Epic Mickey’s Epic Challenge

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two forges new territory for its franchise and action-adventure games as a whole. That a modern era game would even think to be a musical is daring enough, but mix that with an ambitious attempt to increasingly incorporate the ideas of choice and consequence with platforming, not to mention two-player, split-screen co-op, and you have one massive undertaking.  However, whether Power of Two can successfully turn that into an enjoyable experience remains to be seen – our recent time with the game revealed flaws that have carried over from its predecessor, plus missed opportunities when it comes to the Wii U version.

The first Epic Mickey was a single-player affair that sent Mickey Mouse out to investigate the twisted world of Wasteland, and the creature seemingly responsible for its destruction – Oswald the Rabbit. This time around, Power of Two works to bring Oswald and his unique abilities directly into the game as a playable character.

Oswald easily holds his own against Mickey, and his power set, which is based more around mechanics and electricity, is a necessity to gameplay. The game requires cooperation to succeed. Some enemies are more vulnerable to different power sets, and various puzzles will require both players to complete. When a partner isn’t present for split-screen play (there is no online option), AI will take over. A CPU-controlled ally is reasonably competent, though attempting to issue some commands in our recent demo proved troublesome.

Epic Mickey 2 retains a strong sense of character and world design. Much like its predecessor, the game pulls in vast amounts of Disney lore – from its theme parks to cartoon shorts that are decades old – to create a cohesive, fully realized world that fans will spend hours scrutinizing. The way developer Junction Point amalgamates so many sources is truly admirable, and is only helped by great voice work and some truly catchy musical numbers.

The catch here is that Epic Mickey 2 struggles when it moves beyond conceptual design and into practical application. Though the development team swears it has spent time refining its camera, but playing through a section of the game revealed similar problems. Getting a proper, intuitive perspective for battling is still frustrating – even with manual controls and a targeting system. Likewise jumping from platform to platform is problematic. Surfaces have a very slippery nature, and the camera often sits too low, impairing your ability to gauge distances. Combining those two elements means needlessly sliding off ledges is all too common, a frustrating exercise if there ever was one.

Bringing Epic Mickey 2 to Wii U has resulted in some strange development choices as well. Though it would seem likely (and logical) that port developer Heavy Iron would simply apply Wii’s remote-based controls to this HD counterpart, it doesn’t. In fact, it actually forces the first player (Mickey) to use the GamePad and the second (Oswald) to a remote and nunchuk. There are no plans for Pro controller support, and you can’t use the remote if you’re playing alone. It would have also been great to allow players to take advantage of the GamePad’s built-in map and objective displays while using a different controller, similar to Treyarch’s approach with Black Ops II. These types of omissions are simply baffling, as Wii U, alongside PlayStation 3 with Move, could easily be one of the more ideal consoles for this game. The core concept simply begs for pointer-based controllers - certainly a missed opportunity.

For Disney fans, Epic Mickey 2 is a dream come true. It’s truly a celebration of everything that makes Disney so special, from its rich animation to the wonders of its theme parks. And it does that in a musical package that has remarkable ambitions in terms of co-op gameplay. But for a platformer to struggle so much with its camera and controls worries us, particularly as the game has just over a month until its release. Junction Point swears it is tending to the problems of the first Epic Mickey, but some of them seem to be making a comeback – perhaps even more than before. Here's hoping these flaws were simply limited to the areas we tried this time around.

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com and the leader of IGN's Nintendo team. He also watches over all things WWE, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed and much more. Follow him on Twitter, if you dare!

Source : ign[dot]com

Disney Epic Mickey 2 Confirmed for Wii U Launch

Disney has revealed that Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will be available for the Wii U at launch in the UK and America.

While we already knew that the game would appear as one of 23 games on Nintendo's console when it launches in America on November 18, Disney has now confirmed that the game will be available when the Wii U launches in the UK on November 30.

This now brings the number of Wii U launch day titles available in the UK to 12, and it remains to be seen if more will be announced as we move closer to the console's release.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

PAX: Disney Epic Mickey 2 -- Be the Hero You Want to Be

Choice and consequence play major roles in Producer Warren Spector’s design for Epic Mickey 2. This was something downplayed in the original, having what Spector referred to in an interview at PAX as “choice and consequence light,” but with Epic Mickey 2 the goal is to put forward he and his studio’s design manifesto: playstyle matters.

“The key is asking players, ‘How do you succeed? What defines a hero? What makes Mickey a hero for you?,” said Spector, “and then the way this is exactly like every other game I’ve ever done is that I hope you have no idea what I think or what our QA department or design department thinks defines a hero, because the only thing that matters is what you think defines a hero.”

Indeed, during the short demo it became readily apparent the way that you will define what Mickey is to you. For instance you might come upon a point where you have two routes to get to the same place, one involving enemies and the other a rigorous platforming section. The combat route gives you a lot of options: you could wipe out the enemies with thinner, subdue them with paint, or even use your various abilities to distract them and sneak past. The platforming route could be a big challenge if you want to maintain the world, or you could maybe use your thinner to saw a tree in half and make an easier route.

It’s one thing for Epic Mickey 2 to give you multiple ways to get through the story, to play it your way, but what makes it special to Spector is that it records and responds to your previous actions -- something he should be familiar with considering he helped create the original Deus Ex games. Major choices will present themselves throughout the story, such as one moment during the demo where Mickey and Oswald had to choose to either subdue a bunch of enemies with paint or destroy them with thinner. The toons in town wanted them destroyed, but a ghost named Ian appealed to Mickey and Oswald for mercy. Destroy them and the toons in town will help you out. But Ian? Well, that'll be the last you'll hear from him (sparing the nasty enemies will net you a friend that will come back time and again). The point is to make your choices really matter, but without telling you in some sort of Karmatic system that you're doing the right thing. No matter what you'll be getting the good ending since, after all, you are Mickey Mouse, but it's the bits and pieces of the ending that'll change. Spector likens it to the ending of Star Wars: A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker appears with a number of other important characters. No matter what you'll be earning medals, but as for who will be standing on stage with you? That's for you to decide with your actions.

Choices are being monitored, even the ones that are less obvious than the obvious moral dilemmas and those involving multiple characters. Take for instance if you're the type of Mickey who constantly uses thinner to wipe out your enemies and cut out portions of the environment. In this case Epic Mickey 2 will intuitively start throwing more enemies at you because the game's trying to respond to what you are showing you like to do. Even the music starts to respond to your actions, with players who use a lot of paint and play more passively experiencing flutes and a more full soundtrack, while players who use thinner will experience a less lighthearted soundtrack with fewer instruments. The thinking is this, if you're cutting out portions of your visual landscape, why not have the soundtrack respond and present a lessened audio landscape as well? Most people won't even notice this in all likelihood, but it's an awesome bit of flavor that could make your choices stand out a bit more in Epic Mickey 2.

Another aspect of being the hero you want to be involves using your imagination in unprecedented ways. Mickey and Oswald have a number of tools at their disposal, such as an anvil you can use to smack enemies or a TV you can call down to distract them with cartoons. "It's all about you deciding how to use your tools in the context of our little simulation to accomplish things I hope the designers never even intended," said Spector, at which point his QA tester showed me how internally they use the TV and anvil combination to create an impromptu two-step platform to reach places they otherwise wouldn't. "Oh my god," Spector uttered, launching into a whole tirade about how players used explosives in Deus Ex to climb out of the game world. He isn't embarrassed by people figuring out how to break his game, he embraces it. "Stuff that's a bug for most developers is gold for Junction Point," said Spector, "People have already done things that are impossible in this game...and that's great."

"If gamers can really wrap their minds around playing a mouse for 20 hours...the kinds of choices you're making are different, and the kinds of consequences and tone are different from Deus Ex, but the gameplay? If Deus Ex fans don't see the gameplay depth in this game, then they're not paying attention," said Spector. The hope is that Epic Mickey 2 won't simply be perceived as a children's game, but a game for everyone. Something you can play as an adult and enjoy the way so many of us do with Sonic or Mario, and now on our platform of choice since, unlike the first game, it's expanding beyond the Wii market. Whether or not it succeeds in this regard we'll just have to wait and see when Epic Mickey 2 releases November 18th.

Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team and doesn't believe something cute has to be only for children. You can follow him on Twitter and on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Mickey Rourke in Sin City 2 Talks

With Marv playing a central part in the second Sin City book A Dame to Kill For, fans have been wondering if Mickey Rourke would reprise the role in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s forthcoming film adaptation.

And while rumours have been circulating that he definitely will be starring, it's only today that we've had any kind of update, with Deadline reporting that Rourke is currently in negotiation to top-line Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (which takes place before the events of the first film).

And if that’s not enough Mickey Rourke news for one day, the actor-turned-boxer-turned-actor is also in talks to join Gerard Butler in Motor City.

Albert Hughes will direct the revenge thriller, with both films set to hit in 2013.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and would like to go for a beer with Mickey Rourke. His idle chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com