Tron: Evolution To Help Explain Tron: Legacy, Vice Versa

Posted by Jeff (3082 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

Back in the early 1980s, I embarked on a summer campaign to get my name changed to Tron Gerstmann. My parents, tyrants that they are, wouldn't hear of it and I stand before you stuck with my given name, Jefferson Lamarr Computer Space Gerstmann. Ultimately, that's not even an important tidbit of information about my suburban upbringing, but it might tell you a bit about the impact that the movie Tron made on my seven-year-old ass. I played the socially awkward and shy video game fiend role to the hilt, so much so that even back then, living inside a machine sounded a lot more exciting than going to school.

So I guess you could say that I'm somewhat interested in seeing how this next batch of Tron-related releases turn out. The film, Tron: Legacy, sounds like it's coming along reasonably well. The game, Tron: Evolution, also looks promising. At a glance, it actually looks pretty awesome. But after playing an early version of it, it feels like it's still in need of some work.

Two sequences were shown off to press at a Disney-run event last week. The first is the standard on-foot stuff you'd expect it to have, if you've been following its development. Part of the game is very movement-oriented, and the game uses the R1 button (the PS3 version was on display) as a sort of catch-all acrobatics button that you can use to run along or up walls or to vault off of specific objects for a longer jump. The combat is based on your ability to toss discs at the bad guys--most of whom are infected with something called the Abraxas virus--and generally beat the crap out of them with a light/heavy attack combo style. You can also employ the use of alternate discs, such as a heavy disc that does more damage or a bomb disc that explodes on contact.

The second sequence was an example of how light cycles will be implemented into the game. Unlike the hard-cornering bikes of the original Tron universe, these new bikes allow for a more analog experience, and the result is a fairly standard steering model. In this portion of the game, the road you're riding on is deteriorating, things are crashing down around you to create new obstacles, and enemy light cycles are attempting to box you in. Careful steering and the occasional disc toss to keep those enemy cycles in check seem key to getting through this section, though the steering felt a little too touchy. Representatives on-hand to discuss the game were quick to note that the light cycles are still in-need of some further attention, so it seems likely that the steering will be easier to handle in the game's final release.

Though we don't know too much about the specific happenings in Tron: Evolution's story, it sounds like it will again be a battle between factions, with the corrupted virus grabbing members for its faction by force while everyone else fights it out for control of Tron City. Oh, yeah. Tron is a city now, as well as a dude. And by dude I guess I mean "program." The story will attempt to bridge the gap between the cyberspace world of 1982 and the more analog-looking cyberworld of 2010, and it sounds like the developers are working very tightly with the filmmakers to give the game some important details that will make more sense after you see the movie, and vice versa. That sounds intriguing, but then I said the same thing back when Enter the Matrix was released, too. As something of a Tron fan, I'm hoping that the developers and the filmmakers actually pull this off.

But it's still too early to tell if either the game or the movie are going to be any good. After playing Tron: Evolution, it definitely seems like it has promise, but we'll have to wait until it's released later this year to see if Disney and Propaganda can cash in on that promise and deliver an exciting final product.

Staff

#1 Posted by Jeff (3082 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

Back in the early 1980s, I embarked on a summer campaign to get my name changed to Tron Gerstmann. My parents, tyrants that they are, wouldn't hear of it and I stand before you stuck with my given name, Jefferson Lamarr Computer Space Gerstmann. Ultimately, that's not even an important tidbit of information about my suburban upbringing, but it might tell you a bit about the impact that the movie Tron made on my seven-year-old ass. I played the socially awkward and shy video game fiend role to the hilt, so much so that even back then, living inside a machine sounded a lot more exciting than going to school.

So I guess you could say that I'm somewhat interested in seeing how this next batch of Tron-related releases turn out. The film, Tron: Legacy, sounds like it's coming along reasonably well. The game, Tron: Evolution, also looks promising. At a glance, it actually looks pretty awesome. But after playing an early version of it, it feels like it's still in need of some work.

