Epic Mickey Review (Part II)

Game: Epic Mickey
System: Wii
Genre: Platform
Developer: Junction Point Studios
Release date: November 30, 2010


Pros: Lots of content, great for Disney fans, fun combination of 2D and 3D platforming
Cons: Mediocre camera, inconsistent early game direction

Beth

It took me a year and change, but I finally beat my first Wii game: Epic Mickey. Evan bought me Epic Mickey for my birthday last year after months of my pestering him to play the game. He enjoyed it so much he bought it for me, and we made a promise that by the time he returned from Iraq, I would finish. I was a little overdue on my deadline, but only because I enjoyed this game so much that I took the time to complete all the side quests, double back for bonus content, and root around for collectible film reels.

Evan reviewed Epic Mickey for Wii on Don't Blame the Controller last year, and I think that he summed up the heart and soul of this game in one sentence: it's a love letter to Disney. The player controls Mickey Mouse as he goes on a quest through Wasteland, making friends (or enemies, depending on how you play), and finding a lost world of forgotten, once-loved Disney characters. In this world, it's not Mickey Mouse who runs the Disney world, it's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

The Dumbo ride has seen better days.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was Walt Disney's first creation and was meant to be the "Mickey" character that we know today. However, when Mickey's popularity took off, Oswald was left largely forgotten. Such is the fate of the characters of Wasteland, and it is up to Mickey, armed with his magic paintbrush, to create and repair the world of Wasteland using paint, or to defeat enemies and conquer his way through the world using paint thinner. The choices you make in this game effect its outcome, and as a Disney lover, I opted for the paint/friend-making mode. I wasn't disappointed.

In addition to the 3D platform mode, the game features side-scrolling action levels that take place in familiar worlds (think jumping around in a Steamboat Willy cartoon). These side-scrolling levels are a fun distraction from the story-driven component of the game, and give the player a chance to collect goodies and explore a different gaming element.

Mickey leaps through classic Disney cartoons.

Overall, Epic Mickey is challenging, rewarding, and beautiful. The depth of color, and the attention to Disney detail is remarkable (I wish they'd added a find-the-hidden-Oswalds component like the find-the-hidden-Mickeys at Disney World). Most of all, the story is great, and the characters are compelling. Though the game had some glitches -- namely camera control and poor early-game direction -- I would agree that this is one of the best games for Wii, and a worthy tribute to Walt Disney and the world of Mickey Mouse (and Oswald).

I enjoyed this game so much, I know own one of these.