Epic Mickey Review
Epic Mickey, from the man who brought you so much, Warren Spector, is a game in which you will be playing the role of Mickey Mouse as you try to save a world ravaged by evil with the help of a magic brush that can either shoot out paint or thinner. You will have to piece back what once was, and find away to return home.
Graphically this game looks good for a Wii game, I really wish it was a PC game so that I can ramp up the graphics just a touch more, but this is a very well done, from a graphics standpoint, game. You will get to run through side scrolling worlds of old Mickey Mouse cartoons. You'll also get to interact in 3D worlds that feel like they belong in or have been a part of Mickey Mouse cartoons. You'll also get to see very recognizable characters, from the black and white days, all the way to the present.
I don't think its really necessary for me to delve to deep into the music of this game, its a Mickey Mouse game, there's different levels from different Mickey Mouse cartoons, so lets say that there's plenty of music that was used in those cartoons present in your adventures.
The controls is where the wheels start to fall off for the game. You're going to have control of the camera, which in retrospect probably leaves more room for error than it could have. You'll find that the depth of field is never quite right, and you'll also find that while trying to center the camera you're never going to be able to get it just right to be in the correct position to cause you less aggravation. The sad thing is that the worst part of the controls is probably the most vital piece of the game, aiming to shoot out the paint and thinner. The reason I say this is because of the fact that the camera position is going to make the reticle on the screen false. You're going to have a lot of trial and error trying to paint certain areas because where you're aiming isn't going to be close to where the paint/thinner is going to fly.
So you have this wonderful concept of a game that is meant for all ages. There's not really any violence to speak of in the game. You'll have enemies that you'll have to fight but you attack them with thinner to make them melt, or you attack them with paint for them to just turn friendly. You'll have to deal with bosses along the way that you'll have to decide to either fight with thinner or paint, which ever you choose will dictate what you'll have more of when you're at max. Thankfully the reticle issue that plagues you during trying to traverse the levels doesn't come into effect during the boss battles.
You're going to get to meet Oswald the Bunny, and a ton of old school characters, as well as robotic versions of your friends, that were created to keep Oswald company. Sadly those versions of your friends have basically been reduced to talking heads, and you'll have to help put them back together. You'll also find that you're going to be going on a lot of quests that will take you back in forth between areas, and to be honest this was the nail in the coffin that almost made this game unbearable. Here's the deal you get a quest from a character to go to another area, well you're going to have to go through a load screen, then you'll have to do the side scrolling action through a clip of an old Mickey Mouse cartoon, you'll get a load screen, then you'll do whatever you need to do there, then you'll want to return, which will be a load screen, that side scrolling clip this time you'll have to go backwards, and then a load screen. Now there's a very good possibility that you're about to get another quest to go back to the same area, well guess what, you'll get to do that all again. The break in the action and the constant hassle of having to re-traverse the same level over and over again is going to leave you wonder what the game could have been if they didn't try to leave it with so much filler. As a result you're going to want to see the storyline pick up, but its going to drag, and you're going to be left feeling like you'll have to drag yourself through the finish line.
This was a game that I couldn't wait to get my hands on, I got to see Warren Spector do his keynote at PAX, I was excited, and I got to take a peek at the demo at PAX, but after playing the game, as much as it pains me, I think that I can't give this game higher than a 4.7 out of 10.
