Jason
11-06-2009, 10:59 PM
Yeah, it's an odd thread title.
For those that aren't familiar with the name Warren Spector, he's the name behind one of the most critically-acclaimed PC games of all time - Deus Ex. The FPS-cum-RPG was heralded around the turn of the century for its Cyberpunk stylings and ability to allow players to choose their own destiny.
Since then, Deus Ex has had a disappointing sequel, and Warren Spector has moved onto pastures new, mainly Epic Mickey.
You could be forgiven for not really showing too much interest in another Disney game, but this one is a little different. The game is much darker than anything Disney have released before.
It centres around a 'real-life' event as seen through the eyes of the characters. Apparently old Walt didn't like to throw anything away, and in Disney towers there are all sorts of old drawings, concepts and characters that for one reason or another never 'made it'.
The archive of old images becomes damaged, and creates an enemy called 'the Phantom Blob', who kidnaps Mickey and takes him to the world the game takes place in, which looks twisted and dark to say the least.
Here you meet an interesting character to say the least - one 'Oswald the Lucky Rabbit', who has actually existed in concept since 1929, when he was embroiled in a bitter rights dispute between Disney and Universal.
Anyway, in-game, Oswald is bitter and envious of Mickey's success and becomes a puppet of the Phantom Blob.
Other, better known Disney characters make an appearance to a lesser extent, including Donald Duck as a cyborg(!) who requires reassembling.
An interesting side note is that the game changes according to how you play, with players who engage in a lot of destructive gameplay seeing a much 'sketchier' Mickey, who is more agile and has stronger attacks, but receives less assistance from the denizens of the world. A player who avoids using combat quite so much benefits from a more rounded and happier Mickey who gets more assistance from the NPCs.
All in all, it looks like Epic Mickey has the potential to do something that hasn't been done for years - produce a decent Disney game that isn't Kingdom Hearts, as well as add yet another excellent platform title to the Wii's burgeoning repertoire.
For those that aren't familiar with the name Warren Spector, he's the name behind one of the most critically-acclaimed PC games of all time - Deus Ex. The FPS-cum-RPG was heralded around the turn of the century for its Cyberpunk stylings and ability to allow players to choose their own destiny.
Since then, Deus Ex has had a disappointing sequel, and Warren Spector has moved onto pastures new, mainly Epic Mickey.
You could be forgiven for not really showing too much interest in another Disney game, but this one is a little different. The game is much darker than anything Disney have released before.
It centres around a 'real-life' event as seen through the eyes of the characters. Apparently old Walt didn't like to throw anything away, and in Disney towers there are all sorts of old drawings, concepts and characters that for one reason or another never 'made it'.
The archive of old images becomes damaged, and creates an enemy called 'the Phantom Blob', who kidnaps Mickey and takes him to the world the game takes place in, which looks twisted and dark to say the least.
Here you meet an interesting character to say the least - one 'Oswald the Lucky Rabbit', who has actually existed in concept since 1929, when he was embroiled in a bitter rights dispute between Disney and Universal.
Anyway, in-game, Oswald is bitter and envious of Mickey's success and becomes a puppet of the Phantom Blob.
Other, better known Disney characters make an appearance to a lesser extent, including Donald Duck as a cyborg(!) who requires reassembling.
An interesting side note is that the game changes according to how you play, with players who engage in a lot of destructive gameplay seeing a much 'sketchier' Mickey, who is more agile and has stronger attacks, but receives less assistance from the denizens of the world. A player who avoids using combat quite so much benefits from a more rounded and happier Mickey who gets more assistance from the NPCs.
All in all, it looks like Epic Mickey has the potential to do something that hasn't been done for years - produce a decent Disney game that isn't Kingdom Hearts, as well as add yet another excellent platform title to the Wii's burgeoning repertoire.