Disney Infinity: The Game That Won't Ever Stop
Think about what those words mean. Disney. Everything. Everywhere. Mostly in your wallet, though. Disney Infinity is the frightening new concept from Disney, tying in games and real-world toy figurines into a confusing and vaguely terrifying thing. I've read about it several times now, and I'm making the face a cat makes during fireworks night. A cat that's just been explained the various components of Disney Infinity, and it just happens to be Guy Fawkes Night. HE IS ALREADY CONFUSED IS WHAT I'M GETTING AT. At least the trailer below is sort of descriptive.
No Mickey? It shows the value of Disney's modern properties, I guess. And I like how they captured Captain Johnny Sparrow Depp.
As far as I can make out, Disney Infinity is a game that has a number of components. First off, when you buy the package, currently listed for £50 at Toys R Us (though the PC version isn't listed), you'll receive the Infinity port and three characters: Sulley, Captain Jack Sparrow and Mr. Incredible. Each of those characters brings his own game to the package. This, in the parlance of Disney, is called a "Play Set". The Play Set for each is basically a themed open-world adventure game, so for Jack Sparrow, his game will an action adventure on the sea and islands. Neatly each game will have co-op, so you'll be able to have someone pilot a ship while the other mans the guns.
Playing around in the Play Set will unlock parts for the "Toy Box". This is by far the most interesting aspect of it: the Toy Box is a sandbox that the player will build his own Diseney-fied world in. While the Play Set keeps everything orderly, so you won't see Jack and Mr Invisible together, the Toy Box is where everything is given to the player in a big, sticky mess. They build the world, choose the characters, set the goals. It's apparently a rather powerful toolset, allowing creative players to develop their own modes for up to four-players. Additional effects are added with Power Discs, so you can slot in circular discs for new powers, and hexagonal discs for new toys.
That all sounds rather neat, but then things get ugly. The initial pack will cost £50, and have three characters. Further Play Sets will be available as well. I can only find the dollar cost, but additional Play Sets will come in at $34.99, while characters can be $12.99 for one, or $29.99 in a 'Sidekicks Pack' for three. An example of one of those packs is Mrs Incredible, Mike Wazowski and Barbossa, who all fit into the initial Play Set rather neatly. They'll all slot into the game in both Play Set and Toy Box mode. More power discs will cost $4.99, and you won't be able to pick what's in them. To buy everything at launch, on apparently June 28, will cost roughly £300.
So I'm getting it, now. It's a mess of toys that create a game world, both discrete and together, and to own them all will be horribly expensive. I wouldn't want to be a parent with a Disney fan as a child. It's the Train Simulator DLC model taken to the supermarket checkout counter, so instead of being targeted at Tim Stone, who is more than capable of managing his wants and needs, it's being aimed at children. Ugh.