Publisher: M Network
Release: 1982
Controller: Joystick
Players: 1
Genre Arcade: Platformer
Alternate Title N/A
Model # MT4317
Rarity: 3
Programmer: Hal Finney
This is one of the better movie
based games on the 2600.
Based on the ground breaking film Tron, you take control of the title character as he must work his way through four floors of danger in an effort to collect various flying items. Doing so will allow Tron to activate the portal to the next level, which is virtually identical to the one you just came from.
The play field layout is simple, there are elevators on either side of the screen and a gap in the center that must be jumped over. There are two random floating objects that are making their way back and forth on each floor that must be gathered by leaping at the precise moment. The collision detection is a bit off so if you don’t hit it just right you will fly right through it. Once you have the two items you must leap over the center grid to activate the elevators before you can move up to the next floor and repeat the same thing. There is a special icon on the third level that looks like an arrow (the Solar Sailer) that can’t be captured, however it can be grabbed onto and ridden to the other side of the screen. This can be invaluable if you have some enemies bearing down on you.
Speaking of enemies, you will be facing off against mobile boxes that have the same basic shape as the Recognizer ship from the movie, although instead of being many stories tall it’s the midget version of it. There are also Grid Bugs that look like dancing stools that will attack, and in later levels fast moving tanks show up to make life difficult. All enemies start on the top floor on the left and snake their way down floor by floor, so you should have some time to collect things before they get close enough to kill you. If you can dodge the enemies long enough to gather all the flying items the center portal turns blue, and when you jump in it will rocket you through the top of the screen and into the next level.
While on the surface this looks like a simplistic game, in the later levels it can become very challenging. In order to survive those levels you will have to bounce back and forth between floors, advancing and retreating in order to dodge the fast moving enemies. The only other thing of note is that even though Tron is a legendary warrior in the movie, in the game he is completely defenseless and has no offensive capabilities.
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Derek began playing video games in the early 80s, cutting his teeth on every Atari 2600 game he could get his hands on. This kickstarted a lifelong love of games, which continues to this day. No matter how advanced the systems and games become, the love for Atari remains supreme, which is why the Atari 2600 Encyclopedia project was done. With this massive project completed, Derek looks to begin work on another system encyclopedia, hoping to pay tribute to the games that shaped his childhood.
