Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two is a bold and ambitious game. For a seemingly light entertainment fare, this might seem unusual, but for a game that needs to make a return on the investment, it can be a pretty unusual thing. By delving into the depths of the Disney vault and plucking out so much from obscurity and giving it all a central place in the forefront of the game, players are already less familiar with their surroundings which can be enough of a challenge.
Then there is the secondary protagonist, Oswald, Walt Disney’s creation and original studio mascot Oswald The Lucky Rabbit. Most people are unfamiliar with the character, despite having appeared in the original Disney Epic Mickey. While it isn’t unusual for players to get behind a game that features an unfamiliar protagonist (franchises have to launch somewhere) the nostalgia factor for Disney and Mickey Mouse is something most people might be banking on with this game rather than something unfamiliar.
As if that weren’t enough, Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two is a musical. Instead of having songs featured in the game, actual plot progressions is mapped by a number of songs. You actually need to listen to the lyrics to gather the character’s motivation and plot progression.
For such lofty heights Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two was bound to have some shortcomings, and they are there. These, however, should not be seen as something to hold back your purchase, but instead better inform you going into the game so as to be able to enjoy it all the more.
My biggest issue was with the camera in co-op mode. When playing the game with my son there were times when either one of us or both couldn’t tell where to go or what to do. This was largely do to the visuals. At times I would kick him off the game, figure out what needed to be done then he would jump back in. Several of the jumps where Oswald uses his ears as helicopter blades to hover with Mickey grabbing his ankles to traverse particularly large gaps can be much more satisfying (and successful) when done solo.
Sometimes the camera is difficult to navigate either in solo or co-op mode, but mostly in the latter. On the PlayStation 3, the game uses the Move controller, which is a great device and mostly works as directed. There are plenty of times, however, when I wanted to move the camera and it just felt like I was spinning wildly. It’s not bad, really, but I remember so much being made about the improvements to the camera system that I felt underwhelmed.
There are times when I felt like obstacles were being thrown at me just to keep the playing time longer rather than to actually serve the game. Most games are like this, actually, and maybe my expectations were a little higher than they should have been, but I was frustrated at times. None of this deterred me however continuing forward. At times the co-op intelligence of Oswald when my son wasn’t playing with me, however, would hinder progress.
Despite these issues, Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two was a fun game to play. There are few co-op games you can actually play with your kids, or siblings can play together, but that’s not the major selling point. What we have is a solid action game that is appropriate for the whole family, and those are so few and far between that they should be praised and held up as an example of what can be done without “dumbing down” to an audience.
While there are problems, none of them “break” the game, and the end result is a satisfying trip down Disney lane. There is so much material to mine that several more games can be made in this franchise and still retain a fresh feel to them.
One of the main things about Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two is the ability to go through and use almost exclusively paint or thinner to get through the game. This is a key element to the game, actually, providing players a choice and having the consequences on display throughout the game. Paint and thinner are key gameplay elements, where players can paint in missing environmental sections or use thinner to eliminate them. Think of it as a “good and evil” choices, only less moralistically heavy-handed. It is difficult to go through the game using only paint and “good” choices. it can be done, however.
Choice also comes into play with regards to level design. There are platforming sections with jumps to be tackled, or down below with enemies to subdue. I really like games that are less linear than having a set array of doors to go through and specific enemies timed to eliminate. This feels much more “realistic” – at least as much as a video game based on cartoon properties can be.
And the side quests… you can sink hours and hours on the side quests. Then there are the collectables. Frankly, this was one of the things I didn’t care much for, because I hate having to go around collecting every last little thing, but the rewards here felt justifiable and less arbitrary.
While Mickey uses paint and thinner to progress things along, Oswald has a remote control which gives players control of electronics. I would have liked to have had the option to switch back and forth between the two characters. This might have been done so as to not have players play exclusively as Oswald, which would relegate Mickey to “second banana” status, and that’s just not the Disney way. Still, it should have been an option.
It isn’t a perfect game, but it has plenty of charm, and reaches for the stars, and it may not touch them, it comes a lot closer than many games that don’t even try.