Tron Evolution: Battle Grids

Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids
Developer(s)n-Space
Publisher(s)Disney Interactive Studios
SeriesTron
Platform(s)
Release
  • AU: November 25, 2010
  • EU: November 26, 2010
  • NA: December 7, 2010
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by n-Space and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Wii and Nintendo DS. It serves as a tie-in to the 2010 film Tron: Legacy, though its storyline predates that of the film and its other tie-in game, Tron: Evolution.

Gameplay

Players create their own playable character known as programs to battle and defeat enemies in Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids. The game allows players to roam around the world of Tron in Grid Tanks, Light Cycles, Recognizers, or on foot for hand-to-hand combat. The game features a story mode which includes many games and some small hubs. In each hub there are programs with jobs, or quests that the player can complete for bits (bits can also be found scattered around the hubs) and use them for further customization to the Players' program. There is a cheat code system for unlocking in-game elements. Up to four players can play at the same time in local multiplayer.

Modes

  • Grid Games features several games for players to play. This mode goes up to 4 players. Grid Games features Light Cycle arena, Light Cycle Races, Disc Arena, Light Runner Arena, Light Runner Races, HyperBall and Tanks.
  • Story Mode is the campaign and where players can play the main story of the game. The player will play countless Grid Games to become the Champion of the Grid Games.
  • Championship Mode is where players can pick any 4 to 8 Grid Games and play them as rounds in a Grid Championship Game. This mode goes up to 4 players.

The Wii version supports the use of Wii MotionPlus, but only in HyperBall, where it allows players to perform advanced shots when launching and returning the ball. The Light Cycle and Light Runner modes can also be played with the Wii Wheel.

Plot

The game revolves around a Program designed and named by the player. The story begins with the Program battling Quorra (voiced by Olivia Wilde) with light cycles. The Program wins and goes to Tron City where he/she meets Quorra. The Program and Quorra become friends. Quorra finds Zuse who takes them to Tron's palace to find a trainer for the Program. They meet with Tron (voiced by Bruce Boxleitner), and he fights the program to see if he/she is championship material. Afterwards, he tells the player's program that if he/she wins the championship he/she would be the first ISO champion. This could give ISOs someone to look up to.

The program then trains with Calchas for the upcoming matches. After a few training sessions the program goes through an official match. One of Calchas' trainees, angry that he was not chosen to participate, challenges the player's program. If the player wins, Quorra then suggests to head for the next match in light cycles. On his/her way, the program is attacked by a grid bug. Both the program and Quorra fall off the track, and are attacked by a swarm of grid bugs. The Program wakes up in a colony, where a Survivalist named Gibson has taken the player's program to. He informs the program of how he saved both. On deciding to leave, Gibson says the program must repay him, because he sacrificed valuable resources to save him/her. The program agrees to compete in multiple games, wins, and allowed to leave and return to Tron City. After the program and Quorra get back to Tron City, they begin the Light Tank battle against Bosh. The program wins, but then discovers that Calchas was in a Light Cycle Race against Blaze. This results in Calchas being derezzed by Blaze. The Program then goes to Tron's Palace and tells Tron what occurred. When they both return to Tron City, they find out that Quorra had been kidnapped, and Blaze had threatened and hinted that if the program participated in the final match, he/she would possibly be derezzed. Then Gibson, who had come to watch the Tournament, tells the program that he saw where both Bosh and his henchmen drag her away to; so the program battled his/her way through the Elite Guards, across the Light Sail Station to Bosh, derezzed him and saved Quorra. Then both the program and Quorra hurried to the final event just in time, which was a Light Cycle battle against Blaze. The program wins, and after Blaze attempts and fails to derezz him, the user Kevin Flynn himself gave the trophy to the first ISO champion of the Grid Games.

Development

Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids was developed by n-Space, whose staff were given full creative control by the license holder, though with input from the film team. They were given early access to the film's script, receiving feedback from the scriptwriters as the story of the game developed. The Wii and Nintendo DS versions of the game were designed as different games than the Tron games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the reasoning being that audiences on Wii and DS typically want a different gaming experience than audiences on those platforms.[1]

Release

The game was released in both NTSC and PAL territories.

Championship Edition

An exclusive edition of the game was released for Toys R Us called Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids [Championship Edition]. It included the three-wheeled out runner light cycle for use by the player.[2]

Reception

The game received "mixed or average" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (October 27, 2010). "Tron Evolution Interview with n-Space". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. ^ Bromby, Chris (3 December 2017). "Game's Art Director's official portfolio entry for this game". Game's Art Director's official portfolio for TRON – Evolution: Battle Gridswebsite. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. ^ Marchiafava, Jeff (December 2010). "Tron: Evolution Battle Grids: Battle Grids Is Not Exactly An Evolution After All". Game Informer. No. 212. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  4. ^ NGamer staff (December 21, 2010). "Tron Evolution: Battle Grids review". NGamer. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Tron: Evolution (DS) & Tron: Evolution - Battle Grids (Wii)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 263. January 2011. p. 85.
  6. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (January 26, 2011). "TRON: Evolution DS". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  7. ^ Andre, Sara (February 8, 2011). "Tron: Evolution - Battle Grids". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  8. ^ "Tron: Evolution - Battle Grids review". Official Nintendo Magazine: 85. January 2011.
  9. ^ a b "TRON: Evolution for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "TRON: Evolution - Battle Grids for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.