Personally one of my favorite games in recent memory, the first Disney game since the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo era that does our favorite cartoon mouse justice!

One of the first Mickey Mouse games released in a while, Epic Mickey came out around this time last year and has received a lot of good reviews since, enough that the second game in the series, Epic Mickey 2, is to be released on Nov. 19, 2012.

                Mickey Mouse fans will love this game, as it draws heavily from classic Disney cartoon and lore to make up its story line.  To travel between levels the player must complete mini platforming levels that are each a nod to Mickey Mouse cartoons of the past (Steamboat Willy, Clock Cleaners etc).  This was an excellent addition to the game and all of the history makes it nearly as much fun to watch as it is to play, a definite bonus for parents.  Mickey has been sucked into the Cartoon Wasteland, a place where old forgotten Disney cartoons live.  It is up to Mickey, with the help of his magic paintbrush, to save the wasteland from an evil ink blot running amok.  The gamer must use the contrasting powers of ink and paint thinner to construct or destroy the wasteland on Mickey’s way home.

                While fun, this game faces the stigma that comes with being a Disney game.  Most older kids, especially teens, will associate Disney as being childish.  This game is far from that, and would prove much too difficult for younger gamers.  On top of the difficulty of the game, most of the story is told through speech bubbles, requiring the gamer to read extensively to follow the plot and learn what the next objective is.  As is to be expected with a Disney production, the illustrations are excellent.  The idea of a slightly dark Disney world is perfectly evoked during each stage, bright and shady creating an inspiring backdrop.

At certain points of the game, namely boss battles, the player must decide whether to advance the story by using paint, the good way, or paint thinner, the bad way.  While these decisions do not directly affect the game in the long run, once the game has been completed Mickey can see how the choices he made ultimately affected the characters he met during his journey.  While the thinner is shown as destroying, the paint added, leading to different scenes being in stages of well being or disrepair.  While nothing drastic, this is another aspect of the game that leads me to steer it towards older players.  Unfortunately one of the downsides to the game is the camera, which can tend to make some of the platforming stages frustrating. This flaw can be glaring at times, but does not occur enough to ruin the experience.

While it doesn't have a multiplayer aspect, I still highly recommend this game to gamers 5^th grade and higher.  Not only is it an introduction to some of the most classic Mickey Mouse cartoons, the gameplay leads itself to decision making skill development and requires heavy reading without becoming tedious. Upon completion, I was inspired to set up a mini Walt Disney display in my children’s department, linking the game to non-fiction resources the kids were able to use to learn more about the creation of such an iconic cartoon character.  While the game will be tough for the usual Disney video game audiences, older gamers will be pleasantly surprised to discover it has a lot to offer.