Let me see your Epic Mickey
By RVonE 7 Comments
Yeah, that joke will only play in certain parts of the world.
Anyway, perhaps you've already seen it on Destructoid but some information has been revealed about the upcoming Wii exclusive "Epic Mickey". Game Informer put up a substantial article and an interview that deals with some of the specifics of the game. More interesting, however, is the visual material included in the article. More concept art is revealed and also some character models are shown; take the time to check the three videos that show Mickey in motion.
Was this what you expected? Remember that concept art that first revealed this title? Remember when you went on to read that it would be for Nintendo's Wii? Remember how we then became divided; there were those that defended it and those that hated it (but the divide was actually more about the Wii's graphical capabilities than about the game itself). I do. I also remember writing that I was sceptical. Sure enought, the concept art has awesome potential and it certainly looked like they weren't messing around when they decided to call it Epic Mickey. But I had to voice my concern with how all this would be realized on the Wii's hardware.
Now the obvious route for me is, of course, to write something like "I told you so" or some other dismissive comment. Instead, I will say that I'm actually kind of impressed. It certainly is not what I expected and seems a far cry from the epicness of what was revealed a couple of weeks ago. Still, reading Game Informer's article and looking at the new concept art, it seems that the developers are--at the very least--on track to deliver a quality Disney game. Don't get me wrong, I'm disappointed to see nothing--or very little--of the epic promise I've seen earlier. Putting that disappointment aside, it becomes clear that the guys working on this are truly trying to capture the glory seen in Mickey's past. Then again, there is this one screenshot in there of what appears to be an actual level and it kind of comes across as something straight out of a CDi-game. Yeah, remember that thing?
Giving it more thought, this game seems very reminiscent of Mickey Mania for the SNES. That was a great game that certainly lived up to Mickey's greatness in concept while also delivering a very solid side scrolling platformer. If the developers succeed in living up to this heritage, delivering it to this age of computer games, I will be very impressed. That said, maybe what I want more than anything is to just play Mickey Mania again.