Two sequences were shown off to press at a Disney-run event last week. The first is the standard on-foot stuff you'd expect it to have, if you've been following its development. Part of the game is very movement-oriented, and the game uses the R1 button (the PS3 version was on display) as a sort of catch-all acrobatics button that you can use to run along or up walls or to vault off of specific objects for a longer jump. The combat is based on your ability to toss discs at the bad guys--most of whom are infected with something called the Abraxas virus--and generally beat the crap out of them with a light/heavy attack combo style. You can also employ the use of alternate discs, such as a heavy disc that does more damage or a bomb disc that explodes on contact.

The second sequence was an example of how light cycles will be implemented into the game. Unlike the hard-cornering bikes of the original Tron universe, these new bikes allow for a more analog experience, and the result is a fairly standard steering model. In this portion of the game, the road you're riding on is deteriorating, things are crashing down around you to create new obstacles, and enemy light cycles are attempting to box you in. Careful steering and the occasional disc toss to keep those enemy cycles in check seem key to getting through this section, though the steering felt a little too touchy. Representatives on-hand to discuss the game were quick to note that the light cycles are still in-need of some further attention, so it seems likely that the steering will be easier to handle in the game's final release.

Though we don't know too much about the specific happenings in Tron: Evolution's story, it sounds like it will again be a battle between factions, with the corrupted virus grabbing members for its faction by force while everyone else fights it out for control of Tron City. Oh, yeah. Tron is a city now, as well as a dude. And by dude I guess I mean "program." The story will attempt to bridge the gap between the cyberspace world of 1982 and the more analog-looking cyberworld of 2010, and it sounds like the developers are working very tightly with the filmmakers to give the game some important details that will make more sense after you see the movie, and vice versa. That sounds intriguing, but then I said the same thing back when Enter the Matrix was released, too. As something of a Tron fan, I'm hoping that the developers and the filmmakers actually pull this off.

But it's still too early to tell if either the game or the movie are going to be any good. After playing Tron: Evolution, it definitely seems like it has promise, but we'll have to wait until it's released later this year to see if Disney and Propaganda can cash in on that promise and deliver an exciting final product.

Staff

#2 Edited by sjolle (165 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

mmmh this looks rad

#3 Posted by DJKommunist (157 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

I LOVE YOU TRON

#4 Posted by Shisnopi (78 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

Movie tie in, can't keep my hopes up.

#5 Posted by ZmillA (2127 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

thats some title

#6 Posted by Ryax (4630 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

yay daft punk

#7 Posted by Meltac (1890 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

UHN TIS UHN TIS UHN TIS UHN TIS! TECHNO POWERHOUSE GO! UHN TIS UHN TIS!

#8 Posted by HallwayGiant (105 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

I think we're all more interested in the real question here....where are the new Daft Punk tracks and when will I be able to here them?

#9 Posted by Biddy (185 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

TTRRROOOONNNNNN!

#10 Posted by VoshiNova (1269 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

woot!

#11 Posted by jim_dandy (891 posts) - 3 years, 3 hours ago

I never saw Tron, but that girl's haircut is awesome.

#12 Posted by President_Barackbar (3150 posts) - 3 years, 2 hours ago

I was actually kind of interested in this...until I found out that its a movie tie-in game. Sigh, chalk this one up as a failure.

#13 Posted by nrh79 (2713 posts) - 3 years, 2 hours ago

@Biddy said:

" TTRRROOOONNNNNN! "

#14 Posted by Milkman (13999 posts) - 3 years, 2 hours ago

I do not have high hopes for this.

#15 Posted by Jeffk38uk (704 posts) - 3 years, 1 hour ago

As he said, still too early to say whether it would be good or bad, all we can do is pray is bucks the video game film trend.

#16 Edited by Bionicicide (1213 posts) - 3 years, 1 hour ago

Anxiously waiting for gameplay to match the screenshots' enticement. There's hope, I mean, the developers probably didn't have to wait months for designs to get approved since they had the original movie to use. eg: They knew from day one they would have multiplayer light cycles and don't have to compete with AAA titles with amazing textures since Tron's environments aren't demanding.

#17 Posted by YookonCornelius (1 posts) - 3 years, 56 minutes ago

But did Propaganda have to make Quorra so homely? I guess making plastic figures in the Toy Story 3 movie tie-in game has paid off big-time here.

#18 Posted by lhaymehr (203 posts) - 3 years, 52 minutes ago

Propaganda? Oh I so hoped it would be Monolith. If its by Turok to judge this game is gonna suck c?ck.

