When Disney Infinity was released it reviewed well and by all accounts should have given the Skylanders franchise one heck of a run in competition. Whether or not it lived up to Disney’s expectations (3 million starter packs sold, not too shabby) I’m unsure but it did well enough that Disney Infinity gets a second at bat with another chance of crushing it out of the park. The most recognizable children’s brand in modern history the Disney cast of characters has enough magic to win over the hearts of children (and their parents, grandparents, great grandparents!) worldwide and now, with the addition of a roster of Marvel Superheroes, the Disney Infinity franchise has an even stronger offering on the table.
In a news conference today Disney Interactive president Jimmy Pitaro, alongside Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), announced that The Avengers as well as many other Marvel Super Heroes are coming to the world of Infinity. Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes is set to launch this fall making its debut on next generation (or current generation if you will, let’s all move on shall we) consoles as well as last gen.
Of course lets not forget all the money invested already in the first version of the game. Similar to the Skylanders franchise all toys from the first game are compatible with the second. Not only that the team at Disney Interactive and Avalanche Studios put in the leg work to make all the downloadable Toy Box creations from the first game compatible with the second as well. Finally, and this is something that perhaps Activision might want to take note of, the existing base for Disney Infinity will be compatible with Marvel Super Heroes potentially keeping the cost of a new starter pack down for the early adopters.
As part of the show we got to take a look at the first six characters who will be available at launch for the game. Players will be able to get their hands on Thor, Black Widow and Iron Man in the starter pack as well as Captain America, Hulk and Hawkeye. In video footage shown we also glimpsed Rocket Racoon and Groot from Guardians of the Galazy, MODOK, Loki, Winter Solider and Iron Patriot. Speaking as a bit of a Marvel nerd I’m excited to get my hands on these to share my years of comic book passion with my kids who are just learning the way of the geek.
Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes is so much more than just adding new characters into the existing game engine. New to the table are power discs that add a Dungeon Crawler game and a Tower Defense style game into the Toy Box mode. In an effort to make the Toy Box more accessible than ever they’ve simplified the building process with procedurally generated brushes that can build race tracks and cities as well as builder characters who constantly add on pieces to your Toy Box. Throwing in the addition of interiors it would seem that this version of Disney Infinity is more expansive than ever.
In regards to characters the existing level cap will be raised to 20 and they are more customizable than they were previously. Characters include skill trees that can level up abilities, open up new moves and buff stats. Adding in super heroes Avalanche was cognizant of the fact that all of theses characters are unique with different combat styles and move sets so it was the only way to go. Black Widow is a fast moving melee fighter, Hulk a brawler and Hawkeye a ranged fighter so all abilities and moves are relatable to their skill sets. Iron Man and Thor also have hover and forward flight abilities while Cap and Hulk sport a super jump power. It’s exciting to think that you’ll be able to jump in with all these characters and no two will feel the same.
I’ll admit that at a glance I’m more excited than ever to take on the next version of the toys-to-life genre regardless of what it does to my bank account. I gave the first Disney Infinity a pass as I was already spending far too much on my kids for Skylanders. It looks like I might need to clear some space in the living room for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes this fall.
