Disney Infinity Hands-on Preview

At first glance, Disney Infinity seems a lot like Skylanders. You buy your collections of plastic characters that show up in the game. You have a platform that plugs into your console and reads data off those characters. You…

Actually, no. That’s entirely where the resemblance ends. Disney’s toy-reading base unit has two circular slots and one hexagonal, so you’re also limited to a maximum of two players on any one machine but that extends to four players across a network. The hexagonal slot is used for extra Play Set worlds, or power-ups.

Disney Infinity has two distinct modes. The Play Sets modes are themed around each type of character. Buy the Starter Pack and you can sword-fight your way around Tortuga from Pirates of the Caribbean, or get hazed through initiation at Monsters University. Get the Cars Play Set and you’ll be racing Lightning McQueen around the track, or buy the Lone Ranger Play Set and… well, I haven’t seen the film yet.

Along your way through each world, you’ll come across giant floating capsules that look rather like the sort you see in ChinaTown vending machines or next to your cinema’s Wall of Sugary Treats. You know, insert a pound coin, spin a dial and you get a capsules that holds a bit of branded plastic tat? Well, that’s almost exactly what these balls are, only more useful. Each one unlocks an item you can use in the second mode, Toy Box. This is the free-play section where you build your own worlds and can pit Mr Incredible against Sully from Monsters Inc. with all their assorted items.

Rather disappointingly for us adults, this seems to be all that the Play Set worlds are for – running around bashing everything in sight and picking up bits for the Toy Box. There aren’t really any puzzles, at least, not in the chunk of the Pirates of the Caribbean World I played. I just ran around hitting things with a cutlass. There were a few missions, mostly of the “go here and fetch/talk to/beat up this person” variety. Quest markers are optional, so if you’d rather find your targets by exploring, you can do that.

In this sense, Disney Infinity is perfectly pitched for anyone with young children, or a few years difference between theirs. The youngest should cope fine with following quest markers and bashing away at buttons, while those older will enjoy collecting parts to customise their pirate ships, or flesh out their Toy Box worlds.

Where the game really stands out is the Toy Box mode. This is where your older darlings (or you aspiring game makers) can really go wild and build whatever worlds they choose. I’ve seen the level creator in action and it’s very easy to use. All you need is a bit of imagination. Toy Box worlds can be uploaded to Disney, which means that the game truly is infinite.

Rest assured, any children will be protected from the inevitable penis-worlds created by the internet. Every submission is moderated and approved by Disney themselves. Hopefully this also means that there will be a quality bar, so you won’t just see a gigantic list of mostly-terrible worlds, like so many other user-generated games.

In addition to the characters that come with Starter Packs and Play Sets, there are Power Discs. These give your characters unique gadgets, vehicles and skills in both Play Set and Toy Box worlds. Here’s a video with examples.

This is where you might start to worry about your wallet. Where Skylanders constantly shows you (and your child) exciting new areas that need you to buy exciting new types of Skylander to access them, Disney Infinity has another tactic.

You can stack two circular Power Discs or three hexagonals, giving your characters loads of extra features. However, Power Discs are sold in blind packs of two for £3.99. The first wave was announced last week and includes health buffs like “Fix It Felix’s Repair Power” or “Cinderella’s Coach” or even a Sugar Rush theme for your Toy Box’s sky. There are 17 standard Power Discs in the wave but also three rare discs that will no doubt encourage collectors to buy more and more packs:

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Adds the Dumbo ride from the Parks.
• Abu the Elephant – Adds the elephant version of Abu.
• Astro Blasters Space Cruiser – Adds the Astro Blaster vehicle from the Buzz Lightyear attraction.

Despite that, Disney Infinity looks great to me. I’m fairly sure I can resist the tempation of a Dumbo ride, especially if I need to buy a stack of unwanted discs to have it. On the bright side, this also means you can expect a thriving market of standard discs on eBay.

Disney Infinity will be released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo Wii on 23rd August.