My Blog List

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Epic Christmas

When animation meets gaming..


For years, gamers, fanboys and animation buffs alike have been waiting for the release of the latest in the Mickey series...

Was it worth the wait...?

In short... Yeah!

A hell of a lot of negativity has been splashed around the Disney and Junction Point camps in the run up to this release - Everyone wanted a bite of the apple.


The main heat was coming from the concept art alone (above), few belived the Wii could be capable of acheivein teh dark, complex environment promised by design team Junction point, headed by Warren Spector (best known for his first person shooter programming in Deus Ex and System Shock).

But enough of the that, lets get down to the game!!

Set in Wasteland (a time of forgotten characrtors and stories) Mickeys epic adventure leads him through about 15h of gameplay using a dynamic paint brush to create or thin out landscapes. Quirky and encompassing the best

Interestingly many have complained about the lack of voice acting within the game - To those I say Shhh.

No dialogue aside from some mummering, which is kinda refreshing. Voice acting in games are the benchmark nowadays, but by refraning from this, the game endures and reflects Mickey of old. Anyone remember Castle of Illusions?

Camera angles are a source of frustration. Overall the difficulty within the game is not due to the complexity of puzzles or the increased abilities of your opponants but from this awkward postioning. Some flexibility can be achieved however, many situation will lead you needlessly to youf doom, simply because the landscape is obscured.

The Full intro, beautiful intro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-MnhFSHTxU&feature=fvw

The Full DSP Mickey's Epic playthrough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDOrUwarkEA


Here's the deal.

You love Disney? You love this game. The game has flaws, but the fun, the nostalgia and the quirky use of the paint and thinner..


The perfect Christmas game

No comments:

Post a Comment