Parent's Guide: Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

The sequel to the Wii exclusive Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two picks up where the first game left off, adding in two player split-screen co-op, a second playable character in the form of Oswald, the lucky rabbit, and, oddly, turning the story into a musical.

A platform game at heart, in similar vein to the LEGO games, most of your time in Epic Mickey will be spent leaping from platform to platform, solving the game's many puzzles, and trying to get to the bottom of the game's mysterious storyline. Most puzzles revolve around one of the game's key ideas - the magic paintbrush. Letting spray paint thinner at things in order to remove them from the world, or paint in order to paint them back in, you can come across all sorts of secret areas, by either removing walls, or painting platforms in (with a white outline showing an object that can be painted back in). New character Oswald, meanwhile, has an electrically charged remote, which can be used to zap enemies, switches, and meters in order to activate various devices. Many of the puzzles see you working together - making this a great game for the family, either with two siblings playing together, or parent and child.

If your child's a Disney fan, they'll likely appreciate the Disney magic on show here. Full of neat little touches and references to the parks, the films, and the cartoons of yesteryear, there's admittedly not much in the way of references to newer shows, but those with a taste for classic Disney will certainly be rewarded.

However, parents of younger players will want to be cautious here, as Epic Mickey 2 isn't as easy as you'd imagine. Often confusing, even for us, there's a distinct lack of explanation about what exactly it is you're meant to be doing, while several sections (and jumps) we found ourselves almost glitching through rather than completing with confidence. It can often be difficult to figure out where exactly you're meant to be going next, while when playing in co-op, the lack of any indication where your co-op partner is is more frustrating than it sounds.

With countless quests to complete as you help the residents of Wasteland rebuild their home after an Earthquake, an all-singing, all-dancing plot to unfold (quite literally), and lots of nice touches, Epic Mickey 2 is a game that older Disney fans will likely appreciate - but younger ones may need an adult, or older player there to help out.

As a Disney game, there's very little for parents to be concerned about here. There's nothing to write home about in the way of gore, swearing, or violence - in fact, the worst you can do as Mickey is a spin attack, where you'll twirl around and clip an enemy with your paintbrush, while Oswald can zap enemies with an electric burst, which simply makes them gibber crazily.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360