Topic: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

[GoldenPhoenix]

  It seems as if Mickey doesn't really acquire new abilities in the game...how will they stop it from feeling stale by the end?

It will have to rely on level design and variety. Really Super Mario 64 didn't have "abilities" just power ups here and there. It mostly relied on level design, the same can be said for SMG games as well. So I'm not horribly concerned by the fact you don't aquire new abilities, because the best platformers keep from being stale via level design and variety. The paintbrush and consequences of one's choices is enough of a tool to maintain variety, just have more complex choices and puzzles as you go.

[Sundoulos]

  It seems as if Mickey doesn't really acquire new abilities in the game...how will they stop it from feeling stale by the end?

It will have to rely on level design and variety. Really Super Mario 64 didn't have "abilities" just power ups here and there. It mostly relied on level design, the same can be said for SMG games as well. So I'm not horribly concerned by the fact you don't aquire new abilities, because the best platformers keep from being stale via level design and variety. The paintbrush and consequences of one's choices is enough of a tool to maintain variety, just have more complex choices and puzzles as you go.

Good point!  Hopefully, the level designs or puzzles will vary enough to keep the gameplay feeling fresh.  You're right...some of my favorite games don't vary abilities/gameplay very much at all, though the environments/puzzles do change (e.g. Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Starfox, etc.)

I'm cautiously optimistic.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Well Warren Specter created one of the best, open ended FPS games, Deus Ex. If anyone can pull off variety and introducing consequences to one's actions in a platformer, it is him.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

First review of Epic Mickey is in the newest ONM UK (for once, a 'world exclusive' that was actually exclusive).

The Good
* Paint and thinner works very well within the gameplay. Different rewards for good and evil deeds. Apparently, actions really do affect certain things later in the adventure. "Playstyle Matters" has high replay value.
* The Disney theme is sublime in the reviewer's eyes. It hits all the presentation marks (graphics, music, voices, callbacks) to make a Disney fan go wild.

The Middle Ground
* Platforming action is considered average. Passable, mildly enjoyable, but not much compared to dedicated platform games (such as DKC Returns, which was reviewed in this same issue).

The Bad
* Frequently uncompromising camera. The automatic angles are not always helpful and trying to centre it behind Mickey isn't always responsive either.

Overall score = 85%. Make of that what you will.

[Sundoulos]

The review floodgates opened up last night, and they seem to be consistently in the low eights.  Across the board, the pros seem to be the presentation and storytelling; the complaints seem to be the camera and somewhat repetitive platforming.

I'm sold on it, though.  I still love the whole idea, and the music, overall mood, and nostalgia of it all are sucking me in.  It's also been especially appealing to me because we just took our two children to Disney World for the first time ever this week.  I've never been to Disneyland, but it will be interesting to play the game now that a Disney park is fresh in my mind.
 
It's been really interesting to see how my three year-old has taken everything in.  He loved it...especially the fireworks at the end of the day.

[GoldenPhoenix]

The review floodgates opened up last night, and they seem to be consistently in the low eights.  Across the board, the pros seem to be the presentation and storytelling; the complaints seem to be the camera and somewhat repetitive platforming.

I'm sold on it, though.  I still love the whole idea, and the music, overall mood, and nostalgia of it all are sucking me in.  It's also been especially appealing to me because we just took our two children to Disney World for the first time ever this week.  I've never been to Disneyland, but it will be interesting to play the game now that a Disney park is fresh in my mind.
 
It's been really interesting to see how my three year-old has taken everything in.  He loved it...especially the fireworks at the end of the day.

Yeah the reviews seem to be mostly against the controls which don't lend themselves too well to the 2-D levels. And the camera is supposedly pretty bad, but the parts that were promised most such as impacting the levels, along with the endings, where your choices have consequences if you take "shortcuts". Also the visuals are artistically beautiful along with a great story. So yeah it sucks the controls and camera are terrible (my guess it is because Spector isn't that familiar with designing a 3rd person platformer) but I'll deal, it sounds like it is worth it.

[Stratos]

It's getting some 9s as well. I'm pumped to play it.

[GoldenPhoenix]

It's getting some 9s as well. I'm pumped to play it.

I just hope the flaws don't ruin what sounds to be a tremendous game. It would be terrible if it was ruined by floaty controls and camera. We'll see though, it has been getting good to great reviews.

[KDR_11k]

Eurogamer gave it a 6 with constant complaints about the camera.

[ymeegod]

It's too bad the game didn't get delayed to polish up.  Could have been Epic indeed with a bit more time, Junction Point was on to something.

I hate it when publishers rush games to make the holiday season. 

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Might wait for a price drop on Epic Mickey. After these reviews, I definitely want to try it some time, but I'm not sure how much of a deal breaker some of the more annoying aspects, like the erratic camera, will be for me personally.

