For more on Epic Mickey: Power Of Illusion, check out our full Epic Mickey: Power Of Illusion review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo 3DS games for a 7 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is a simple 2D platformer along the line of the Mario games, which puts you into the ever-front-facing ears of Mickey Mouse, as you bounce on enemies' heads, jump from moving platform to moving platform and performing death-defying leaps over spike pits. With no weapons at your disposal, you're instead forced to make use of a paintbrush and paint thinner, in order to solve the game's many puzzles, painting in blocks and platforms and erasing others with the use of your thinner to help Mickey reach new areas, get past enemies and more.
Painting and thinning takes place on the Touch Screen, which generally shows an overview of the level, with outlines of certain items drawn on it - tap an outline and you'll be taken into the painting mini-game, where you need to trace round an outline to create that object. Conversely, thinning involves tapping one of the blue highlighted items and scribbling over it with the green paint thinner, erasing it from the game world completely.
By and large, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is a pretty straightforward platformer that's likely to go down a treat with anyone who's got on with similar games, like New Super Mario Bros, or, to a lesser extent, the LEGO games. Disney fans are especially likely to appreciate the number of Disney characters they'll get to meet (and rescue) throughout their adventure, as stranded throughout each of the levels are dozens of popular characters, from the Beast, Goofy and Scrooge McDuck to Tinkerbell, Rapunzel and many more. Once rescued, the characters will take up residence in your Fortress where they can set you various quests to help them out.
Perhaps the only problem likely to rear it's head for children is one of reading, as Power of Illusion is rather text-heavy - the intro, various cut scenes and conversations between characters, and quest descriptions all need reading, and while it's probably possible to fumble your way through the game without, you may find you're missing out lots of extra bits (and side quests) along the way.
If your child can get past the reading required, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is likely to go down well with many kids, particularly those with a preference for platformers - it certainly went down a treat with our six year old test subject.
As you'd expect from Walt Disney's family-friendly mascot, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion features nothing phenomenally untoward - there's no blood, gore or bad language here whatsoever. The only violence it has sees Mickey bouncing on enemies' heads or spraying them with a dose of paint or thinner, with them simply disappearing once defeated, leaving health hearts or money behind in their wake.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo 3DS
