If you’ve never heard of Disney Infinity (and I know a surprising number of people who have not - evidenced by chatting with parents at a birthday party filled with seven year olds last weekend), it’s a game which allows players to insert some very well made collectible, Disneyverse figures into on-screen gameplay via a portal (think Skylanders, but Disney).
As one progresses through the game, the figures’ on-screen counterparts can be upgraded and whatnot, making them stronger, faster, etc. Said upgrades are then saved into the figures themselves. You scan swap players mid-stream - i.e. start out a mission as Groot from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, for example, then become Rocket Raccoon or Star Lord. There are purchasable game universes contained within little Chess-like pieces, and Infinity itself is populated with mini-challenges into which any number of currently available characters can be inserted and utilized. The Infinity games embrace much of the Disney universe, sometimes mashing up characters along the way (one cutscene on the newest Infinity version sees Donald Duck wearing Buzz Lightyear’s jetpack, and Aladdin visiting PETER PAN’s London). Infinity also invite players to make the Disney universe, in many ways, their own in a variety of manners. Disney-themed creativity and hybridization plays a huge part though out Infinity’s landscape. It’s an interesting, crassly synergistic undertaking which netted solid but mixed results when the first game released in late 2013. But does this newest installment fare better?
Last year’s release of Disney Infinity was an odd duck, chiefly because the issuance occurred very close to the the arrival of XBOX ONE and PlayStation 4 on the market - next generation consoles with which the inaugural outing of Infinity was not compatible.
Given the number of PS3s and XBOX 360s being traded in or otherwise discarded in the great upgrade migration which ensued, it’s difficult to imagine Infinity’s sales didn’t take some sort of hit based on this suspect timing alone.
Nonetheless, the first Infinity evidently performed well enough to warrant a second installment in the franchise. To Disney’s credit, it announced quickly, moved speedily, and now Disney Infinity 2.0 - available for previous generation platforms as well as XBOX ONE and PS4 (and Wii U - however that fits into the equation) - is hitting shelves this week. It’s in stores today, in fact.
The sheer scale and architecture of Infinity 2.0 make it damn near impossible for someone who isn’t a techno-genius to asses every facet and nuance of the sprawling game/universe - I’m not ever sure such a feat is actually possible. Suffice to say, after a few days of play, it feels like the team behind 2.0 expended considerable effort to address the shortcomings which frustrated many gamers the first time around. 2.0 feels easier to navigate than its predecessor - doing what one wants to do seems less intimidating and confusing than last year’s entry. There’s a feeling of greater simplicity, less meandering, and enhanced clarity now. PURPOSE - is easier to grasp. ACCESSIBILITY has been enhanced.
Gameplay will certainly feel familiar to anyone whose played the original version, but it’s tighter here, with no small portion of brawling, blasting, direction, and mayhem. Appropriate qualities considering the central thrust of 2.0 appears to be the inclusion of Marvelverse characters, figures, and game settings (a PS4 starter set includes Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and an AVENGERS playverse).
Much like its progenitor, there is a relatively simple, family friendly ‘animated’ quality to 2.0 - these games aren’t designed to win awards on the visual front. Despite such simplicity, an almost paradoxical attention to detail wins the day here, over and over again. Iron Man’s repulsor blasts cast light on the floor or surrounding surfaces as they punch towards their targets, cars on the street ‘hop’ beneath the force of Thor’s mighty landing, etc. What 2.0 lacks in graphical ‘oomph’ is more than compensated for by such loving, and often ingenious, focus on nuance. In this regard, 2.0 reminds me a tad of the LEGO approach to gaming: it doesn’t always have to dazzle, it simply has to feel ‘truthful’ and feel like it’s pulsing with a genuine, loving, and Geeky heart. And this is, exactly, how 2.0 comes across.
