Mickey Mouse is desperate to impress, or so Epic Mickey 2 would have you believe. As a sequel to the much-derided Nintendo Wii exclusive, you can’t really begrudge the perennial Disney mascot as he tries to scrape back some dignity, but while Junction Point’s sequel is high on ideas, it fails to learn from the original’s mistakes.
There’s Oswald – the black-and-white star of yesteryear Disney animation – returning in the sequel as Mickey’s cooperative multiplayer buddy and he’s without a doubt the foremost gameplay boon. Possessing a more diverse skillset than Mickey (which really isn’t saying a great deal), his abilities
range from the Tails-like knack for flying really slowly towards the ground, dismembering appendages to use as a makeshift boomerang and a pocket-sized gizmo that charges electronic equipment.
What this does is expand the scope of puzzles ever-so-slightly. Now instead of Mickey just applying paint or thinner appropriately to phase objects in or out of existence, Oswald can activate switches,
reach inaccessible areas and, well, activate more switches. Suffice to say it’s not a game that prides itself on complexity. But it’s hard not to feel that the potential of the central pairing’s respective mechanics is fundamentally wasted, and the game – much like its predecessor – doesn’t quite satisfy
on a gameplay level as it tries pander to both children and grown-ups. It really wants to be a Disney movie.
That much is glaringly obvious from the opening cinematic – a musical number that has the first game’s antagonist returning to repent and offer his allegiance as a bigger bad approaches the denizens of the Wasteland. The videogame is sprinkled with similar songorientated intermissions, but there’s a heavyhanded approach to each descant that’s high on exposition and short on Disney magic.
The game goes to great pains in an attempt to evoke classic Walt with a varying hit rate, from the colourless cow folk that wander aimlessly around the central hub, to the memorabilia that’s littered around 2D platforming excursions. The latter example proves to be something of a surprising highlight, not just because of all the curious oddities dredged from Disney’s past but because of the sheer simplicity to the level design. These segments feel like an affectionate throwback to Mickey’s 8-bit heyday (yes, that’s a good thing).
That’s not to say that the 3D stages are without merit. The world is divided up into small areas to explore, each filled with no end of arbitrary items to collect or find – Disney cash, Mickey ears and
telephone boxes – and some decent, if wholly unoriginal, platforming segments that make for the meat of the gameplay experience. The problem is that the world is so poorly constructed that you have little idea how each area connects, or even how you managed to get to where you are in the first place.
Despite such poor world design, there are some interesting ideas at work here, not least the cause-and-effect dynamic that has Mickey’s decisions reverberated throughout the game depending on whether he paints or thins the world around him. Its implementation is basic – the premise not stretching beyond some superficial differences and varying character interactions – but it’s still engaging enough to usher you towards the game’s end.
And this might come as a surprise, but Epic Mickey 2 is best played with someone by your side, not only to avoid the bumbling incompetency of an AI-controlled assistant, but also because it’s just more fun with two of you. Every little element of the game has been designed with teamwork in mind, including enemies requiring a quick zap of electricity from Oswald before Mickey can begin to cake them in paint. There are other examples where the game nudges the pairing to work closely together, and solo play therefore doesn’t quite hold the appeal when the game is continually urging you to get a friend involved.
Although, we say friend, when what we really mean is a child. Not in a dodgy way, of course. The game doesn’t possess the same whimsical appeal of the Lego gaming franchise, nor the depth to really sustain the interest of anyone looking for more than a simplistic platformer. But the puzzles lack the complexity to challenge anyone above the age of ten and fan service is so random and scattershot that it misses the mark for anyone it’s aimed for.
The world of Epic Mickey 2 is painted in broad strokes, then, and while its catch-all mentality might not always succeed, there’s fun to be had even if everything feels angled more towards a younger audience. But we’re not that young, and so Epic Mickey 2 doesn’t quite impress as much as hoped. Third time’s the charm, eh?
David Scarborough
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