Disney: Infinity(Prt. 1)

So, in my last post I mentioned I had picked up "Disney: Infinity 3.0" for my Xbox360 as a family game for me, my daughter and fiance to play. Now, while my fiance has not yet taken a turn playing, and my 2year-old hs only played once or twice and had issues with movement controls, I have had some time on my own and with my niece and nephew to test out the game. 

The game itself is a disc-based game connected with a platform with 3 spaces on it. 2 of the spaces on the platform are for character figures, the third for power-ups, upgrades, and special level icons. The characters are figurines with chips in their bases that, when placed on the platform, allow you to call up the character onscreen in the game.

The characters I have so far amassed are Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul from Star Wars, Stich (Lilo and Stitch), Merida (Brave), Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean), Randall (Monsters Inc), Venom (Marvel's Spiderman), and my daughter will be recieving Tinkerbell for Christmas.  The 3,0 starter pack I got also came with the Star Wars level icon (a clear emblem with two lightsaber hilts crossed behind it that you place on the platform to play the Star Wars campaign). I also managed acquired the horse from Mulan on an upgrade disc.

The characters, when called up on the screen, each have their own weapons, abilities and characteristics. Venom can use the symbiote suit to shoot webbing and can use his tremendous size and strength to smash and claw his way through opponents.  Jack Sparrow has his sword, and can pull a pistol out when he needs a bit of distance. The Jedi all have their lightsabers and force powers, and I personally am very interested to see what kind of damage Tinkerbell can muster up.

Inside the world of the game, called in-game the "Toy Box", you can collect points and power-ups and vehicles while interacting with customizable worlds you can edit or even create and then share with other Infinity players online. 

When you are tired of exploring the many facets of the Toy Box, you can place on of the special level icons on the platform to play through levels from different franchises including Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles, The Avengers, and a number of other Disney worlds available for purchase.

So far my only complaint is how limited the pre-made levels are. The Star Wars levels can only be played with Star Wars characters, preventing you from throwing say, Stitch, into a galaxy far, far away. Also, when I first got the game I picked up a couple level discs for "Brave" and" Lilo and Stitch" game content. I didnt find out until after trying to play them that they where from Infinity 2.0, and could not be played on 3.0.  While not a big thing, especially since 3.0 just came out and there are not many levels from this game edition available yet, it was a bit annoying.  Maybe eventually they will make the editions a little more compatible, but as of now you are forced to get the other game discs in order to play 2,0 and 1,0 level content.

Overall, however, I think this is an awesome game for kids and parents to engage on. With minor violence and characters from kids movies like The Incredibles and more adult-themed movies like Avengers and Pirates of the Caribbean, this game is a great place for parents and their children to interact and merge over. I hope that when my daughter is a little older and more able to handle the controller, she and I will spend many hours sending Darth Maul and Tinkerbell on magical adventures in the Disney Toy Box.

That's all for now, folks,

~Josh