Review: Spark your imagination with Disney Infinity

If the Playsets are Infinity's structured take on gameplay, the Toy Box is the complete opposite, letting your imagination go unfettered. It's a mode where you can have a race between Sulley on Mulan's horse Kahn and Mr. Incredible in Cinderella's carriage. Or perhaps you want to have a free-for-all shooting match on a square platform where your only weapon of choice is Stitch's blaster. There are literally thousands of possibilities available with Toy Box, but it all starts with your imagination.

If it were only that easy, though. Toy Box controls are quite terrible, and not at all intuitive. One of the biggest problems is that there is no snap-to mode, where objects easily tile to one another. Laying down multiple tiles of ground, what should be one of the easiest things to do, is tedious thanks to the fact that you have to constantly move each square to its next location and be pin-point accurate as to make sure you're connecting the right way.

The other big problem with Toy Box is that there really is no guidance. Want to make a side-scrolling platformer? Good luck on figuring out how to place a side-view camera. How about making a soccer match in a stadium? There are no tutorials that actually teach you how to do any of these things. There are a few Mastery Tutorials which go over very basic things like using the magic wand to connect a boom box with some party streamers, but outside of that, you're left to fend on your own. Thankfully, Infinity's YouTube channel has more than enough tutorials.

The biggest offense, however, is the complete lack of an Undo button. For a game that relies on very precise building mechanics, it's absolutely baffling why this feature wasn't included. Instead, you have to enter Spark mode, then go over said highlighted object, and only then can you delete it or move it where you need it.

Now that I got the negatives out of the way, I can still say that, despite those annoyances, Toy Box is an amazing mode. Right now, I've only been able to dabble into a few Disney-made levels, like a recreation of Disney World or even a Medieval Jousting Arena, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. You can also play with up to four players at once online in Toy Box mode, which makes creating levels and messing around way more fun.

The problem is, you can't really unleash this creativity all at once. Much like LBP, where you had to play the main campaign to find objects and tools to use within the editor, Infinity essentially requires you to play through the Playsets in order to unlock those specific themed items for Toy Box. Even worse are the nearly thousand unlocks, which are obtained through a random slot-machine using Infinity coins (obtained through completing missions). At the very least, Infinity should have all the Creativi-Toys (toys with logic) unlocked right away, allowing you to create those cool retro 2D levels, for instance, right from the get-go.

If you're a collector, then Infinity provides a perfect platform to showcase your collection. The Hall of Heroes will showcase statues of all your figures and will change their finish (bronze, silver, gold) depending on their level. The ground of the Hall of Heroes is lined with slots to showcase your Power Disc collection as well. It's a neat and gorgeous way to display your collection in game.

Sadly, throughout my playthrough, I did encounter numerous bugs. Audio cut out on occasion. Collectibles required to complete a mission weren't able to be picked up. The Infinity base sometimes didn't read a figure, despite being placed directly on it. Textures on the environment would jitter sporadically. The list just goes on, which is a shame considering it's a Disney product.

Disney Infinity is certainly game-changer. The licensed Playsets like Monsters University and Pirates of the Caribbean are superior examples of how to do a movie-based game right while not charging a premium price of entry per game. The Toy Box mode is extremely innovative and has an immense amount of potential, but as it is right now, it's just a little too rough around the edges. The starter pack alone is worth the price of entry, considering the massive amount of gameplay hours you'll get out of it. However, if you plan on getting the full experience, you'll need to fork over some extra cash for the figures.

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]

When Toy Story 3: the Video Game came out back in 2010, Avalanche Software probably didn't predict just how popular their secondary Toy Box mode would have become. Straying away from the events of the movie, Toy Box allowed players to venture into the wild west as Woody, Buzz or other Toy Story cast members,  where they could complete quests, race on toy cars, customize the buildings, and much more. Thanks to its popularity, we now have Disney Infinity, an expanded take on the Toy Box mode that blends various Disney franchises under one digital roof.

