You know those researchers that say that playing video games can actually stimulate the brain? They say that it can help with hand-eye coordination and reaction time and all that good stuff? Well those researchers probably weren’t even thinking of a game like Discs of Tron, which was made in 1983 and applied to their theory, but I think it does.
Discs of Tron is not your typical 80’s game. You aren’t blasting away at little bugs, space aliens or trying to eat ghosts who turn blue. No, it’s actually much simpler than that. Hit your opponent, Sark, with a disc and don’t let the opponent hit you with theirs. The concept itself isn’t difficult and mastering Discs of Tron with so many other things going on in the game is not.
You don’t simply throw a disc and then wait for the other player to throw another back at you. You have three discs that can be thrown at a given time. While you are throwing, you aim with the right analog stick and move your character with the left one. The tricky thing here is aiming and maneuvering your character, Tron, back and forth to not get hit by the opponents disc. In accordance with trying to hit your opponent you also have to watch out for other objects floating around. The good news is you can deflect most objects, the bad news, you can only use deflect seven times. So yes, being aware of your surroundings is a must.
The graphics themselves are pretty stellar when you consider what time period the game was made. The sound is your typical bleeps and blips, and the overall game play is fast, although not centipede fast.
As the game goes on and you get to different stages there are new obstacles. Some levels have walls smack dab in the center of the board so you will have to bounce your disc off the side walls to hit your opponent. Other levels have multiple platforms that you can jump back and forth from so that you aren’t stagnant. It is fun to see how many points you can rack up, because hey, it’s an arcade game. And being that it’s an arcade game you will feel as if you earned your way through every new level design and challenge because unlike some games made today, this game isn’t forgiving. You get hit, you die, new life if you’ve got one, plain and simple arcade.
It can get boring over a period of longer than 10 minutes though, so don’t try to play it for very long and expect any more excitement. Overall, a nice pick-up and play arcade title and something that anyone can learn, but only few can master.
