Tron: Evolution Draws Upon Its Inner Prince Of Persia (DIS)

Part Prince of Persia, part motorcycle combat game, Tron: Evolution is a prequel to the new Disney

film, Tron: Legacy. Developed by Propaganda Games, Tron: Evolution eagerly embraces the dark appearance of the new motion picture. Black walls and an even blacker sky are brightened only by an unusual hint of blue, creating a color effect that could be described as a cross between retro neon lights and modern LEDs. While these aesthetics may only speak to a certain crowd, the soundtrack – a mixture of music from the film and what appears to be a collection of all-new tracks composed specifically for the game – is much more neutral. Though the sound may not have what it takes to mesmerize gamers the way that it is mesmerizing moviegoers in theaters, you'd be hard-pressed to walk away without liking at least one of Tron: Evolution's techno tracks. What's most striking about Tron: Evolution, however, is the way it mirrors the Prince of Persia-style of gameplay. This is especially true of the latest game, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. And really, it's quite unexpected, as the two franchises have very little in common with each other (excluding their respective films, of course, which were both produced by Disney). Still, Tron: Evolution will have you running up and along the sides of walls just as if you were the prince himself. You'll leap across large gaps, jump off high platforms, and attempt to scale walls in a way that only Lara Croft can. However, unlike the Tomb Raider star, Tron: Evolution's hero is equipped with a handy, boomerang-style light disc that can damage – and, with enough repeated hits, destroy – a wide range of enemies. The disc can be thrown with ease for one powerful assault, or the player can execute a simple one-button combo that will attack the opponent several times. Similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, the recent Prince of Persia games, and so many other action/RPGs and action/adventures, players can hold the trigger button to target their enemies. This allows them to circle their adversary, almost with an eight-way run kind of effect (think SoulCalibur). There's a hint of hand-to-hand combat as well, since players can cap off their combos with a punch. Tron: Evolution is very much a mission- and objective-based game where players go through two processes: defeating enemies and exploring levels. When enemies appear, the current level locks down, Devil May Cry-style, preventing the player from progressing until all of the enemies have been defeated. Boss battles are often mixed in with the standard enemy cluster, adding combat variety to the experience. Of course, many players will come to Tron: Evolution just for the light cycles, which are surprisingly fast, and can be experienced online via Microsoft's

Xbox Live service or Sony's

PlayStation Network. But it's the prequel story line that will most intrigue Tron: Legacy's biggest fans, as it fills in some of the blanks left by film. Olivia Wilde reprises her role as Quorra, and while most of the other voices are solid, Jeff Bridges is not a part of the experience. Instead, Fred Tatasciore – a man with numerous voice acting credits in video games – has taken over the role of Kevin Flynn.