Disney Infinity Review

Ok, I’m not a gamer, but I do occasionally like playing games.  I will admit that I have gotten into all the hoopla that surrounds Disney Infinity.  And as a Disney blogger, how could I refuse?

So, where do we begin?

First, you’re going to need characters, real life toy characters to be exact.  The starter pack comes with three characters, Mr. Incredible, Sully, and Jack Sparrow.  The characters are placed on the Disney Infinity base, which is plugged into your game system via USB.  The base lights up when a characters are placed there.  Next you’re going to need a clear “world” figure.  This allows you to enter a pre-built adventure world for each of the characters.  The starter pack comes with a single world figure that contains Monsters University, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Incredibles.   Note, Sully can only enter Monsters University, Jack Sparrow only works with Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.

Now you have a choice.  Choose to take on adventures, or enter the toy box.  The toy box is where anything goes, and you’re in charge of designing levels yourself.  A lot of people have likened the toy box to Minecraft.

There’s one more option, power discs.

Round power discs are placed under the character figures for extra boosts.  The power discs might include bonus coins or invulnerability.  Hexagon power discs are used instead of the clear world figures, and give extras in the toy box mode, like cars, weapons, backgrounds and more.

The power discs are where Disney really makes the cash.  The discs are unmarked and come two in a pack, so you really don’t know what you’re going to get.  Furthermore, some disks are considered rare, which means you’ll probably buy tons of packs looking to get that one boost.  We bought roughly 12 of these unmarked disk packs, and have plenty of duplicates.  In fact, I think we have four of the same Finding Nemo background.  There are opportunities to trade these duplicate discs, this weekend Toys R Us had an in-person event, while there are lots of forum threads dedicated to trading.  There’s eBay as well.

 

At first it took me a bit to get used to the game controls, mostly because I haven’t used the PS3 in a while.  Disney Infinity has a intro which helps you get used to all the game buttons and controls.  I immediately got into the adventure mode and started playing with Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.  It’s like a modern day Zelda, where you talk to characters who send you on different tasks that will earn coins or “sparks” which serve as experience points.  Some of the tasks are quite easy, while others take a bit of figuring out.  You can also choose to have green arrows guide you through the tasks, or not.  Remember the old-school vending machine toys that came in little plastic capsules?  Those exist here, and contain accessories or extras.  The capsules are randomly placed throughout the world.  One final thing, the coins earned allow purchases like bigger guns or faster sails.  Some of these are mandatory for completing tasks.

 

My thoughts.

I liked the depth of the worlds, there are lots of hidden features to keep you coming back.  The variety of tasks available makes the game appeal to wide audiences.  As a 30-something I was definitely challenged, but wouldn’t hesitate to recommended it to my 6 year-old nephew.  The game never ends either, there are always more things to explore, and the toy box mode just enriches that.  Speaking of the toy box mode, I wasn’t drawn to it nearly as much as I was the adventures.  We bought bunches of the extra toy figures, so I’ll have a lot to do for a long time.  However, before you go out and purchase a bazillion accessories, learn what you like to do best in the game.  If you only like to use the toy box mode, you may not need as many of the toy figures, but you may need more hexagon power discs.  The adventures are long too, so it will take ages before you conquer all three of the worlds that come with the starter pack.

Overall I like this game.  It’s addicting.  Not Candy Crush, I need it like crack addicting, but still.  Disney Infinity got me back into gaming and using our PS3 for something other than movies.  While $75 is a large minimum investment into a game, it’s fun and exciting.  When you conquer a character you have yourself a real life trophy too.

If you are on the fence, I’d say get it.  It’s good clean fun.

Learn more directly from the source: DisneyInfinity.com

 

What did you think of Disney Infinity?  Let me know in the comments!

 

 

 

Special note: Disney did not supply me with the Disney Infinity game or accessories.  All opinions are my own, and I paid for everything out of my own pocket.