installation, depending on your current computer specifications takes around 5 minutes to install this two disc game. Once the game was installed, I was then ready to step into the world of Tron that not only brought  back fond childhood memories but also gave me one of the most original games that I have played all year. The game starts with a heated conversation between Alan Bradley and his son Jet and as to why he doesn't rethink his programming future. Alan wants his son to work for his programming company but the 20-something computer slacker Jet, only wants to program computer games. All the cinematics of Tron 2.0 use the ingame engine, that is a modified engine of the gorgeous Monolith engine that has never looked better. These cinematics are littered throughout the game and help progress the storyline nicely. Although the game contains the highly talented actor Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5 and Tron), it also stars the voice of sexy Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (recently seen in X-Men 2) who acts as a guide for Jet. The gaming world of Tron 2.0 reminds me of a cross between the Matrix meets Linux that is an extremely highly popular and free operating system  because as you run around the world of Tron, you actually see things like TCP protocols, scripts, e-mails and just about anything that is remotely connected to computers and the internet.

The communication between the characters in the game is extremely reminiscent of the Matrix where they refer to each other as "programs" that helps add to the realism of the game. 

Once the introduction movie has finished, your character Jet can then choose to engage in a tutorial (which is highly useful) or jump straight into the game. The basic premise behind the game is that it is a single-player first person shooter game but with a great storyline thrown in. The combat in the game is evenly spread throughout the game and players have access to a variety of 12 different cyber weapons. It should be noted that Tron 2.0 is not a pure first person shooter and people expecting huge gunfire battles should really look elsewhere as Tron 2.0 is the thinking mans first person shooter. The game also introduces other aspects into play such as escape missions, fighting with other programs, puzzles and of course rescue missions. Easily the best part of the gameplay are the light cycles that are these super fast cyber bikes that drive around the world of Tron and are extremely reminiscent of the original Tron movie. The game also contains a variety of multiplayer maps that the staff of impulsegamer had a true riot playing them.

Graphically, the world of Tron 2.0 is amazing and contains a variety of sharp colours, vector-style graphics and some brilliant special effects such as explosions, programs being corrupted and of course some amazing weaponry. As you progress through the world of Tron, the levels dramatically change as this is usually done through its colour system. For instance, one of the levels that is infected by a virus is actually coloured green to indicate illness. The developers have also done a brilliant job at modelling the characters in the game that not only contain a very high polygon count (for realism) but also some great texture and lighting details. The best way to describe the characters is imaging characters from Quake with "light" lines running all over their bodies, quite simply put, the end result is simply amazing.

The musical score of Tron 2.0 suits the game perfectly and add the voices of Bruce Boxleitner and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and you truly have a match made in heaven. The sound effects of the game sound extremely "cyberized" but it's all part of what Tron is, a tribute to the future of man and computer kind.

If you loved the movie Tron than I would highly recommend this game to you and if you are a disgruntled first person shooter fan than I would also recommend this game to you as it is not your average first person shooter. The game contains a variety of gameplay modes that include puzzles, shooting, rescue missions and of course some brilliant racing scenes that are straight out of a true Hollywood movie. With brilliant graphics, perfect sound effects, Tron 2.0 is worthy for just about anyone's collection. Highly Recommended!

- Jay