Epic Mickey! It’s a video game. That Disney built. That some of us played. And now we talk about it.
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I am not a game person, but was excited about Epic Mickey. I had heard that it was easier for those none gamers. They were wrong.
I am horrible at it. It took me 5 hours just to get through the jungle cruise and now I am stuck at a spot where you need to get rid of guys and I keep dying. It was so bad that my daughter asked me to stop playing.
So now my husband is going to play for me so I can see the cool stuff.
Love the episode. Put it on after my husband beat the first playthrough (did Paint first time, now doing Thinner). A few thoughts:
For me, the scary was front-loaded and it got less spooky as you went along. Small World, Dumbo….SCARY. Later on, not as much spookiness (aside from some of the characters you meet, which are just….disturbing), but at that point, the plot picks up so it becomes really enjoyable. There’s also an interesting slam against Disney consumerism that was a bit surprising to see (and rather creepy in a different way).
You can tell if you’re going down a Paint or Thinner path based on the color of your Guardians (the little spinning ball thingies). Thinner, they look like creepy germ balls. Paint, they look like little glowing balls of pixie dust goodness. If you’re going down a Thinner path, you also start “shedding” paint out of your own body in little droplets that fly off your body as you move. You also will have some other types of challenges in the game because characters won’t help you as you tick them off.
One thing that I also thought was great is that instead of doing the whole Trophy/Achievement standard setup (ala PS3/XBOX), you earn virtual collectible pins as you go through. It isn’t too hard to rack up a bunch of them, but some can be harder to find and get than others, and some necessitate a second playthrough on the opposite moral path.
In one of my day jobs (editing those $20+ video game strategy guides… please keep buying ‘em so I can keep going to Disney!), I get to see a lot of games come across my desk. In my view, the game is pretty solid, and the camera issues and save point issues are no better or worse than most games out there. The plot, while not as complex and in-depth as something like Kingdom Hearts, still holds a lot of attention, and although the “good ending” was predictable, it was predictable in the same way that the ending of a Disney animated feature is: it makes you feel really good inside.
I’d give it an 8 personally, but mostly because I wish it was another level or two longer. On the other hand, the game is left open for a sequel, and that is something I’d be VERY eager to see, especially if they go to places other than a destroyed-out Disneyland.
While I somewhat agree with the review’s opinions on the checkpointing system for respawning after you die, a bit of backstory is in order. (Just like anything Disney-related.) Warren Spector has said time and again during the development of the game that the choices you make in the game have tangible and long-lasting effects. And, given the save mechanism used, you can’t go back on those choices if you don’t like the results you see, or at least you can’t in that playthrough. Checkpoints represent points at which you have committed to the choices you have made up to that point.
I will agree that it’s a little frustrating at times, particularly when it seems like it’s taking forever to get between two checkpoints. On the other hand, since you generate a checkpoint every time you find a collectible pin, if it seems like it’s been too long since you had a chance to checkpoint, take it as a sign that you’re missing something.
There’s one Disneyland land that didn’t make it into the game, and that would have been the “one more level” that would have pushed it into 9 or 10 territory for me. The camera challenged me at times, but I’ve yet to play a 3D platformer where there WASN’T some point where the camera was the biggest enemy to fight. On the other hand, the shout-outs to some iconic Disneyland myths are of huge appeal to the hardcore Disney geeks. There’s a huge one about a quarter of the way in that’s tons of fun, and late in the game, you can get access to a certain small area (backstage in real life) that you both really want to enter and feel so wrong about entering.
That’s good storytelling.
The camera and related targeting caused me to put this game aside for awhile. After listening to your review it is time to pick it backup. Grabbed a copy early on because of the visuals and the chance to explore/see all the nods to ‘forgotten’ Disney characters/shorts/etc. Really enjoyed the episode. Thanks.
I bought a Wii just so I could get this game. I love this game! It’s beautiful to play, the music is wonderful, and I really enjoy the play. The camera issues discussed during the episode can be annoying, but I can usually get past it. The game is not terribly difficult to play though it does tend to get more challenging as you play on. There are a lot of things to collect so if you are not using a guide book or the internet walk-thrus, take time in each room or land to explore using thinner and paint on everything you see. You will be surprised by what you will find. The story that unfolds is really interesting. I enjoy how it switches from 3D to 2D gameplay between levels. All the throwbacks to old Disney is really cool.
I bought the game on pre-order through Amazon. It sat wrapped on the entertainment center until two weeks ago. I played for 5 hours straight without realizing it was nearly dawn and I hadn’t yet gone to sleep for work the next day. I like the game but do find the camera angles to be frustrating at times as well as the save points. Looking forward to completing the game as well as the new upcoming Disney Interactive game being released on all three platforms. (Probably going to get it for the PS3 due to graphics issues.)