The mechanics, physics, and ‘signature moves’ of 2.0’s playable Marvel characters feel generally present and accounted for, despite their sometimes ‘cute’ cartoony appearances. It’s feasible to wreak considerable destruction when playing such heavy hitters as Iron Man or Thor for example - and trailers for 2.0 suggest that a daunting missile-pack upgrade of some sort can ultimately be attached to Tony Stark which’ll provide no small amount of blowy-uppy goodness.
Spider-Man swinging and web slinging his way through New York also works quite well here - his clobbering, flipping action sequences are sometimes accompanied by a brilliantly dissonant and melancholy variation of the famous “Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can…” song - presented here in a darker, almost Imperial March motif.
On several occasions, I noted frame rate issues in Spider-Man related cut scenes in particular, but I’ve yet to encounter such stutters in gameplay itself.
There’s a glorious duality at play throughout both Infinity variants - this one perhaps mores than the last. Which, in itself, likely accounts for much of the game’s charm. In some ways, 2.0 is a shameless celebration of ‘all things Disney.’ Gentle, sentimental, archetypal music accompanies the Toy Box section of the game (where characters can be kitted out, challenges can be met, structures can be built, etc). One can simply park a character there to soak in lavender colors and a timeless setting - an environment perfectly evoking the sentimentality and addictive sweetness the Disney ‘experience’ has refined so, so well. And then comes Nick Fury…or Iron Man…heading off to a timed mission in ALADDIN land (!?!) Surreal. Perhaps even momentarily jarring. But how can one not dive in?
Part of the Infinity experience seems to be saying “We are, and will always be, Disney and we’re very proud of that…” - while a flip side assertion seems to be “We’re proud of that, but we’re not gonna shackle you with literalism - have at it.” Resulting in a Disney universe which is wholly Disney and utterly reverent and relevant, while also poking fun at itself and embracing the disparity off that universes possible in the game. A complex self-definition, to be sure, but one that works blazingly well in a gaming and imaginative context, especially this time around.
On the whole 2.0 feels less like a “holy shit!” upgrade and more like an answer to the first Infinity’s numerous insufficiencies. Compared to 2.0, last year’s offering feels like a test run- while this feels very much like the game we’ve been waiting and hoping for. It’s a lot of fun - addictive at times - and my skeptical seven year old won’t stop talking about how much he loves this new installment. He was frustrated by the first go-round and abandoned it, perhaps, a tad sooner than he should’ve. That ain’t happening this time. Not even close.
A strong and smart evolution of the promise suggested (but never quite attained) by Infinity’s introduction last year, Disney Infinity 2.0 is now available pretty much anywhere games are sold (Target, Best Buy, Game Stop, Toys R Us, and so forth). It might be best to call ahead, or check online, if you’re targeting specific characters - some appear to be selling out on Best Buy’s site, for example.
Releasing this week are the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, THE AVENGERS, and SPIDER-MAN, with Donald Duck, Brave, Stitch, Aladdin, BIG HERO SIX, Maleficent, and Tinker Bell figures forthcoming (within a few months from the looks of it).
Currently available Avengers include Hawkeye, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, with one set including an AVENGERS game. Hulk is, at the moment, only available in an mega-set of I2.0 - he’ll be up for purchase singularly around the third week of next month.
SPIDER-MAN offerings currently include Spider-Man, Nova, Iron Fist, Nick Fury, and Venom, with one set including the SPIDER-MAN game piece. Nick Fury is lumped in with Spider-Man?
The GUARDIANS include Star Lord, Groot, Rocket Racoon, Drax, Gamora and Drax, with one set including the GUARDIANS game piece. My understanding is that more characters are on the way as well.
You can learn more about Infinity 2.0 HERE. Play pieces (the game thingies) for the original Infinity are not compatible with 2.0 - although early Infinity figures can be utilized in 2.0’s ‘Toy Box.’ Hopefully The Powers That Be will whip up some sort of emulator, or capacity, or reverse engineering to allow the games and characters from the introductory Infinity to more fully spill over and be played in 2.0 at a later date. To not make this happen would by a travesty, and a serious blemish on a smart, well-rounded upgrade.
————
Glen Oliver
“Merrick”
