Everyone knew post-E3 that Nintendo was going to have a very strong second half of 2010. With new games starring Kirby and Donkey Kong, two of Nintendo’s flagship stars, the Wii was destined for a strong showing.
The star of the third-party for the Wii was Disney’s and Warren Spector’s new title Epic Mickey, starring Mickey Mouse. Reports and previews stated that this game would, in a sense, be walkthrough the history of Mickey himself, making long-time Disney fans water at the mouth. Although I’m not a huge Disney fan, I too was excited.
I picked up the game yesterday on a rental, and sadly, I’m not blown away so far. The story has Mickey in the leading role, going through various worlds in the Disney universe, saving everything from darkness. He is a equipped with a paintbrush and can of thinner to either spill new life into areas overcome by darkness, or thin the darkness out completely.
Those are the funnest parts of the game. Painting the ground to extend bridges or platforms, or spilling the thinner on walls and floors to expose hidden areas filled with goodies has been a blast. It’s so fun, I wish the entire game was focused on it.
Epic Mickey’s story progression is based on little tasks or objectives you must complete in each world. Some are very simple, while others are more complex. The game does a good job of telling you what you have to do to complete the task, and gives you a good idea of where to head next.
The combat is a bit flunky. You shoot at enemies with the thinner until they melt a-la the Wicked Witch of the West. You can also use your whip attack with a flick of the Wii-mote, but that only stuns your foes, still making you use the thinner. In theory it’s fine, but when there are several enemies on the screen at once, it is difficult to control and focus on just one enemy.
Platforming is shaky also. Most of the time, it definitely works, but the lack of great control over the camera makes it difficult to get from platform to platform. I often fell into harms way due to lack of a good angle. Ryan Davis at Giantbomb said it best, stating that it feels like a camera designed by a N64-era designer.
I’m still not too far into the game, and it has really been a mixed bag. I just don’t find myself having a really good time with it. The story and use of Disney characters, especially the older ones not often seen in present day, are a lot of fun and will be worthwhile for hardcore Disney fans. But there just hasn’t been enough thus-far that has made me want to go out and buy this.
