Disney's Epic Mickey (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Disney Interactive Studios has been showing greater initiative within the games industry recently, producing better and better games. One license which has yet to see this treatment with a new game worthy of its grandiosity is Mickey Mouse, with the last great games coming during the Super Nintendo and Megadrive console generations. However, this looks set to change as renown developer Warren Spector, creator of the Deus Ex series, and his new development studio, Junction Point, have teamed up to create a completely different and unique Mickey game in comparison to anything we've seen before. Can the game live up to all of the early promise?

Gameplay

Disney Epic Mickey opens with Mickey's curiosity getting the better of him and passing through the looking glass to the Sorcerer's home. After seeing the Sorcerer using a paint brush to touch up a seemingly innocent model of the Magic Kingdom, Mickey accidently knocks over paint and thinner on the model and inadvertently unleashing great evil into the world. Leaving in a hurry, Mickey remains unaware of what he is done until months later when a creature, known as Phantom Blot who is the main antagonist in the main antagonist in the game, drags Mickey from his bed and into the world he has damaged. Meeting up with Gremlins and hearing about all the horrors which have been wrought on the Kingdom, all of which stem from Mickey's spilling of paint and thinner on the world, he sets out to right all of his wrongs and vanquish Phantom Blot and return the Kingdom to its former glory. Long forgotten character Oswald the Rabbit, the original creation of Walt Disney and ruler of the dilapidated kingdom which is home to many of the forgotten characters of Disney's past, comes along for the ride and the interaction between the two characters as the story unfolds really evokes some strong emotion, the likes of which are common place in many animated movies nowadays.

With the story taking such a strong role, it's no surprise to see that it mixes into the actual gameplay as well. As you progress through the Wasteland, doing simplistic platforming sections in both 2D and 3D segments, you'll take on various quests, such as going to certain places and talking to certain characters, fetching certain items or solving certain puzzles, and how you choose to solve these will ultimately affect relationships with characters in the world and how unlockables, in the form of pins, artwork and cinematics, are handed out. As such, one playthrough won't give you absolutely everything and so there's plenty of replayability built into the game so you can see everything that the Wasteland has to offer. It's one of the first instances of an action platforming game ever taking on this kind of setup and definitely makes it a more personal experience for every gamer who plays through it.

As mentioned, gameplay takes on the form of platforming primarily and the locations, in both the 2D and 3D sections, make for some great platforming sequences. Yet, this is only part of the gameplay as the biggest facet is that of the paint and thinner mechanic. With this mechanic, you can literally paint in elements of the scenery or remove them entirely, allowing you to shape elements of the world, which have existed or currently exist, around you. For exploration purposes, there are many nooks and crannies around the world hidden and using the paint and thinner mechanics will allow you to uncover these, making the game feel very much like old platforming games such as Banjo Kazooie or Spyro the Dragon. But this is only a basic utilisation of the mechanic as it is put to use in combat situations, and choices of whether you use paint or thinner on enemies, especially the boss characters which come in all shapes and sizes, ultimately affects the final outcome of the game and how the Wasteland will turn out.

Disney Epic Mickey offers a rich gameplay and story experience, offering up a 15 or so hour playtime with plenty of replayability courtesy of numerous unlockables, pins which act as achievements and through alternate choices which can be made during the game. Unfortunately, while gameplay and story are strong, there are several issues which do pull the game back from being the best it could be.

Controls

Making use of the Wii-mote and Nunchuk, Epic Mickey controls well for the most part, relying on a similar style of setup for the platforming sections as that used by the Super Mario Galaxy titles, with a shake of the Wii-mote doing a spin attack. The paint and thinner mechanics are utilised through pressing of the B and Z buttons respectively and are tied to the IR pointer functionality but the pointer controls themselves are problematic at times as the game doesn't always paint or thin what you are aiming at, with the game sometimes having Mickey turn to face the camera and paint or thin in the opposite direction. They're manageable but as this mechanic is tied completely to the camera controls, which is also troublesome, you may find yourself getting frustrated by the issues. The camera does well enough in keeping up with Mickey in open areas but when things get more confined and because the camera tries to be as dynamic as possible, problems arise and trying to re-centre the camera, by pressing the C button, or moving it with the d-pad to give you a better view doesn't always help. It's something you'll have to get used to if you want to persevere but it continues to frustrate throughout the game.

