- reviewed on PlayStation 4 / Rated E10+ / $74.99 / released September 2014
- OFFICIAL SITE: infinity.disney.com
- PURCHASE LINK: Amazon
- FINAL: You should TRY this game. 3 out of 5 stars
Last year Disney entered the toys-as-video-games arms race with “Disney Infinity,” a mix of adventure and building that encouraged buying piles of toys to expand the game. Although focused on the hottest kid trends from the Disney empire at the time (“Monsters University,” “Frozen,” “Cars,” etc), “Disney Infinity” included enough Disneyana fan service to appeal to adults as well. You could have Jack Sparrow wear Buzz Lightyear’s wings and drive a “TRON” vehicle through Epcot’s Spaceship Earth. For a hardcore Disney fan, it was a magical miracle.
This year, Disney chose to welcome in the Marvel Comics family of characters, fielding a “2.0 Edition” that adds heroes like Iron Man and Black Widow. Naturally, plenty more are available as separate purchases. The new 2.0 starter set comes with three figures, an Avengers game playset, the figure-scanning base and a pair of new disks that contain two bonus games.
Iron Man and his pals do everything you’d expect if you have even a passing familiarity with Marvel’s line-up. Each character has specific attacks, and, in one of 2.0’s new features, a skill tree where you gradually unlock more abilities. However, the Avengers playset itself is severely lacking, unable to provide the gameplay variety that we received in last year’s 1.0 starter set. All you do in the Avengers missions is run (or fly, or drive) to a specific part of the New York City map and beat up on waves of boring Frost Giants.
The two bonus game disks add more to do, dropping your figures into specialized minigames where you either defend your territory against Asgardian enemies or explore a randomized space dungeon from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” film. These actually come off better than the main Avengers playset, primarily because there’s no ongoing melodramatic pretense that you’re saving the world (while trying to remain awake.)
The center of Disney Infinity 1.0 was the Toy Box, and this philosophy continues in 2.0. In the Toy Box, you can build racetracks, cities and forests using elements pulled from all over the Disney universe of properties. 2.0 drops plenty of Marvel flavor into the mix, but grabs those Disneyphile memories with elements from “Darkwing Duck” and “It’s a Small World,” among others. One of the key improvements for the 2.0 Toy Box is the ability to build interior locations, allowing players to combine outside environments with indoor creations.
2.0 will also be available digitally for Wii U, PS3, PS4 and Xbox 360, specifically for owners who already have some Disney Infinity 1.0 toys. You won’t get the physical toys in the downloaded version, but you will receive all the game content and can then buy whatever extra figures and playsets you may be interested in. Given the anemic nature of the Avengers playset, this may be a decent cost-saving option if your family is not especially interested in Iron Man.
“Disney Infinity” definitely has found its focus: build wonderfully crazy Disney worlds. The Toy Box is suitable for hours of gameplay that kids will enjoy, but it is a shame that the Avengers playset can’t live up to the action hype that the Marvel characters deserve.
