Discs of Tron - Xbox Live Arcade review

This is the second of the two classic Tron arcade game to make their way to Microsoft’s downloadable service (the first being the arcade game simply titled Tron). It holds up a lot better than its predecessor. That's not to say Discs of Tron is technically worth your money - both games are a couple decades old at this point - but it’s aged better than its counterpart.

Discs of Tron is based on the gladiatorial combat scene from the movie in which programs used their Frisbee-like discs to "de-rez" or knock their opponents off of ringed, circular platforms and into the void. And much like the re-release of Tron, Discs of Tron remaps the original game's rotating, disc-shaped controller to the right analog stick. But it all works much better this time around.

You move your character with the left stick and aim your disc against the walls of the arena with your right. The idea is to ricochet the disc off of walls in order to hit your opponent. You can also use your discs to deflect incoming projectiles.

That’s really all there is to the game. And like the Live version of Tron before it, the remapped controls hurt the overall experience. Especially in later levels. And the addition of an all-new multiplayer mode sounds like it should help the overall longevity of the game, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. The co-op and versus modes are nothing more than glorified time-attacks, where each player is on his or her own screen. In a game that’s based on one-on-one combat, it’s absolutely unforgivable not to include a true versus battle.

Discs of Tron is an interesting blast from the past, but much like the visuals of the original film, it really doesn’t hold up over time.

Feb 15, 2008