Graphics

The dark and oppressive look of the Wasteland is perhaps one of the most stunningly achieved locations in a game on the Wii since it was released. While some may not take to the overly dark presentation, it fits perfectly with the game's story and characters and plays off of many of the staple themes from not only cartoons focused on Mickey but also from Disney in general. All of the locations, based upon those of Disney's Magic Kingdom, look fantastic and you can tell that the artists have spent a lot of time making sure that the world looks and feels exactly as though it were a forgotten and dilapidated relic of times past. The only real complaint with it is that it can sometimes be too dark to see certain things, and so you'll have to up the gamma settings on your TV to get better clarity, although some frame rate issues when in and around the Wasteland areas is common and a slight detractor from the experience. The Wasteland is nicely juxtaposed by some fantastic 2D side scrolling sections which are themed on many of Mickey's earlier cartoons and is sure to bring a smile to the faces of anyone who has seen any of the wide range of cartoons used for these sections. Just like the Wasteland, they're expertly designed and look fantastic, providing a nice contrast of visual styles for the game.

Character models similarly look great, but there does appear to be a lot of re-using of models for the non-playable characters as most look exactly the same as one another, making it hard to tell who you need to be talking to when you have specific quests for someone. Enemies show greater variety, with some very subtle hints to other Disney franchises such as Tron worked into their designs, and the dripping paint effect on them is a very nice touch which furthers the ink based plot. This dripping paint effect is put to use on Mickey's model as well and it looks fantastic, with Mickey looking similar to earlier incarnations and continuing to sport 2 round ears no matter how you make him stand on the screen. Again, it shows the talent of the development team for managing to nail the look of Mickey perfectly.

Cutscenes are presented mostly in a 2D art style aiming to evoke the same styles as those seen in the older Disney films and cartoons, with these popping up when you encounter major characters or arrive in new areas, and these really are produced to a standard which would easily fit within any of Disney's older films. The amount of detail which has gone into creating these in terms of visuals and atmosphere is remarkable as they really manage to hit home that this is a Disney game and really help to push the story forward as well as character development. There are some CG cutscenes bookending the game's story which look good but don't quite feel as inclusive as the 2D cutscenes.

Sound

The game's music is put together by composer Jim Dooley, who has worked on numerous movie projects, and takes sounds and styles from various Mickey cartoons and recreates them in such a way that feels incredibly fresh in this modern age. For the side scrolling segments, the music is upbeat and cheerful while in the 3D segments the music takes on a darker and twisted feel that initially seems out of place in a Disney game but quickly finds its rightful place. There is no voice acting but there are various grunts and noises from the characters in the game which feel at place within the game's world, and add to the sense of been repressed.

Final comments

Offering up a strong emotional story with plenty of opportunity to have you own input directly affect it and some strong gameplay elements, Disney Epic Mickey is one of the most fleshed out and enjoyable experiences you'll get in an action platformer on any console. However, it's very much a tale of two halves and while the story and gameplay are on one end of the scale, the controls and camera are distinctly on the other, creating multiple points of frustration which prevent the game from being the triple A title it could have and should have been. The issues will undoubtedly turn some gamers off, but should you push through them, you'll be greeted with an engaging and engrossing experience which is definitely worthy of your attention.

Pro: Presentation values rival what you'd see in a Disney animated movie, paint and thinner mechanic makes for some great platforming, great and engrossing story, plenty of replay value
Con: Camera issues continue to frustrate, pointer controls are as fluid as they need to be, frame rate takes a hit several times during the 3D sections
Final score: 8.3

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