There is an unmistakable jack of all trades quality to Disney Infinity 3.0, the latest entry in the popular toys-to-life genre.
The game, published by Disney Interactive and developed by Salt Lake Citys own Avalanche Software, is so ambitious in trying to do as many different things as possible that it doesnt really excel at any one of them. Its creation tools arent as streamlined as something like Super Mario Maker. Its third-person shooter elements arent as functional as Splatoon. Its racing isnt as deep as Mario Kart. And with gameplay based around figures that cost around $14 a pop, it can be a tad pricey.
But on the flip side, it manages to make all of those styles of gameplay (and so many more) available in a single, seemingly inexhaustible package geared towards families.
What other game lets a player go from fighting off Aladdins palace guard to zipping around the forests of Endor with Buzz Lightyears jetpack to forcing a gang of Disney Channel has-beens to plant a field of crops? Disney Infinity 3.0 offers a virtually endless amount of stuff to do, all set in worlds from Disneys almost 100-year history of classic titles.
The big draw this time around is, of course, the inclusion of Star Wars content. That, along with some nice technical improvements over the previous two games, makes this the best version of the Disney Infinity series interactive "toy box" concept to date.
The game breaks down into two main parts. First of all, there are the "playsets" five- to 10-hour expansion games that take place in specific movie worlds. There are several playsets either already available or announced, but the one that comes bundled with the standard Disney Infinity 3.0 starter pack is the Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic playset, which allows gamers to control any of the Star Wars figures on an adventure set across familiar planets from the prequel trilogy.
Twilight of the Republic isnt the immersive, cinematic experience aimed at hardcore gamers that EAs Star Wars: Battlefront promises to be later in the year. But for something aimed at gamers of all ages, its still a lot of fun, thanks in part to a revamped fighting system (courtesy of Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory). Its completely possible to button-mash all the way through the story, but for those looking to take down droids with a little more finesse, the improved combo system allows for a much deeper, more enjoyable experience that looks pretty cool to boot.
Different characters also play differently and have unique special moves, which might be a good excuse to plop down a few extra Benjamins to buy a Yoda or Luke Skywalker toy or, when he becomes available, Darth Vader.
Although the main storyline only lasts a few hours, there are plenty of accomplishments to unlock and side quests to keep completists coming back for more.
The other part of Disney Infinity 3.0 the main part is the Toy Box, including the Toy Box Hub, which functions, basically, as an extended tutorial for everything the non-playset portion of the game has to offer. The Hub itself is laid out in areas according to specific skills like combat, platformiing, racing, etc. Its easy to spend several hours just roaming around here, finding all the secrets and completing the mini-games, without even delving into some of the more complex things Disney Infinity has to offer.
Where the Infinity part of the title really begins to show, however, is when it comes to level creation. Players can design and publish their own levels using content unlocked throughout the game as well as play those created by other gamers around the world.
Theoretically, that allows for pretty much endless options. However, as with any user-developed content, that doesnt guarantee quality, and there are restrictions on what characters can play specific levels. One of the most popular ones available right now, for instance, requires an Olaf figure from Frozen.
The level creation tools might also be a little too complicated for younger gamers.
Unfortunately, as addictive as Disney Infinity 3.0 is, it does suffer from quite a few technical issues. Some are just minor annoyances (long load times, chugging, etc.). Others, though, are much more problematic. Its not really a surprise to find bugs and glitches in a game so jam-packed with content, but they do take away from the experience.
One glitch, for instance, rendered the main portion of the INterior a house found through the Toy Box Hub that can be customized with new rooms, themed wallpapers and decorations from Disney movies, etc. completely inaccessible, spawning the character instead in some randomly generated limbo with no exit, like some Disney-fied version of Sartre.
Meanwhile, the online multiplayer mini-games in Flynns Arcade seemed like they were perpetually out of order. All but one attempt to join (out of literally dozens) were met with error messages after waiting through sometimes five minutes or more of load screens.
Depending on what a gamer prioritizes, none of these are necessarily game-breaking bugs, but Disney Infinity 3.0 could desperately use a patch or two to fix these issues.
All in all, Disney Infinity 3.0 is a flawed but extremely fun game that makes use of Disneys iconic brands, especially Star Wars, to create an experience that, at its best, is sometimes genuinely kind of magical. Parents be warned, though. Probably the biggest danger with playing this is the temptation to run out and buy all the other "Disney Infinity" figures.