#19 Posted by Biddy (185 posts) - 3 years, 43 minutes ago

@Bloviator said:

" @Biddy said:
" TTRRROOOONNNNNN! "
"

Nice.

#20 Posted by Meowayne (6084 posts) - 3 years, 41 minutes ago

EVOLUTION DOESNT EXPLAIN ANYTHING HERP DERP

wait what

#21 Posted by Claude (15850 posts) - 3 years, 17 minutes ago

I still would like to play Tron 2.0. Damn, I was 17 when Tron was released in theaters.

#22 Posted by CH3BURASHKA (3913 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

The fact that the lightcycles can turn like regular vehicles is terrible. The cool thing about them in the original Tron was that they defied normal physics by making split-second 90 degree turns without losing momentum or affecting the rider. Now they're fucking bikes.

#23 Posted by Jeff (3082 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

@CH3BURASHKA: They're attempting to mirror the way games and computers have changed since the original release. I tend to agree with you, but at least they've got some justification in mind.

Staff

#24 Posted by HaYHaYHaY (151 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

O_O Curve lines! O_O

#25 Posted by ArbitraryWater (8983 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

I watched Tron for the first time recently and man, that movie is not so great. It's not so much the psuedo-religious storyline or the hilariously dated special effects as it is the generally stupid premise, which I assume could have only been concocted in an era where both computers and video games were fantastic and from the future. The acting isn't so great either. Therefore, my interest in anything Tron related isn't much more than apathetic.

#26 Posted by TwoOneFive (9449 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

hopefully it's 3D on ps3.

#27 Posted by TwoOneFive (9449 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

@Jeff:

I kind of think the whole "it was perfection blahh" thing is lame. Updating the effects in the original Star Wars Trilogy was a good idea... But adding lots of unnecessary nonsense was, well, unnecessary. I think these guys are keeping it necessary. Come on now, the trailer for the bike scene looked awesome!

#28 Posted by GradiusCat (20 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

@CH3BURASHKA: The light cycles in the first tron only turn at 90 degree angles when there on the game grid. Shortly after they (Tron, Flynn, and Ram) escape you see the cycles have more analog turning thru the tank armory and the cannons.

#29 Posted by GozerTC (442 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

I will remain optimistic, but only cautiously. TRON is one of those "when I was a kid" things that I loved. Including the part of the people mover at Disneyland that was TRON based. (Who here is old enough to remember THAT? :) ) So yeah, I look forward to it, but I won't be holding my breath.

#30 Posted by Jayzilla (2389 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

so the OG is getting a sequel. idk if in this day and age they can do it. back in the day, both the tron games were the most fun. i had to stand in line at the arcade to play them.

#31 Posted by MonkeysDad (51 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

Movie game = Cautious optmism

#32 Posted by Lazyaza (1991 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

I'm pretty excited for the movie, the game, not so much.

#33 Posted by selbie (1677 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

Enco....I mean Disney and Propaganda will have a hard time pulling this off. A game should be developed for 3 years, cuz Jerry Bruckheimer said so!!

#34 Posted by mars188 (150 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

Wow

#35 Posted by Kraivyne (75 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

I loved the movie back in the day, heres to hopeing they don't ruin my memories with a crappy rehashed movie.

The game, could be crap for all I care although if its awesome I will be playing that thing to death.

#36 Posted by JAH_Donuts (178 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

Thank god not a FPS. Tron 2.0 was cool and all, but I'm growing tired of games where all I see is my hands, a gun and muzzle flash.

#37 Posted by mastrbiggy (229 posts) - 2 years, 10 months ago

Man I am so excited for Tron: Legacy, but Tron: Legacy: Evolution: The Game hasn't convinced me yet.

#38 Posted by buzz_clik (6724 posts) - 2 years, 10 months ago

Sure, Tron's cool and all, but that opening paragraph was sublime. Nicely played, Master Gerstmann.

Moderator

#39 Posted by eric_s07 (6 posts) - 2 years, 5 months ago

How was Tron 2.0 for the PC, anyone remembers?

Tron: Evolution

Disney released a new game to go along with the 2010 film release, Tron Legacy. This game is a prequel to the movie forming a bridge (but not a Jeff bridge) between the original and the 2010 film.

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