[ShyGuy]

I'd be picking this up this week if my Wii disk drive wasn't dead. Getting it repaired cuts into my Christmas budget.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Well I managed to put a couple of hours into the game and so far I am having a very good time with it. So far I find the controls work fine, and the camera is a minor annoyance at best. Now that may change as I progress through the game, but even the 2D sections control very well, so I'm not sure what the complaints were regarding the controls, but we'll see as I delve deeper into the game. The visuals can be quite breathtaking, and I can see why Specter was praising them so much, they are very artistic and really it is hard to compare them to Super Mario Galaxy 2 because the games are trying different things with the visuals.

Also it is a bit disappointing that Oswald not being a villain was spoiled because the game is constantly teasing that he is. Overall though I'm happy with the game, the thinner and painting abilities have already been used in interesting ways and I can't wait to see how they work later on during puzzles. My verdict so far is buy the game if you are a disney fan, and really if you are a platformer fan. It is a quality title so far, not to mention it looks very good on my new 50" Plasma TV which shocked me for a non-HD game.

[ShyGuy]

I saw a mother buying this for her kid at Fred Meyer last night. She asked the clerk if it was a painting game.

[broodwars]

I saw a mother buying this for her kid at Fred Meyer last night. She asked the clerk if it was a painting game.

To be honest, that's a fair question if you haven't been following the game and just looked at the cover art.
 
As for me, I have the game on my Christmas list (along with the Mario All-Stars collection).  I have plenty of stuff to play till then, and the game's reviews do not encourage me to rush to play it any sooner.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I saw a mother buying this for her kid at Fred Meyer last night. She asked the clerk if it was a painting game.

To be honest, that's a fair question if you haven't been following the game and just looked at the cover art.
 
As for me, I have the game on my Christmas list (along with the Mario All-Stars collection).  I have plenty of stuff to play till then, and the game's reviews do not encourage me to rush to play it any sooner.

Really you should experience it yourself, I am still not sure what the reviews were talking about regarding the controls. Camera, yeah, it has issues but it is your standard clunky camera in many platformers, not terrible but definitely not great. Really this a game I'd recommend someone try before buying if they aren't a big disney fan.

[that Baby guy]

Reviews have criticized general game controls?  There's nothing wrong with them, I mean, it's point the control stick, tap a to jump, tap a to double jump.  I'd guess they mean that painting aiming can get wacky, that's the only other element of control I can think of, aside from general camera issues.

For what it's worth, I've finally finished and submitted my review of the game.  It isn't pretty.  To sum it up, Epic Mickey gets everything right, except for the fact that it's a video game.  If you count the parts you have to play, it's pretty terrible, in my opinion, not even mediocre.

[UncleBob]

http://kotaku.com/5697143/epic-mickey-announced-for-360-ps3

[broodwars]

http://kotaku.com/5697143/epic-mickey-announced-for-360-ps3

Kotaku really should update that link.  The name's just a tad bit misleading.  -_-'

[that Baby guy]

Here's the update:
http://kotaku.com/5697143/disney-sabotaged-epic-mickey-utter-failure

[broodwars]

Here's the update:
http://kotaku.com/5697143/disney-sabotaged-epic-mickey-utter-failure

Cute.

[UncleBob]

http://kotaku.com/5697143/epic-mickey-announced-for-360-ps3

Kotaku really should update that link.  The name's just a tad bit misleading.  -_-'

Way to ruin the joke.

[Kytim89]

I just bought htis game today by taking advantage of a 25% trad-in bonus from Gamestop. I have not yet a chance to play the game, but the biggest problem that I have is the artwork for the case. It just has Mickey and Oswald with a string of paint and a white back ground. I have seen artwork of Mickey facin off against the Phantom Blot and would have prefered that instead.

[broodwars]

http://kotaku.com/5697143/epic-mickey-announced-for-360-ps3

Kotaku really should update that link.  The name's just a tad bit misleading.  -_-'

Way to ruin the joke.

Considering that we just recently had a Wii "exclusive" jump to multi-platform (NBA JAM) and people have been pestering Specter about a 360/PS3 version of Epic Mickey, I don't think people would find that funny, though.   

[broodwars]

I just bought htis game today by taking advantage of a 25% trad-in bonus from Gamestop. I have not yet a chance to play the game, but the biggest problem that I have is the artwork for the case. It just has Mickey and Oswald with a string of paint and a white back ground. I have seen artwork of Mickey facin off against the Phantom Blot and would have prefered that instead.

Eh, I'm ok with the cover art.  It doesn't wow me or anything, but it's serviceable and there's a lot of detail hidden in that paint on the cover when you look closely.  I am a little surprised Disney didn't go for some kind of larger composite shot, though, since that's what's common in Western cover art.  The Epic Mickey cover art is more like what you'd see from Japan.