In a galaxy far far away, we experience joy and digust on various Toy Boxes.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/41087/disney-infinity-30-wii-u-hands-on-preview
There is only one game that kept me busy over the weekend and that is Disney Infinity 3.0. The latest entry in the franchise brings a variety of Play Sets, figurines and actions to the Wii U. I tried out every set for a bit and tried the various Toy Box options that make up this entry. I mostly enjoyed what I played, though there are some very concerning elements in this title.
When you boot up Disney Infinity 3.0 for the first time, you are not thrown into menus or given any options. Instead, you are given a cinematic introduction that introduces you to the various options and Play Sets. You will get a quick feel for them, so that you can see if it is something you would like to try. While it only lasts seven minutes, I could immediately get the bigger picture and was excited to just keep playing. This was on par with the opening moments of the first game and that is saying a lot.
After this, you will put down your first figurine on the base and you are thrown into the Toy Box Hub. They are glorified tutorials to learn you about the aspects that make up this side. What makes them so good though, is that they simplified them to the basics. You can then talk to the Toy Box hosts to learn more and ask specifics about what you need to do. There are even sample Toy Boxes to give you even a better sense of what the game is trying to teach you. Naturally, this is all optional stuff and you are free to explore and build if you so desire. For newcomers though, all of this has never been better and it truly deserves some praise. It teaches you platforming, combat, vehicles and a lot of more!
After a while though, you have gotten everything out of it. From there, you can explore the Toy Boxes of others or make your own. Another fun to do is to make your own house in an option called INterior. With purchased furniture and home parts from the in-game store, you can be creative in more simplified way. You are guided through the process of putting the initial pieces together and I was hooked once I understood it. I started to build more rooms for more furniture and after placing it, I got more ideas of stuff to litter the environment with. The mode has that Animal Crossing appeal where I just want to think bigger and better, so that is exactly what I did. It was right there that I finally understood the idea behind the Toy Boxes a lot more. Now I want go and build stuff, though I still need to proper think of ideas.
The main stars of the party are the Play Sets and I got to play around with Twilight of the Republic and Inside Out a lot more now. In Twilight of the Republic, you take control of either Anakin Skywalker or Ahsoka Tano. There are naturally more figures available, but I was satisfied with what came in the box. Ahsoka, the protagonist of The Clone Wars animated show, was particularly satisfying as she wields dual lightsabers to aid her in battle. With the right upgrades, she becomes a force to be reckoned with. Ahsoka can reflect bullets with ease and throw the sabers right at the opponents, which is handy when a lot of enemies pop up. Anakin has some pretty cool elements as well. He slices quickly with his lightsaber and you can pull in enemies with the force, so that you can perform a quick KO. Additional moves and options are unlocked through skill trees and this makes leveling them up extremely worthwhile.
The story in the Play Set follows them, alongside Yoda and Obi Wan, going into an abandoned droid factory. It has suddenly been activated again and this piques the interest of the Galactic Republic. In the opening missions, the team goes out to investigate what is going on. They will run into General Grievous, who has clearly more information to tell and a nearby robot doesn't really want to talk either. There are nice cutscenes here and the voice work is really well done. Thedevelopment team clearly put some thought into it!
Between all the battles you encounter, you are sent on a pretty straightforward path. There are a few ways that you can approach it, but in general, you will know where you need to go. What is nice about the stroll is that the missions feel very connected to one another. After a mission is done, it is optional to look what you achieved and how you can get the various stars. There is even an option to just replay the last part you completed. If you never touch anything, you just continue onward and discover what is next. This makes the Play Set move forward at a brisk pace, which is great for people with limited time at hand.
The Inside Out Play Set isn't really connected in the same ways and goes more for a level based approach. The set is based on the recently released Pixar movie but actually takes place after it. After watching a horror movie clip, Riley falls asleep and everything becomes chaos in Imagination Land. There has been a breach and memories seem to be scattered all over the place. It is now up to Joy and the other emotions to fix things by going through a series of 2D and 3D platforming levels.
The 3D platforming is similar to what we have seen in the previous Infinity games, but they certainly do a few neat things with it. Every character has their own unique skills and attributes, which makes them all stand out from one another. Joy can float in the air, Anger can walk across lava, Fear can run really fast, Disgust can jump quite high and Sadness can stay on clouds without them disappearing. These abilities are all needed to progress through the levels, but that doesn't mean that you need all five figurines. There are dedicated costume booths, which will allow you to change in every character on the fly for a limited time.
Because of the ability to switch on the fly, I only needed to take Joy out of the box. While playing Anger permanently could be neat, Joy's floating ability is handy for any given situation. This is especially true if you want to collect all the collectibles spread across the stages. There are balloons that need to destroyed and pages of the Mind Manual are spread across Imagination Land. The latter are important to unlock additional content in the Play Set, so it is a good idea to look out for them. The 3D levels haven't been overly challenging so far, but they are decently designed and you barely get confused on where you need to go. There are buttons to be pressed, a few enemies to be defeated and various obstacles to be overcome!
In the 2D levels, the various abilities are a bit less needed. I mostly went with Joy throughout and had barely any issues completing stages. The opening moments seem to be more focused on straightforward platforming with a few obstacles sprinkled inbetween. The same rules for obstacles and buttons apply in these levels, so it isn't all that hard to adapt. To get across certain areas though, you will get help from special Mind Workers. They will need to go to certain parts of the level, so that they can pull a lever that allows you to continue. It is a bit unneeded in the grand scheme of things, but you will get the job done pretty rapidly.
Disney Infinity 3.0 looks pretty good on the Wii U, though the framerate does stutter in places. This doesn't really happen much in the Play Sets, but mostly in the various elements of the Toy Box. I got used to it after a while, but it is a bit of an annoyance. The look and feel of the game is quite on point though and everything has an enjoyable cartoony atmosphere. I enjoyed the most what they have done with Twilight of the Republic, as it all fits the tone of the Play Set so greatly. The music is good as well and brings you in the mood for an adventure. What is also adventurous is surviving the long load times. Once again, you will notice this the most with the Toy Box elements in the game. While I can get why this could happen, that doesn't make it okay. I just became very annoyed after a while.
While elements of the presentation aren't exactly the best, Disney Infinity 3.0 is something I am having a lot of fun with. The Play Sets seem decent enough and the new options for the Toy Box are insanely well thought through. I only explored the surface of what is possible in this latest endeavour and I am really looking forward to explore what else I can do with it. Another weekend of fun is slowly approaching!
Topic: Disney Infinity 3.0 (Wii U) Hands-on Preview (Read 1366 times)
