Back in 2011, Activision took a bit of a gamble. Rather than release a game, and then try and sell extra characters, levels, and costumes as downloadable add-ons, they decided to mix the world of toys and games together, and came up with Skylanders. Asking kids (and parents alike) to splash the cash on a variety of real-life toys, that then unlocked that character for you to play with in the game, the idea took off like a rocket, and turned out to be a massive hit with children and collectors alike - and it was only really a matter of time before other companies followed suit.
We wonder - is Mike a rideable character, or is he just carrying Mr. Incredible?
Enter, Disney Infinity! From the people who bought us Toy Story 3: The Video Game, Disney Infinity apes the Skylanders concept almost unashamedly, with a few interesting twists. A 3D platform game, the world of Disney Infinity is divided into separate lands, each themed after a different Disney film, such as The Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles and the upcoming Monsters University. Giving you a collection of huge themed lands to wonder round and do as you please, you'll be able to take part in races, fight epic pirate ship battles and complete countless quests and activities to complete, all tied together by an overarching story. And going by the recently released trailer, there'll be a veritable smorgasbord of Disney characters to boot, with favourites from Cars, Wreck It Ralph, Toy Story, Phineas and Ferb and The Nightmare Before Christmas all spotted - and we'd imagine there'll be plenty more on their way too if the series takes off.
But while it may sound like the second coming of gaming Jesus, Disney Infinity does have a downside - in that it doesn't come cheap. Details have emerged that put the console starter packs hovering at around a whopping £65, dropping to £50ish for the Wii and handheld versions. In exchange for your hard-earned cash you'll get a copy of the game, an Infinity Base, figurines of Jack Sparrow, Mr. Incredible and Sulley and a World Disc to unlock the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles and Monsters University lands in the game. Additional Play Sets can be purchased for around £25 and include a World Disc and at least one new character figure that can be placed on the "Infinity Base" to unlock their respective film worlds.
Perhaps someone should tell Disney the symbol for infinity isn't a distorted hexagon...
Similar to Skylander's Portal of Power, placing up to two figures onto the Infinity Base plonks the relevant characters directly into your game, ready to play - but you'll also be able to place a circular 'Power Disc' under each character to give them new powers, such as a flying cape, a much larger leap or a rideable Dumbo elephant. The observant among you will also notice a strange hexagonal shaped hole at the back of the base, whose purpose we're not entirely sure of at the moment - although our best guess would be it's where these 'World Discs' fit in to unlock new worlds to explore.
What sounds a bit odd is that each Play Set can only be accessed by characters from the correct film, so you won't be able to use Mr. Incredible to fight pirates in the Caribbean, for example. Which raises the question - what about co-op? Given that Skylanders does co-op quite happily and that there's two 'slots' for characters on the Infinity Base, we kind of assumed it'd be there from the get-go - but with the starter pack coming with just one character from each of the three franchises, are you going to be limited to single player only unless you're willing to fork over more cash for new figures?
There is however another side to the game - the 'Toy Box' mode, in which any characters you choose can meet up and go nuts together. Playing through the film-themed Play Sets unlocks new toys and items which can then be used in the Toy Box, and none of them are tied to a set character - meaning Mr. Incredible can hurl a round pirate grenades and Jack Sparrow can ride around atop the Monsters' pig. As with Toy Story 3's mode of the same name, you'll have free reign and can build your own world however you please - and as seen from the trailer, the shrinking and growing goo is making a return too. Now we just need a Bullseye to test it on...
Those of you who played the heck out of Toy Story 3's Toy Box mode will likely be like us now, and sitting bouncing up and down with joy, as the original Toy Box mode was the best part of Toy Story 3, and we loved almost everything about it - especially its oodles of collectibles. Whether it was giving a citizen a new hair cut, racing Bullseye around town or locking up some roughnecks, there were hundreds of missions to complete, each one rewarding you with gold coins, which could then be traded in for new buildings, characters and more. It was easily the highlight of the game for many, and the prospect of an even bigger world to play in leaves us counting down the days till June.
Disney Infinity hits the Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 on the 28th of June, with 'mobile experiences' still to come - we're hoping this means there'll be portable 3DS and PS Vita versions in the pipeline, but nothing's been confirmed so far. What we do have though is a rather funky trailer to help whet your appetite - see how many Disney characters you can spot for yourselves:
