For the last week I’ve been tearing through “Disney Infinity 2.0” with all the spare time I can muster. Admittedly, it hasn’t been much, I’ve only been able to play entirely through the Spider-Man playset, most of the way through the Avengers playset, and only some of the way through the Guardians of the Galaxy playset.
Thanks to the playsets and the Kyln Toybox and the tower defense game, both included in the starter set, I’ve been able to spend a lot of quality time with each of the Marvel characters and I have to say I’m incredibly pleased, but lets take this part by part.
Improvements to 1.0
This game is a much smoother experience than the Wii U and has a lot more playability to it. The problem I found in 1.0 was that, since I wasn’t the biggest fan of the unwieldy Toy Box mode, I got bored pretty quickly with the game. My kids took over from there, using it as a replacement for Minecraft when they’d been grounded from the computer.
The other most obvious thing is that you have, for the first time ever, Marvel characters able to interact with Disney characters. And since there’s no Fantastic Four team at launch, it’s easy to drop in the Incredibles in their stead. The toy box is also a lot easier to handle, things have been streamlined and it’s much, much easier to create experiences and games rather than just create environments for characters to slap each other in.
The biggest advancement between the games, however, might be the skill tree and level-up options for each of the characters, new and old. The ability to advance and get better is incredibly alluring in a game with super-heroes, and it’s definitely the right move.
Technical Stuff
This game is much more expansive and looks much better than the previous game. The New York city of the Avengers and Spider-Man (which are just out of reach of each other) feels like the Spider-Man web-slingers of old, you even start to get a feel for the city and where things are. My only complaint is that they’re slightly different cities. Spider-Man characters zone out if you get near Stark Tower and head to that part of town.
The capacity of the game is greatly improved. Toy Boxes don’t fill up as easy and you can have three times as many of them.
My biggest complaint was the speed of the game when I wasn’t hooked up to the Internet. I couldn’t imagine a situation where this game needed to have an active Internet connection. My Internet was down the day I received the game and the game stopped three times and slowed significantly on loading when it kept asking me where my Internet was. I don’t mind that it wants to check the Internet for updates or anything, but the fact that it wanted Internet at every load screen was reasonably obnoxious. As soon as the Internet was fixed, though, those issues disappeared.
The Figures
I’m assuming everyone is familiar enough with this game to know that you need to purchase what is essentially an action figure of each character you plan to play in the game. With all 15 of the Marvel launch figures, I was able to gaze upon each of them for long whiles and I have to say they’re the sort of thing I’d love to have adorning my shelves whether or not they were a component to a game. That the game play comes extra is truly a bonus.
And let me say this: for characters you couldn’t imagine yourself wanting to buy separately, don’t skimp on them. The characters that I felt I was least likely to play have turned out to be my favorite. Take Iron Fist, for example. I was expecting him to be a pretty boring character in a world where I could web sling around with Spider-Man or Venom, or shoot guns with Nick Fury, but no. Of all the time I spent playing the game, he was easily my favorite.
Don’t get me started on Rocket Raccoon and Groot, though. The figures are fantastic and their gameplay follows suit. That I can have Groot carry Rocket around, shooting all the while is nothing short of brilliant.
Each of these figures is a work of art on its own.
Gameplay
More than anything the game is fun. It felt very much like a cartoony version of the “Spider-Man 2” games from the mid 2000s, but that’s not a bad thing. The city feels open, the missions are a lot of fun, the stories work perfectly in the animated Disney style they’ve chosen, and I haven’t encountered any awkward control issues, at least not on the control pad for the Wii U.
It was a move of brilliance that they packaged the game the way they did. As soon as they opened the box, my daughter wanted to play the Guardians of the Galaxy set. Two missions in, she got a little discouraged. “I want to break out of the prison, dad. That’s what I want to do.”
Well, lo and behold, the Kyln toy box that came with the starter set allows her to do just that. She ditched the playset proper and did all of the toy box missions set in the Kyln.
Aside from the game itself, I think I had the most fun playing the tower defense game set on Asgard that comes in the box. You get to play with any combination of characters, from 1.0 or 2.0 and defend Odin’s relics. It’s challenging, fun, and adds lots of replayability to the entire investment.
Overall
Overall, there’s nothing bad I’d really say about this game. It’s perfect for casual gamers like me. The more hardcore among us might be looking for a different experience, but this is perfect for me to play with my kids on the weekends or unwind with a beer after work. Who wouldn’t want to pound some frost giants into submission with Mjolnir?
Now all they have left to add is Star Wars characters and the Muppets and we’ll be set for life.
As far as 2.0 itself is concerned, though, my advice is for you to pick it up now. It hits stores today, or you can get it on Amazon with free shipping.