Tron 2.0: Killer App Multiplayer Details

A few weeks ago, we gave you a first look at the upcoming Tron 2.0: Killer App for the Xbox. Now Buena Vista Interactive and developer Climax are ready to reveal some meaty new details about the game's overhauled multiplayer mode, which will take full advantage of Xbox Live and sounds like it will trump its PC counterpart's comparatively limited online offering.

As Killer App is based on last year's Tron 2.0 for the PC, you'd expect this Xbox version to have at least as much in the way of multiplayer as its forebear, and indeed the usual assortment of deathmatch and team deathmatch modes will be included here. Climax has done Xbox owners one better, though, by developing not only new maps but entirely new game modes for Killer App's online play. The most ambitious among these is the new "hardware" mode, which was described to us as resembling the classic Team Fortress mod for Quake. In this mode, you'll be able to choose from one of six character classes with different abilities and work with your allies as a team to win in objective-oriented missions. No specific information on the classes is available yet, but look for more in the near future.

Killer App will also have a new multiplayer mode called "overRIDE," which is based on the famous light cycles from the Tron universe. Tron 2.0 players managed to get light cycle matches going on the Internet even though there was no official support for that mode, so in the Xbox version, Climax will be doing players a favor by including light cycles outright. In overRIDE, you'll be able to change from humanoid to light cycle and back again at any time, which will create a new multiplayer dynamic since you'll effectively have access to rapid vehicle transportation at any time. Of course, the maps being created for use in this mode are being designed with this fact in mind and will lend themselves to being traversed in light cycle form.

Tron 2.0: Killer App will include support for many of the upcoming Xbox Live 3.0 features, including MSN Messenger integration, advanced stats tracking, team features, and matchmaking features. The game is due out later this year, and we'll bring you more on its progress from the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo and beyond as its release date approaches.