Game design legend Warren Spector was behind the production of Disney’s Wii adventure, Epic Mickey.
But how does it compare to Deus Ex?
There are a surprisingly large number of famous fictional mice.
Jerry, Speedy Gonzales, Pinky & The Brain, er… Stuart Little?
But, without a doubt, the most famous of them all is Mickey.
His white face and red shorts have been spearheading Disneys animated arsenal since 1928.
But before Mickey, there was another.
Another warped animal with a pale complexion and colourful legware.
Now nobody remembers him.
This is the thematic starting point forEpic Mickey.
Early information appeared promising.
The hype was so effective thatEpic Mickeyscooped a number of awards at E3 2010.
If the above paragraph means almost nothing to you, then breathe easy.
Anyone with theDeus Exlogo tattooed on their arm should brace themselves for disappointment.
For all the preemptive plaudits, the only awardEpic Mickeydeserves to win is Most Grammatically Confused Title.
Not thatEpic Mickeyis a bad game.
Its fine, but N64-style 3D platforming isnt going to get anyone very excited.
Surprise: Mickey can double-jump!
And he solves puzzles to move from one area to the next.
So far, soRayman 2.
The core differentiating mechanic is Mickeys magic paintbrush.
By firing out either paint or thinner you could befriend or destroy different creatures.
The only time the paint/thinner decision has a lasting effect is in the wake of boss battles.
Every major enemy can be defeated in one of two ways.
At times like these, the neat story and comfortable references come together to make something quite satisfying.
Its easy to overlook the occasionally dodgy camera when the context makes your choices feel meaningful.
Conversely,Epic Mickeytends towards boring when it starts to rely heavily on jumping.
Ancillary characters hand out optional quests to complete, but these rarely reward anything interesting.
Mickey platforming veterans might get a thrill from the way you move between zones.
Jumping into a projector, our hero enters a 2D world reminiscent of Mega Drive titles likeCastle Of Illusion.
These areas are a reminder of what a rich vein of content the developers had to draw from.
Its frustrating that they werent able to leverage all that material into something more interesting.
Similarly, those invested heavily in Disney might find themselves a little let down.
Epic Mickeyis out now andavailable from the Den Of Geek Store.
Rating:
3 out of 5
