Tron (video game)

Tron is an arcade game manufactured and distributed by Bally Midway in 1982. The game is based on the Walt Disney Productions motion picture film of the same name. A number of other licensed Tron games were released for home systems, but these were based directly on elements of the movie and not the arcade game. Also had a sequel called Discs of Tron which wasn't as successful.

Plot
Tron must invade four sections of the MCP's Game Grid and remove him from power so that all programs are free to work for their users. The MCP is out to stop him at all costs. Not only must Tron survive the deadly Light Cycles and Battle Tank challenges. He must also enter the I/O Tower to get an MCP killing program from the outside world and enter the MCP Cone in order to insert the program, freeing the computer world from tyranny.

Why You'll Journey Into A Startling New Dimension

 * 1) The gameplay is divided into four sub-games based on those from the actual film. In other words, players would need to advance to the game's twelve levels by completing each of the sub-games. The sub-games here are as follows
 * 2) *I/O Tower: Tron has to go into a flashing circle of an input/output tower with a set amount of time limit while avoiding or destroying Grid Bugs.
 * 3) *MCP cone: Break a rotating shield wall that is protecting the MCP code and enter the cone without touching any of the shield blocks.
 * 4) *Light Cycles: This is a game similar to the Snake game concept. Tron rides on a blue Light Cycle in an arena against one or more yellow opponents. You have to force the enemy light cycles into walls and jet trails while avoiding them.
 * 5) *Battle Tanks: Use a red battle tank to guide Tron through a maze and destroy all of the blue enemy tanks. Higher difficulty levels have red Recognizers that are much faster and attempt to collide with the player instead of shooting Tron.
 * 6) At the start of each level, you are taken to a Game Grid where it consists of four quadrants. You need to choose between four quadrants of any choice. Each quadrant has a sub-game and the only way to find out would be going to the quadrant.
 * 7) If you lose a life, you are taken back to the selection screen with the icon representing the sub-game is now visible. Do you want to complete the sub-game? Go right ahead!
 * 8) Colorful and charming 8-bit graphics that capture the spirit of the film the game is based on.
 * 9) The controls are simple to understand. Depending on the sub-game, you can easily get used to how the game works out well. The aiming to shoot works well and uses an eight-way method while slowing down a light cycle is useful.
 * 10) To identify what level you are at, most of the levels are named after programming languages like COBOL, USER, OS, JCL, PL1, PASCAL, ALGOL, etc.
 * 11) The further you complete a level, the more challenge the game adds. This is good for those who would love a challenge. For instance, more Grid Bugs and yellow light cycles will be present.
 * 12) While there really isn't much of a story going on here, it does keep the spirit of the film. Basically, it did have moments present in the film like Tron's final battle with the MCP being a notable example. In other words, the source material is in good hands.
 * 13) As expected from a classic arcade game, the levels are endless. Yes, it may be repetitive, but the gameplay does make it up for it!
 * 14) On very rare occasions during the I/O Tower stage segment. a Solar Sailer comes flying through the stage. It will drop off a Bit as a method to get a massive amount of points (5000).
 * 15) This is one of the earliest games based on a license which is a movie license.
 * 16) The joystick lights up in a blue color.

Bad Quality

 * 1) There are some inconsistencies with the source material the film is based on.
 * 2) *The I/O Tower had Grid Bugs as enemies when they were only briefly mentioned in the film.
 * 3) *The nature of the MCP's shield behaves differently from the film.
 * 4) *The light cycle colors of the friendly and enemy characters are reversed.

Reception
In the Electronic Games magazine Tron got awarded for Coin-Operated Game of the Year". New York Times reported that 800 cabinets were sold by 1982. RePlay arcade stated that it was number four in January 1983.

Trivia

 * In July of 2011, David Cruz of Brandon, Florida set a world record high score for the game. He scored 14007645 points based on Twin Galaxies rules and setting for the game.
 * Battle Tanks is not based on any scene in the movie. It's based on Tank Program elements, including Clu's failed intrusion into the ENCOM mainframe and the "Space Paranoids" game featured at the beginning of the film.
 * Was going to be a first-person vector graphics game.
 * Was going to have five sub-games but was scrapped. However, Discs of Tron was released as a separate game which would have been the fifth game. The reason behind this is the programming.
 * The light cycles segment of Tron has led to Snake games sometimes being called "Light Cycles" games, despite the concept dating from 1976. Some post-Tron snake games use themes or terminology from the film.
 * The arcade game made an appearance in Ralph Breaks The Internet where there is a scene in the film that consisted of Ralph and Vannelope riding on light cycles only to realize that the game had a glitch.

Videos
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