Disney Universe
Score: 75% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Disney Interactive Developer: Eurocom Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 (Local) Genre: Action/ Adventure
Graphics & Sound: My Disney Universe experiences were different depending on the company I kept during each play. Solo, and with older Disney fans, it was fun for a couple of minutes until the novelty of beating each other senseless through Disney-themed worlds got old. With younger players, it was a fun surprise. Disney Universe is sure to cause some splits - or at least a couple of disruptions -- within the hardcore Disney audience. Like other younger-skewing Disney themed properties, most of the game's source material is drawn from newer Disney movies. Although Aladdin and The Lion King both get some love, the rest of the game is based on newer movies like Monsters, Inc. or Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Each area looks great and is full of fan service, such as the seagulls from Finding Nemo popping up in Pirates of the Caribbean, though older fans may feel a bit slighted by the over-representation of new movies over classics. I'll spare you my complaints about "New" vs. "Old" Disney, but I personally would have liked a few more references to older material. At least you get to play in classic Disney character costumes like Mickey, Minnie and Donald. As much as I didn't like the worlds, I at least admired how well put together each section was. Each follows the general plot of the movie and does a great job of telling each story with just the background images. For example, you get nearly all of The Lion King 's story served up in a couple of levels. At the very least, the developers missed a couple of really big opportunities with music. You'll hear a few familiar pieces, though all are remixed into synth/ techno versions. Some of it sounds okay, like the theme from the Pirates movies, but considering the Disney company's rich musical history, more could have been done.
Gameplay: The concept behind Disney Universe is simple, and rather smart. The game is the world; a virtual playground for Disney fans to jump into their favorite movie worlds - like Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin, and The Lion King -- and experience them first hand. Right before release, the world is corrupted by a virus, turning the playground into an obstacle course filled with enemies and other hazards. Playing as nameless avatars, up to four players can help Disney Universe's master computer purge the world of viruses. Disney Universe aims for a younger crowd. Although targeted at Disney fans, my experiences with older players weren't as enjoyable as they were with younger players. Gameplay is simple, culling some of the basic gameplay elements from the LEGO series of games, such as exploration and button-mashing combat, and adding the novelty of dressing up as nearly 50 different Disney characters. The costumes do nothing in terms of abilities, though most younger players will see it for what it is - an opportunity to play as Jasmine, Mickey or other Disney favorites, not as a major play mechanic. Hardcore players, even those who are Disney fans, will enjoy the concept, but not for long. At one point, the costumes didn't matter to any of my older friends except as a means to unlock a couple of Gamer points for collecting and leveling each character. Older players will, however, get more mileage out of the simple joy of tossing friends over the side of a level, stealing their prizes or transferring curses between players. Disney Universe does a great job at fostering a structure of competitive-cooperation similar to games like Zelda: Four Swords. One minute you're helping each other solve a puzzle by standing on switch; the next you're jumping off the switch just to see the platform they were standing on disappear. It's fun bordering on the sadistic, and something younger players may not appreciate as much, but it's a big (optional) part of the game, and it is good that the developers have at least attempted to offer something for everyone.
Difficulty: Nothing about Disney Universe is overly challenging. Going through a level from start to finish is easy. There's no limit to lives, and the only penalty for death is the loss of a small amount of Mickey Mouse coins, which are already available in abundance. The only other drawback to repeated respawns in a world is a lower level ranking, which only matters if you're either playing with a competitive group or aiming for an extra Achievement or two. Instead, much of Disney Universe is built on trying to collect everything in a level, such as collectables and Mickey Mouse coins - the game's main form of currency. Alongside each world containing two costumes, the collection aspect encourages replay, though most players will likely figure out how to collect everything on their first pass. I can think of maybe three areas I had to replay to collect an item, and twice it was because the level was moving.
Game Mechanics: Combat is very straightforward; you hit the attack button and your character swings their weapon. You can mix things up a bit with jumping slam attacks, though you're mostly mashing away at the buttons until enemies explode in a shower of golden Mickey Mouse coins. More often than not, enemies surround you, so there's rarely a lack of enemies to smack down. There are, however, a couple of really powerful "mini-boss" enemies that show up during levels. These guys are a little tougher, and usually absorb a couple of swings before coughing up their bounty of coins. Most also have some sort of quick-time related attack. For example, one will charge, presenting you with a small (Y) icon above their head. If you hit the button in time, you can slide around their attack and get a nice, powerful smack in before they turn around. You can also try to snag power-ups, which usually mean a one-hit kill on enemies. These range from boxing gloves, to sci-fi ray guns to a musket. These are guaranteed kills, ensuring a few less respawns at the hands of enemy hordes, so players will go for these first, once more fueling the game's underlying competitive nature. Pushing the competitive idea even further, you can compete in Challenges after clearing out certain parts of each level. These are completely random, so there's no telling which Challenge will pop up, and can give players a big lead on the in-game leaderboard. Like most of the game's levels, Challenges are varied and offer a lot of different things to do. A few ask you to "Kill 'X' Number of Enemies," though others have you on the hunt for dolls, trying to amass a large sum of currency or even playing Whack-a-Mole. These are fun, though when playing solo you'll run into a few problems, particularly with the "Find the Dolls" one. It's possible, but only if you're lucky enough to have dolls spawn close to each other. Competition is pushed even further with the character-leveling mechanic. Each level contains a key and treasure chest. Whoever unlocks the chest gets a star, adding a slight boost to power. There are no differences between characters, so the boost isn't major, but leveling still counts towards a level score and a little extra power is better than nothing. Disney Universe is the sort of game that makes me wish I had kids. It's an okay game on its own, and there are sure to be players who have fun with the game regardless of age (or if they have someone to play with), but the differences between playing with younger and older players was so great, I couldn't see myself wanting to play it with anyone other than kids. Disney Universe isn't a great game, but its worth a shot if you're looking for a game the entire family can enjoy. Older players will lose interest before younger players, but they'll still have fun spending time with the family (or, at the very least, turning each other into basketballs).
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: Buy Disney Universe on Amazon
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