Also available on Wii, WiiU, XBox 360
Developer: Disney
Released 23/11/2012
3/5
‘The Power Of Two’ is the anticipated sequel to the original Wii exclusive ‘Epic Mickey’. Once again it stars Mickey Mouse as the magic paintbrush wielding hero, but this time Oswald the Lucky Rabbit joins him on his quest through Wasteland.
For those who don’t remember, or those who have yet to find out, Wasteland is a parallel Disney world mirroring the main street and lands of the real life Disney theme parks. However it is a darker place, run down and full of evil creatures. Its inhabitants are the forgotten Disney toons of years past such as Oswald (who was the big star before Mickey came along), Horace Horsecollar and the many incarnations of Pete. It is also home to quite disturbing mechanical versions of the still popular characters like Goofy, Donald and Daisy Duck.
The adventure, though described as epic and given a sense of darkness, is completely light hearted. Mickey and Oswald travel great distances and battle many enemies, but it avoids the feeling of great struggle in favour of a merry journey with mild peril. As a family friendly Disney tie-in game, it is great, but I feel the description ‘epic’ does not really fit it. That better suits the far superior game series ‘Kingdom Hearts’.
What with the original not available on the PS3 console, the control system is very different using a Sixaxis rather than a Wii remote, but you do have the option to make use of Playstation Move equipment if you would prefer a more similar experience to what the Wii offers. One thing quite messy about the control system is that ‘X’ is for both jump and interact. This can sometimes make attempting to pull a lever or push a button a game of leapfrog with the item.
The opening sections of the game, as expected, act as a tutorial, easing you in to the game controls step by step while also setting the scene for the story.
You learn how to wield Mickey’s brush using paint or thinner on the various toon elements of the world. Paint fills things in, while thinner removes them. They can also be used against enemies, either to turn them friendly or destroy them completely.
Should you be playing with a friend, they would take the role of Oswald and be instructed on his abilities of flight and use of an electronic remote.
A downside is that if playing alone, there is no option to switch between characters and experience both. In single player, you only control Mickey, while Oswald automatically does what is needed of him. This can be frustrating when trying to solve a puzzle and you wish he would do something specific but simply stands there or runs about doing other things.
You do have minimal command of Oswald as Mickey however. You can call him to your side for actions that require both characters, such as having Oswald carry Mickey over ravines. Again though, he is sometimes unresponsive, slow or unable to get to wherever you are calling him from.
The game has a lot of puzzles, which is preferable to combat in this game as the weapon of choice is quite unwieldy and often requires a lot of hits to be effective. The puzzles are often presented with little guidance as to what needs to be done, though this allows for players to think through it more rather than going through the motions of following a characters instructions: a much more rewarding experience.
Depending on whether you use more paint or thinner in your quest your choices will have some effects elsewhere in the game. Generally paint is seen as a good thing, while thinner and its destructive properties are negative.
The game offers a lot of collectible items for players to dig up including Pins, Scrap Metal, E-Tickets, Inert Items, Photographs of Hidden Heroes and landscapes, Concept Art and Movie Reels. There are also power ups such as Invisible Ink or Gold Ink which provide your hero with different temporary bonuses.
For players of the original, there will be a lot of familiar territory. Mean Street and its neighbourhood are here and almost identical to the first game. The projectors which aid travel between areas by way of moving through classic cartoon shorts return but are unavailable at the beginning. In their place is the D.E.C. which functions in exactly the same way using side-scrolling platform action rather than third person but is made up of old Disney junk and collectibles. In the backgrounds you’ll likely spot images of a number of old and more recent characters.
Throughout the adventure though you feel almost as though you are mindlessly running around following vague instructions. Whenever you reach a new area, your guide Gus the Gremlin will soon tell you that you need to be somewhere else for some reason, so you hurry there only to be told to move on again. Along the way though there are a lot of sidequests offered to keep you busy while you are busy following the Gremlin. Often you will earn rewards for completing them, so they can be worthwhile.
Presented at the beginning with something about earthquakes threatening Wasteland and a previously evil singing Mad Doctor offering help you set out on your journey not really knowing what it is that is expected of you or what you are aiming to achieve. There is not even a definite villain at the beginning that you know that you are aiming to find and defeat. The whole thing feels fairly aimless and it’s easy to lose interest when you don’t have any need to find out what will happen next.
I said it about the first game and I’ll say it again about this one. If you want an epic Disney themed action game, get ‘Kingdom Hearts’ and its sequels.
