Developer: Junction Point Studios/Blitz Games Studios
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: 3D Platformer
Price: Rs. 699 for PC
(Also available for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360)
The first Epic Mickey combined the universal appeal of Mickey Mouse with the infectious brilliance of Warren Spector – an industry veteran who brought us multiple classic franchises like Thief, Deus Ex, Wing Commander and System Shock – with the unorthodox setting of Wasteland. Despite its shortcomings, it bled with an enthusiasm and freshness in Disney atmosphere seen since Square-Enix’s Kingdom Hearts. Unfortunately, when dealing with the prime epidemic of “sequelitis”, you learn to either revel in the headiness or keep chugging meds until it passes. Spector’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is a sad case of both.
Wasteland’s residents have been liberated by The House of Mouse, and currently focus on rebuilding their world after the madness of the first game. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first anthropomorphic cartoon character, leads the charge but the mysterious Mad Doctor shows up, seeking his help to fight a bunch of earthquakes (seriously). Thankfully, Oswald’s friends decide to get Mickey Mouse back so he can team up with Oswald and unravel what’s happening.
Epic Mickey 2 suffers from ignorable pacing, confounded mechanics and frustrating control. Where you should be playing a platform game, you’re instead solving one inane puzzle after another.
For its part, Wasteland looks simply phenomenal. But Epic Mickey 2 does more than that, infusing the game with the trademark Walt Disney flair and imagination that feels so familiar you’d swear you’re suffering from déjà vu. This extends to the animations as well, as Oswald and Mickey carry the standard swagger that defines their classic appeal. And that’s more or less it for the good news.
Epic Mickey 2 suffers from ignorable pacing, confounded mechanics and frustrating control. Where you should be playing a platform game, you’re instead solving one inane puzzle after another. Jumping never feels right, and tackling enemies even more so. Where co-operative play should give you a brand new way of tackling the game, it instead feels like an unnecessary burden with the AI and a helpless struggle with another human. To make things worse, co-op play is only available via split-screen local play. So forget about heading online to find an ally when all your friends are busy getting married.
You’ll still find plenty to do in the game with tons to collect and plenty of side-missions to complete. The game also supports motion controls pretty well, even if there isn’t much creativity in their usage. As a platformer, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is pretty mundane but as a follow-up and creation of Spector, it’s quite the animated disappointment.