In addition to single-player gameplay, Disney Infinity 3.0 supports local two-player co-op and up to four players online.
The game, published by Disney Interactive and developed by Salt Lake Citys own Avalanche Software, is so ambitious in trying to do as many different things as possible that it doesnt really excel at any one of them. Its creation tools arent as streamlined as something like Super Mario Maker. Its third-person shooter elements arent as functional as Splatoon. Its racing isnt as deep as Mario Kart. And with gameplay based around figures that cost around $14 a pop, it can be a tad pricey.
But on the flip side, it manages to make all of those styles of gameplay (and so many more) available in a single, seemingly inexhaustible package geared towards families.
What other game lets a player go from fighting off Aladdins palace guard to zipping around the forests of Endor with Buzz Lightyears jetpack to forcing a gang of Disney Channel has-beens to plant a field of crops? Disney Infinity 3.0 offers a virtually endless amount of stuff to do, all set in worlds from Disneys almost 100-year history of classic titles.
The big draw this time around is, of course, the inclusion of Star Wars content. That, along with some nice technical improvements over the previous two games, makes this the best version of the Disney Infinity series interactive "toy box" concept to date.
The game breaks down into two main parts. First of all, there are the "playsets" five- to 10-hour expansion games that take place in specific movie worlds. There are several playsets either already available or announced, but the one that comes bundled with the standard Disney Infinity 3.0 starter pack is the Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic playset, which allows gamers to control any of the Star Wars figures on an adventure set across familiar planets from the prequel trilogy.
Twilight of the Republic isnt the immersive, cinematic experience aimed at hardcore gamers that EAs Star Wars: Battlefront promises to be later in the year. But for something aimed at gamers of all ages, its still a lot of fun, thanks in part to a revamped fighting system (courtesy of Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory). Its completely possible to button-mash all the way through the story, but for those looking to take down droids with a little more finesse, the improved combo system allows for a much deeper, more enjoyable experience that looks pretty cool to boot.
Different characters also play differently and have unique special moves, which might be a good excuse to plop down a few extra Benjamins to buy a Yoda or Luke Skywalker toy or, when he becomes available, Darth Vader.
Although the main storyline only lasts a few hours, there are plenty of accomplishments to unlock and side quests to keep completists coming back for more.
The other part of Disney Infinity 3.0 the main part is the Toy Box, including the Toy Box Hub, which functions, basically, as an extended tutorial for everything the non-playset portion of the game has to offer. The Hub itself is laid out in areas according to specific skills like combat, platformiing, racing, etc. Its easy to spend several hours just roaming around here, finding all the secrets and completing the mini-games, without even delving into some of the more complex things Disney Infinity has to offer.
Where the Infinity part of the title really begins to show, however, is when it comes to level creation. Players can design and publish their own levels using content unlocked throughout the game as well as play those created by other gamers around the world.
Theoretically, that allows for pretty much endless options. However, as with any user-developed content, that doesnt guarantee quality, and there are restrictions on what characters can play specific levels. One of the most popular ones available right now, for instance, requires an Olaf figure from Frozen.
The level creation tools might also be a little too complicated for younger gamers.
Unfortunately, as addictive as Disney Infinity 3.0 is, it does suffer from quite a few technical issues. Some are just minor annoyances (long load times, chugging, etc.). Others, though, are much more problematic. Its not really a surprise to find bugs and glitches in a game so jam-packed with content, but they do take away from the experience.
One glitch, for instance, rendered the main portion of the INterior a house found through the Toy Box Hub that can be customized with new rooms, themed wallpapers and decorations from Disney movies, etc. completely inaccessible, spawning the character instead in some randomly generated limbo with no exit, like some Disney-fied version of Sartre.
Meanwhile, the online multiplayer mini-games in Flynns Arcade seemed like they were perpetually out of order. All but one attempt to join (out of literally dozens) were met with error messages after waiting through sometimes five minutes or more of load screens.
Depending on what a gamer prioritizes, none of these are necessarily game-breaking bugs, but Disney Infinity 3.0 could desperately use a patch or two to fix these issues.
All in all, Disney Infinity 3.0 is a flawed but extremely fun game that makes use of Disneys iconic brands, especially Star Wars, to create an experience that, at its best, is sometimes genuinely kind of magical. Parents be warned, though. Probably the biggest danger with playing this is the temptation to run out and buy all the other "Disney Infinity" figures.
In addition to single-player gameplay, Disney Infinity 3.0 supports local two-player co-op and up to four players online.
