There is nothing so universally reviled among gamers as a movie tie-in. My old review copies of Iron Man 2 and James Cameron's Avatar, for example, are sealed in separate lead containers and buried in cement under a derelict warehouse, because that's the only morally responsible thing to do with them. The sad thing about Tron: Evolution is that, unlike a lot of other licensed video games, it seems to make an actual attempt at quality – it tries to be something more than an ill-conceived marketing ploy, but thanks to some glaring and irreconcilable flaws, that just isn't going to happen.

The game's plot falls somewhere between the original Tron and its upcoming sequel, Tron: Legacy. You're not necessarily expected to have any knowledge of either (though I can't imagine why anyone but Tron fans would play this), as the premise remains pretty simple throughout. The gameplay maintains an enormous emphasis on constant free-flowing movement – getting from A to B requires you to chain together agile, parkour-inspired techniques as you run across walls and leap between surfaces, and in combat, your health and energy reserves can only be replenished by running across energised walls or obstacles. You're encouraged at all times to keep moving.

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Damn you and your sneaky videos that make this look playable

Unfortunately, moving is about the hardest thing you can do in this game, thanks to one of the most unresponsive and counter-intuitive control schemes I've ever encountered. Your character, Anon, is about as manoeuvrable as a shopping trolley, and the camera is happy to wander around wherever the hell it likes unless you're actively guiding it. You actually feel like you're controlling two characters at once, as you struggle to keep both Anon and the camera from veering off-course. Even the most straightforward platforming segments are rendered almost unplayable – I died two hundred times on my first playthrough, most of which were due to my inability to make Anon run and jump in a straight line. The vehicle sections are even worse; piloting the light cycle is equal parts patience and dumb luck, and the light tank couldn't be any more cumbersome to handle if you got out and pushed it down the highway yourself.

There's also a remarkably steep learning curve. Anon gains new special abilities as he levels up, and each type of enemy is resistant to some attacks and weak against others. It's a neat concept for a while, until the game starts piling on half a dozen different enemy types at once – soon, you're far too busy being pelted with light discs to actually stop and change abilities, and all pretence of strategy flies out the window. In the end, I just upgraded my bomb disc and hurled it repeatedly at everything. My damage wasn't always optimal, but I was only dying five times a fight instead of six, which is about as optimal as you can hope for.



I could mention the rudimentary character customisation and online multiplayer, lacklustre graphics, incessant techno soundtrack and repetitive level design, but ultimately, all these factors are irrelevant. There's just no getting past the fact that every second of Tron: Evolution feels like a constant uphill struggle – against the game mechanics, against the controller and against the rising urge to hurl it at the television screen. I was awarded a trophy at the end of every level. For the first time, I actually felt like I deserved one.

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