We here at COG are fans of the Skylanders Universe. Speaking for myself, I have two kids who love the game, love the characters, and even have some licensed merchandise to show their support. To say that the game is good “family entertainment” is an understatement as I play with them often. We always wondered when another company would release a game with collectible figures, and that company is Disney and their game aptly titled Disney Infinity.
Given that this game has been compared to Skylanders since its announcement, let me get this out of the way right now: “It is not a Skylanders clone”. There, I said it. Sure the game has collectible characters that can level up, they can be used on any system (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii-U, 3DS, and PC), they can be played with at a friend’s house, and they use a base to transport them into the game, but this is where the similarities end. So, what is Disney Infinity about? Well let me tell you.
There are themed Play Sets that revolve around specific Disney franchises and each one is a separate game experience. In the starter pack you get three Play Sets: Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters University, and The Incredibles. The included figures in the starter pack are Captain Jack, Sully, and Mr. Incredible. Where Infinity starts to separate itself from Skylanders is that you can only use franchise specific figurines when playing each Play Set. So Captain Jack can only be played in the Pirates of the Caribbean Play Set while Sully is only playable in the Monsters University Play Set. So for those looking to take Sully into The Incredibles Play Set it just won’t happen. You can also purchase more characters for each Play Set too. Doing so does not open up new content, but each character will have different abilities allowing you to do different things in each adventure.
While talking with our Disney Interactive rep, he stated that around six (6) hours of playtime will be had with each Play Set; however, when talking with one of the dev-team members he stated it can be more like 10 hours or so given how much you can do, how much you can explore, and how much you can collect. This is somewhat exciting, as that means the starter pack should have 30 hours or so of playtime. As there will be three other separate Play Sets that will initially launch, you have approximately 60 total hours of gameplay from six (6) Play Sets. Each Play Set has its own set of objectives and they are fun. From getting to point A to point B, collecting specific items, to even “pranking” characters in one specific Play Set (Monsters University of course). As you are in different settings each Play Set’s objectives take on a different feeling so don’t worry about any repetition.
Of course one of the big features of Disney Infinity is the Toy Box mode. This is where Infinity further separates itself from any similarities with Skylanders. We had about 30 minutes with the Toy Box mode and given our “newbness” to the whole thing we let one of the dev-team show us what it was all about. Simply put, this mode allows you to build things with items that you have unlocked with each of your individual Play Sets as well as from any Power Discs you may own. From weapons and gadgets to buildings and vehicles, everything is fair game here. You can build villages incorporating buildings from all franchises, you can use any weapon from any adventure, and you can mix and match everything you can think of. I watched as the dev-team member was changing themes (e.g. from Wreck it Ralph to Finding Nemo) in no time while dropping items here, dropping items there. He even put monster tires and machineguns on Cinderella’s carriage or had some Tron Recognizers flying around. It was truly a playground and he was the creator of the twisted universe. In the time we watched him I swear he only scratched the surface of what was being done and my thoughts were confirmed as the rep walking us around said that each time he did a circuit of Disney’s booth there was always something new that was created on the demo units. The Toy Box menu system seemed to be fairly intuitive, but one of the biggest questions I had about the Toy Box was how younger audiences would fair. I was told that although you can start with a blank slate, there are also modes where things already exist and it helps the younger gamer build their own world. This was good to hear. And yes, the Toy Box can be played with up the three others online, but the host is in charge of the items, and once they leave, the items leave with them.
I am sure people are thinking “Oh My Goodness”, there will be so much cost associated to this game. Well, after talking with the Disney Interactive rep I have to say that this game and the associated figurines is a fairly good dollar value. The starter pack is slated to hit store shelves for $74.99. Remember you get three Play Set pieces and three characters (figurines). Once you are done with the starter pack’s Play Sets you can purchase a new Play Set with two new characters specifc to that Play Sets franchise for $34.99. In the end, not bad at all. You can pick and choose the Play Sets you want after the release of the Starter Pack, and you know that there are going to be more Play Sets in the future as there are so many Disney franchises to utilize. At the time of writing this preview, there are two confirmed Play Sets, Cars and The Lone Ranger, but there is a third yet unconfirmed Play Set piece as the press material we were given mentions three (3) Play Set pieces set to release on top of the starter pack’s pieces. Finally, each character when sold separately costs $12.99 should you want more characters, but you don’t necessarily need them if you can’t afford them.
We also cannot forget about the aforementioned Power Discs that will be available. These discs are placed under the Play Set piece or figurine to activate it. There will initially be 20 Power Discs that you can collect. The trick here is that they are sold in blind packages of two, so you never know what you are going to get. Although I think this is kind of neat they are $4.99 per package, so trying to collect them all may get a bit costly because there is no doubt you are going to find doubles as you buy more. I am honestly not sure if this will catch on as kids can’t afford a minimum of $100.00 to buy all the power discs, and that would be the case if you never got repeat discs in each package.
One thing I have not touched upon is the quality of the figurines themselves. We were given a chance to hold a few different characters and the first thing that struck me was the weight and solidness of each one. They had a bit of heft to them and the vinyl they were made of felt great. When discussing their quality with the Disney Interactive rep I found out why I thought so highly of them. I have a set of Tron Vinylmations in my home office, and I love them. Well low and behold the Disney Infinity figurines are made by the same company that does the Vinylmations. Any Disney collector should know the great quality of the Vinylmations, and I am happy to say that the same quality and feel seems to have made jump to the game figurines.
As for the game’s visuals, when we first watched the Toy Box mode (on the Xbox 360) I was a bit underwhelmed by the visuals, but the dev-team member said that the Toy Box does look a bit different then the each Play Set’s visuals, so we went to take a look at the Pirates of the Caribbean Play Set. Boy was I surprised how good the visuals were (it was the PS3 version). The lush jungles, sandy beaches, and rolling waves all looked pretty darn good. As the famed Kraken would breach the surface, and let you know he was there, the rolling waves would affect your boat and roll onto the beaches too. All in all I had no issues with the look of Disney Infinity, from the World of Monsters University to the Cars inspired track, as well as all the characters, it looks very much like they have taken the effort to recreate each franchise with a lot of detail. Each character also has the vinyl looks of the figurines, which was cool too. I asked about the Wii U version and I was told it would be in 1080p taking advantage of the Wii U’s next-gen like hardware. And although not announced, there is a good chance you’ll see this game on other next-gen consoles too.
Overall I have to say that I was fairly impressed with Disney Infinity. From all the gameplay features to the figurines themselves to the cost of everything, it looks like Disney just may have a winner here. Add to that the fact that the game is not a Skylander clone and you have even more reason to take a close look at Disney’s next big franchise game. Personally I can’t wait to play it with my kids. Disney Infinity is set to launch this August and we hope to have a review around the same time the game hits store shelves. For now you can check out the LARGE gallery of screens below.
