Disney Interactive showed off its new TRON games at the TRON event at their offices in southern California this past Friday, and invited 148Apps to participate.

First up was a preview of the new addition to the free TRON app, Light Cycles. This new game is added to the already interesting Tank Battles for a double dose of TRON goodness, top-down style. TRON Tanks was launched at ComicCon 2010, and involves a reboot of the classic TRON arcade game.

In the newly launched Light Cycles, players can go up against the computer, or each other via WifFi or Blue Tooth, and fight it out on an arena grid with 7 levels, each with three to four stages. In our hands on time with the game, the local multiplayer had some trouble connecting due to poor WiFi network availability, but what little we were able to play together was fun and added a human dimension to the typical AI/arcade light cycle battle game. In Light Cycles, players flick or tap in the direction they want the light cycles to go, avoiding walls, traps, and the light trail of their opponent while attempting to box in their enemy with their own light trail. There are power ups to ride over in the top-down, battle grid play field, some goal-based battles.

The flick controls were solid, the game itself was gorgeous with no slowdown that we could see. The colors and menus all screamed TRON, as did all the games and merchandise on display. It was all a bit much, but the TRON, well, legacy, has become a cultural touchstone for moviegoers and gamers alike. The developers and project managers on hand were truly passionate about the games and the potential, bringing a genuine excitement beyond the typical movie tie-in game.

The mobile game also allows players to unlock the new Daft Punk single, “Derezzed,” from the upcoming film soundtrack. There’s also a connection to the TRON: Legacy Pop Up Shop, the retail web portal with limited edition TRON merchandise for sale. Coming soon to the app will be a free TRON themed visualizer and Alarm Clock app, which works with a TRON Disk Dock speaker device from Monster.

The second game we were able to play with was the upcoming TRON: Legacy app, set for sale closer to the movie launch and coinciding with the TRON: Legacy movie tie-in games on home consoles and portable handheld gaming devices. The app will include single and multiplayer action set in the TRON universe and cost $0.99. Keep your TRON-anxious eyes right here for more in depth details as they are released.

2010 is shaping up to be the year of Tron, with Tron: Legacy set to hit theaters near the end of 2010. While it is still five months away, Disney is getting the hype train for Tron: Legacy started up immediately, and one part of this push is the release of a Tron app for the iPhone and iPod touch. While the standard features like movie trailers and information on tie-in products are included, there is one huge and compelling inclusion to the app – the Tanks Arcade game.

This is a reimagining of the Battle Tanks mode of the Tron arcade game as something more resembling a dual-stick shooter. There’s a singleplayer mode that gives you 15 levels to play through that teach you how the game’s mechanics and upgrade system work, as well as providing a reasonable challenge. The real meat here is the online multiplayer mode, which lets you take part in 2, 4, or 6 player deathmatches. It isn’t strictly a free for all, though – you choose from a blue, green, or red faction, and in online games, people of the same faction are your teammates, and the kills you accumulate go towards your faction’s overall progress. It’s a great mechanic for an iPhone game, and makes it more than just a random deathmatch game.

What hasn’t been mentioned is that this app, with the Arcade Tanks game and all, is free to download. Disney also promises more features (both free and premium) to come as Tron: Legacy nears release. As well, for those attending San Diego Comic-Con this week, the app will unlock features for those who show up to the ComiTRON booth (Aisle #3172) and use the app. Disney will be showing off a lot of Tron: Legacy related content at the convention, which we hope to show off to you (as well as anything else iOS related) as it happens at SDCC.

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TRON

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-07-18 :: Category: Games