So I got my preordered copy of Epic Mickey today and played it for a couple of hours.
First off, the atmosphere and the attention to detail is very impressive, then again, we all knew that the presentation was going to be epic. The game really does understand how to make something feel magical. It's a disney fan's wet drea. But the cartoon cutscenes feel kinda out of place out of place though, like the cartoon sequences in Mirror's Edge.
I was expecting really frustrating camera and controls because of the IGN review, but it didn't really bother me that much. Probably because I grew up with the first generation of 3D platfomers. The camera can get annoying if you want to explore everything, but it hasn't hurt the platforming thus far.
As for the rest of the controls, Mickey's jumping mechanic is really tight, I'd say it even beats the jumping from the Galaxy games, it feels responsive, and the same goes for all of Micke's controls, even his spin attack, whick is mapped to shaking the Wii remote. I've discovered that by timing the jump and shake, you can do a midair spin attack. And if you fall from a long height, using Mickey's second jump before you hit the ground will save you from taking damage. I haven't had to use the guardians yet though, so I don't know about their motion controls.
The ONLY part about the controls that I found to be frustrating is that it is sometimes hard to aim with paint and thinner. Usually, when an enemy is right in front of you at a good distance, there is no problem at all, but since you aim with the pointer, it gets harder to aim when enemies get close to you and when you face ranged enemies and have to dodge and spray paint or thinner at the same time. The overall effect is that you have to keep positioning in mind a lot when fighting enemies.
The paint and thinner mechanic is kinda cool, but it's not the main draw of the game IMO. It's used for puzzles, and for offensive ranged attacks, and deciding if you want to do evil or good stuff. It's not gimmicky, but it's not a fundemental innovation either, it's just a cool mechanic. I really like how you can make enemies into your allies instead of killing them.
What I like the most about the game is that it feels like one of the many 3D platformers I grew up with. I had plenty of them as a kid, but when everything got into this 'hardcore' and 'mature' frenzy, sadly, not many of these types of games were made anymore.
I hope this game sells really well, it really deserves it. So far I've been enjoying it much more than Galaxy 2, and if I were to rate it, I would rate it higher than the Mario galaxies (I wouldn't rate the Galaxies as high as most reviewers though). I can't understand why Ign and many reviewers thought that an aged (but not terrible) camera and occationally difficult aiming should draw down the average to lower than MadWorld, it's crazy. To me, the game instantly feels like a classic, and one of the games that define the Wii.
Anyone else played it yet?
I LOVE ICELAND!
