Written by Eric Gallegos
After the success of the first Disney Infinity, Disney is back at it again with Disney Infinity 2.0. Only this time, Disney decided to utilize the Marvel Brand due to its’ recent success at the box office. For those of you unfamiliar with the new “collectible figurines being synchronized into your video games” craze, Disney Infinity requires you to buy these awesome and well built figures that you can then play with your video game software. You place a figure on a hub (included with the game) and watch the toy magically come to life on screen.
Like the previous incarnation, there are two play modes in Disney Infinity 2.0: playset and toy box. In the playset mode, you progress through a storyline and missions as your favorite Marvel superheroes. As of launch, the available playsets are The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Of the three, The Avengers is my current favorite as nothing can really top flying around New York City as Iron Man. As you progress through each story you collect items that can be used in the toy box mode. While the playsets aren’t challenging by any means, it is fun to just kill some time doing random missions that require you to either protect an important item for a period of time or transfer an item from point A to point B. Disney did try to up the stakes a little bit by including a new criteria that requires you to use a new character if your old one days. For example, if I am playing as Iron Man and I get killed by a Frost Giant, I either have to 1.) restart the mission from my last save point or 2.) remove my Iron Man figure and use a new character. This little challenge is a welcome change of pace, but it does feel like Disney’s secret way of making us buy more characters.
Disney Infinity also includes some new game mechanics as well. We can now fly (or swing if you are Spider-Man or Venom) across New York. This mechanic is well utilized and surprisingly fluid. The driving mechanic still needs some work though. I could not for the life of me drive in a straight line. Another new aspect of the playsets are the skill tree attributes for each of the character. As your character levels up, you can now pick what new skills they learn. You can give your character more health or make their attacks stronger. This is a welcome addition and figures from the first version of Disney Infinity make use of this skill tree as well.
The toy box mode is where Disney Infinity 2.0 really shines. Essentially, it is an open sandbox world where you can create anything you can think of using items from the Disney and Marvel universe. If you have figures from the first Disney Infinity, they can still be used in the toy box mode of Disney Infinity 2.0. It is to note that play sets from Disney Infinity will not work in Disney Infinity 2.0. It is also a little easier to create things this time around. For the most part, menus have all remained the same, but the new tweaks are welcomed as they allow you to create things easily. If you don’t have a creative in you, not to worry! Disney has some worlds that you can download for free and you can see what other users have created and possibly steal their ideas.
For the most part, Disney Infinity 2.0 is a better sequel. Disney has made many improvements in both the toy box and play set modes. Part of me wishes there were more drastic changes, but there really isn’t anything to complain about. It can be a little pricey for some, but the figures look amazing. They are definitely nice collectibles to display around the house. The Marvel world does translate well to the Infinity world and it’ll be interesting to see how Disney plans on utilizing other franchises in future installments. If Marvel isn’t your cup of tea. Disney plans on releasing a Disney Originals line in November that includes Stitch, Aladdin, and Maleficient. Either way, if you are a Disney or Marvel fan, I would definitely recommend Disney Infinity.
Rating 7/10
http://youtu.be/W1P3b4YU8so
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