When word started to spread that Warren Spector, the mind behind classic games like "Deus Ex" and "Thief," was working on a title starring Mickey Mouse, it was, well, surprising. After all, those games aren't exactly safe for all ages, and Spector is known for creating new and interesting worlds. How would he and his team fare with an established, family-friendly franchise? The answer can be found in the playing of "Disney Epic Mickey," a game which unfortunately fails more often than it succeeds.
The Basics
"Epic Mickey" stars Mickey Mouse, naturally, but he's been taken out of his element. Transported to the mysterious world known as Wasteland, Mickey must discover what went horribly wrong in this world and will do his darndest to set things right.
To this end, Mickey comes packing a paint brush which can recreate objects in the world that have been devastated by thinner. He can also remove objects using his own splash of thinner. These two elements are mixed with basic 3rd person platforming elements, exploration and puzzle-solving.
The Highs
The Sad, Interesting Tale Of Wasteland
What you come to learn about Wasteland is that it's a home to all of the forgotten Disney characters over the years. Unfamiliar faces like Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar and Gremlin Gus populate this world. The most "famous" of these 'toons is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was created by Walt Disney before Mickey Mouse, but was lost due to copyright issues. Discovering Oswald's true nature as a parallel to Mickey is fascinating and he quickly manages to steal the spotlight.
A Constant Visual Treat
The world that the team at Junction Point created for "Epic Mickey" is truly stunning and full of life. The idea is that it's a twisted version of Disney World, complete with familiar rides and locations, but made up of a hodgepodge of materials. It's almost like a post-apocalyptic, Fallout-y take on Disney World and each environment has its own remarkable design and feel.
Large-scale environments are paired with short, 2D platforming levels which are inspired by individual Mickey and Oswald cartoons. These, too, look fantastic and offer a charming glimpse at what cartoons used to be like, complete with anthropomorphic trains and musical note-spewing goats.
The Lows
Flat, Repetitive Gameplay
To make a great 3D platforming game, you constantly need to be giving the players new ways to interact with the world. Look at "Super Mario Galaxy." Every single level had a different twist, or a different Mario suit, or a different objective to keep things fresh. In "Epic Mickey," the range of the gameplay is shown in the first 15 minutes and you end up doing the same thing for the remainder of the game. Basic, uninteresting platforming sections and tedious fetch quests as far as the eye can see.
Hardly Any Character Progression
Imagine if you were playing a Zelda game, but instead of constantly getting new gear to help you solve puzzles, you just get your sword and shield and that's it. In "Epic Mickey," there's almost no character progression for Mickey. No new equipment, no new abilities, nothing. At a few select points, you can decide to increase your paint or thinner reserves, but that's it. By the end of the adventure, you feel a lot like you did at the very beginning, and it makes progressing through the game very unsatisfying.
Babysitting The Camera
A well-designed camera system in a game should be ignored. Unfortunately the camera in "Epic Mickey" needs constant attention, and you're often battling with it to show you the view you want. Sometimes it'll lock and prevent you from controlling it. Other times you'll be stuck in a blind spot between a wall and a building, cutting off any of your view. To play the game successfully, you need to be constantly fiddling with the camera, which is not an easy task, given that it's assigned to the d-pad on the Wii remote, and pressing the d-pad while playing is a tough reach for your thumb. Honestly, it's just a mess.
Player Choice For Dummies
Warren Spector made it clear before the release of "Epic Mickey" that his tenants of player choice would carry through to this game. While it's true that you are given the power to choose how to solve certain problems, it's usually much more basic than anything we've seen in previous Spector games. Do you fix this machine or break it? Do you help this person or sell them up the river? It's almost always one or the other, and because the gameplay is so basic, there's very little room for player control over a situation. You can't set up intricate scenarios like you could in "Deus Ex," playing mutliple parties against one another. Nope, it's strictly an A or B decision, and the result of doing one or the other isn't drastic enough to make you want to play through again. You might get a relatively worthless pin, some relatively worthless tickets or a new dialog sequence, but that's it.
The Verdict
"Disney Epic Mickey" is visually creative, but unevolving, uninteresting gameplay makes the entire experience feel like more of a chore than a pleasure. Hardcore gamers will be left dissatisfied and casual gamers are better off picking up more enjoyable titles like "Donkey Kong Country Returns" or "Super Mario Galaxy 2" this holiday season.