Discs of Tron
What Is It?
If you'll recall, a few weeks ago we talked about the arcade port of Tron for the Xbox Live Arcade. Based on the classic Jeff Bridges movie from 1982, Tron was a weird mini-game collection that tried its hardest to recreate the best moments from the movie. Unfortunately it failed. Discs of Tron was released only one year after the original Tron game (and the Tron movie) and instead of featuring a bunch of mini-games, this game only featured the one experience. The good news is that the mini-game in Discs of Tron is a lot more appealing than what we saw in that other Tron game. In Discs of Tron you control a guy standing on what looks like a round target. It's your job to throw discs at the other person in an attempt to hit them off the target. Of course, it wouldn't be a game if the other person wasn't throwing discs at you and trying to do exactly the same thing. Back and forth it goes until somebody is hit several times. That's the whole game, that's all you do. Thankfully Backbone Entertainment has gone in and added a multiplayer mode, but even that may not be enough to keep people entertained by this somewhat limited arcade port. Then again, this is an arcade game from 1983, a time when simple games with limited gameplay were the norm. This may not be the perfect game, but it's definitely better than the original Tron game (not that that's saying anything).
Does It Still Hold Up?
The concept is simple and (for awhile) fun ... and then it gets incredibly boring. Some gamers may like the idea of beating their own score, but there's no way that anybody would sit down with this game and want to play it for more than five minutes. The graphics are understandably bad (I could be wrong, but they don't look much enhanced from what I remember of the original game) and the effects are cheesy, but the concept is simple and easy to get behind. Unfortunately it's the limited gameplay that sinks this title.
Is It Worth The Money?
If you're looking for a game you can put a lot of hours into, then Discs of Tron is not the game for you. The good news is that it's only $5, but if each play is worth a quarter then I'm not sure you're ever going to recoup your full investment. Discs of Tron is worth looking at for its historical value, but I'm sure most people can get their fill from just playing the demo. If Disney Interactive (the company that currently owns Tron) had added Discs of Tron to the original Tron arcade game and released it as a full package, then this would almost be worth the $5. Almost.
This Week in GameTap
Every week I plan on taking a look at the classic games being uploaded on the
GameTap service. Regardless of whether it's part of their free or premium service,
GameTap offers a wide variety of old school games that is worth checking out. Here are the most recent games uploaded to their server, keep in mind that all of these games are free to play unless otherwise stated:
1943 (Arcade)
In the past we've talked about 1941 and 1942, so it's only fitting that we eventually get around to 1943. Released in 1987, 1943 is the direct sequel to 1941; it's a classic 2D vertical shooter that emphasizes fast action and enemies that fly in predictable patterns. Personally I'm more of a fan of the other installments, but I really the fact that this game gives you a life bar and at least tries to add something different to the mix. Now it's time for GameTap to bring on 19XX.
Colony 7 (Arcade)
Colony 7 is a long forgotten arcade game that combines the fun of Space Invaders with the controls of Missile Command. Unfortunately the game never manages to live up to either of those two exceptional arcade games, so you're left with an interesting concept that isn't much fun to play. Still, I like the fact that this obscure little arcade game managed to make its way to the GameTap service so that gamers can give it a second chance.
The King of Fighters '96 (Neo Geo)
This is the third game in the long-running King of Fighters series. While you would never know it from the name, this installment of King of Fighters is actually one of better ones. This came out long enough after the first game to have added some important features, as well as adding a few new characters that would prove to be important to the franchise (go Psycho Soldier Team). There aren't a lot of 2D fighters currently on GameTap for free, so The King of Fighters '96 is definitely worth checking out (assuming you have a control that can handle it).
Little Puff in Dragon Land (Commodore 64)
Little Puff looks and feels a lot like a game we reviewed last week, Strangely Magic. If you'll recall (and I know you memorize every word I write in these episodes), Strangely Magic was an adventure game where you went around picking up objects and solving puzzles. This is what you do here, only it features a dragon as the main star and the controls have been improved. You still have to deal with pushing up to jump, but outside of that the controls are workable. Worth checking out.
MIG-29 Soviet Fighter (Commodore 64)
Given how disastrous the Commodore 64 platformers were, I was a little concerned about a game that sounded like a flight simulator. Now that I've put some time into MIG-29 you can color me impressed, because this 3D action game is surprisingly fast, responsive and, best of all, fun. You heard me; this game is a blast to play, one of the better Commodore 64 titles on the GameTap service. If you feel like you've been burned by the other C64 games, then you should really give this exciting (and hard) action game a try.
Murray Mouse Supercop (Commodore 64)
Like Little Puff and Strangely Magic, Murray Mouse is a 2D platformer masquerading as an adventure game. Oddly enough, this spy-based platformer is a lot wordier than its fantasy-themed counterparts. In fact, there's almost too much text in this game for its own good. The controls are on par with those other two games, so don't expect too much from this title. Worth checking out, but definitely not perfect.
Prince Clumsy (Commodore 64)
You would never know it from the name, but Prince Clumsy is the poor man's Ghosts 'N Goblins. No joke, the levels are similar, the weapons are the same and you're killing a lot of the same enemies. The only problem is that Ghosts 'N Goblins is also available on GameTap for free ... and it's significantly better. This is worth checking out if only to see how similar the two games are, but in reality there's almost no reason to play this game over Capcom's better platformer.
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