Some people are simply unrepentant Disneyphiles. I never understood this mindset until moving to Southern California. While I’m not militant about it, I have found that as an adult, I appreciate the Disney experience much more than I ever could as a child. When I saw the Epic Mickey demonstration at the Nintendo press conference, I instantly knew it would find its way into my family’s living room. Today I tracked down a demonstration copy on the E3 show floor, and I wasn’t disappointed by the experience.
A friendly Disney demonstrator named Scott showed me the game and, even more importantly, answered some questions.
One of my biggest pet-peeves in a 3D game is when the game forces an awkward or distracting camera angle, forcing the player to make blind jumps, or to be damaged by unseen enemies. On this front, Epic Mickey has good news. In open spaces, the camera angle is not limited, and can be changed at will using the Wii Remote’s D-pad. When the view must be limited, such as in spaces where the level’s boundary blocks camera movement or in order to frame an important encounter, Disney employed the use of an actual cinematographer to provide intelligent input into the camera angle, rather than just leaving it up to the whim of the game’s engine. This is incredibly reassuring to me, and indeed I noticed this in action when I encountered a level’s ‘wall’ during play, and the camera locked into a frame that allowed only about 20 degrees of rotation, the camera angle was intentionally framed in such a way that the next platform was always clearly visible.
Another great game mechanic in Epic Mickey is the ability to shoot either paint, to build the world, or paint thinner, to tear it down. At first I was skeptical of this idea (thinking on Mario Sunshine’s water cannon) but in practice, this mechanic actually plays right into the way the game develops. For example, if you resort most frequently to destruction, certain characters in the game may not take a liking to Mickey, though others might react more favorably. Also based on your habits, Mickey will be followed by helpful swirls of animated paint or thinner, which hover around him like a shield and either paint enemies as friends or melt them into lifeless blobs when the enemy gets too close.
Though I witnessed a variety of play styles, ranging from thinning everything to repainting even the things you have to thin in order to advance, most levels will require a combination of these tactics. This doesn’t prevent the individual’s play style from determining the solution, however.
Epic Mickey features several distinct art styles to denote various aspects of the game. Adventuring uses a typical 3D world, much like that of Super Mario Galaxy. Cut scenes are in a catchy animation style. I was most amused by the mechanic that Disney used to travel between locations: Mickey must venture through a 2D side-scrolling version of a classic Disney cartoon in order to travel.
Disney’s intellectual property permeates the game. The show floor demo introduced us to the Epic Mickey version of Disney’s Adventureland (called ‘Ventureland’ in game), which contains historic and current attractions from the theme park, such as the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Disney also includes a cast of characters based on its entire eighty-plus year animation history.
Product Features
- Use paint and paint thinner to change the world, interact with friends and enemies and solve challenges
- Choose the best path to become an epic hero because “Playstyle Matters” and choices will change the outcome of the game
- Explore and solve challenges in an alternate Disney world ruled by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first cartoon star
- Travel between lands in Wasteland through classic platforming levels inspired by animated films and shorts
- Experience an innovative mix of platforming, action-adventure and light role playing game elements
- Collect over 75 virtual Disney pins in the game by completing specific challenges, quests and discovering hidden collectibles
Epic Mickey is set for a Holiday season 2010 release on the Wii.
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