Disney has dubbed Infinity more as a new platform for its movie properties than a new game. It lays down a solid foundation on how to treat movie-based, licensed properties as well as giving the player the freedom to build just about anything they can imagine.

Much like Activision's Skylanders, Disney Infinity also relies on figures that can be placed on a base that transports them into the game, to be put under the player's control. And while there are a lot of similarities between the two as far the toy technology goes, the two couldn't be more different gameplay-wise.

Disney Infinity comes with two modes: There's the Playset, which allows you to adventure through a licensed property as the characters that appear in it, and Toy Box mode, where your only limit is your imagination (or how many toys you have unlocked). Since these two modes are so vastly different from each other, I'll go over each one in detail.

The Playsets are Disney's answer to licensed movie-based games, where structured gameplay is key. Unlike typical movie-based games, these don't necessarily have to follow any set storyline, as is apparent with all three starter pack Playsets. What they all have in common is that any toys unlocked in each Playset, be it through buying them with in-game currency or unlocking them by finding the myriad of collectibles littered around each world, are then able to be used in the Toy Box.

Incredibles lets you roam around Metroville as any member of the superhero family, scaling buildings, destroying robots, capturing evildoers and restoring peace to the citizens. As fun as it sounds, it is easily the weakest of the three starter Playsets. Maybe it's because the Incredibles are past their prime, but I just couldn't really get into the story. Or the gameplay, for that matter.

Its open world Metroville just isn't all that interesting to roam around in. It does get better once you unlock gadgets like the hoverboard or the glide suit, but even then it doesn't hold a candle to the environments in the other two Playsets.

There is also a base customizing element that I wish Avalanche could have expanded on just a bit. As you progress through the story, you're able to build four different buildings, which can be slightly customized with different color schemes. But outside of that, they're there to push the story forward. Some more buildings to place or more customization would have helped Incredibles to distinguish itself a little bit more.

Pirates of the Caribbean puts you in the shoes of Jack Sparrow, on a quest to attain your own pirate ship, sail the open seas, and take down the vicious Davy Jones and the terrifying Kraken.

Right away, Pirates does a terrific job at making you feel like you're a part of the pirate world. Fun swashbuckling action, large-scale naval combat, and multiple islands to explore make for a much more satisfying experience. The islands are also littered with treasure chests filled with gold, and hidden rooms housing new layouts for your ship.

While the combat is largely a button masher, like Incredibles, it does have some sweet combos where Jack will slash his enemy multiple times, jump away and then blast them with his gun. Naval combat is arguably the most fun, as you can either take the helm of the ship as you maneuver around your enemies, blasting them to bits with your side cannons. Or, you can let Gibbs take over steering and man any of the swap-able cannons located around the ship.

Monsters University is easily the most impressive of the bunch, also containing the most amount of gameplay. You'll take on the role of Sulley (or Mike if you bought extra figures) and spend your time playing practical jokes on other MU students and, more importantly, Fear Tech.

The reason why Monsters University exceeds expectations is that it not only builds off of the narrative from the movie, but it shows a side of it we never got to see. That's right, you can actually explore the Fear Tech campus, scaring unsuspecting school guards, stealing their prized mascot, shooting toilet paper all over their statues, and laying down pranks that will paint unsuspecting students blue.

Even with all of that, you get to partake in paintball battles, BMX challenges, and even completely rebuild and remodel Frat Row with the other frat houses from the movie.

Even though the Toy Box is heavily advertised as Infinity's premiere mode, it would be a shame if everyone didn't check out these fantastic playsets first. They each clock around 6-8 hours, meaning they conclude right before they wear out their welcome.

The biggest drawback to the Playsets, if all you buy is the starter pack, is that you can't play with a buddy. Since Infinity doesn't allow cross-franchise gameplay — meaning Jack Sparrow can't wander the grounds of MU and Mr. Incredible can't set sail across the Caribbean — you can't play co-op unless you invest in an extra figure for $13, or a three-pack for $30.

[The review continues on Page 2]