I, along with a couple of other TSA staff, have been following the development of Disney Epic Mickey with great anticipation.  Mickey Mouse is perhaps the most well-known icon in existence, eclipsing anything Nintendo, SEGA, Sony or Microsoft has to offer, so a platform game featuring him with Warren Spector at the helm was a mouth-watering prospect.  Can the finished product live up to the hype?

The game starts with Mickey finding a very special mirror in his house; one that can transport people to other places.  Being of the curious type, Mickey passes through the mirror to find himself in the Sorcerer Yen Sid’s house.  On the surface all looks innocent and Yen Sid appears to be painting a model of a somewhat twisted version of Disneyland called ‘Wasteland’.  When the bearded one heads off to bed Mickey can’t help but sneak a look at this model – what harm could it do right?  Well it turns out the paintbrush Yen Sid was using is magical, and when Mickey starts waving it about he unleashes a wave of evil known as the ‘Phantom Blot’ who dives into Wasteland, covering it in darkness.  Being a hero, Mickey takes it all in his stride…and scarpers back through the mirror and home.

Time passes and all is forgotten, that is until Mickey awakes to find himself being dragged back through the mirror and into the damaged model.  Before being sucked in he manages to grab the magical paintbrush as his only means of defence.  This starts off a very interesting story that deals with emotions not normally seen in the platform genre.  The Wasteland is full of Disney characters long forgotten, who have been looking on longingly as Mickey rose to fame.  Mickey finds himself the subject of both adoration and jealously as he tries to make his way home, and you can’t help but feel sad when a character runs up to you full of excitement, only to realise that Mickey doesn’t even remember who they are.  The main source of jealousy is Oswald, who was the big star until he was replaced.  Oswald runs Wasteland, and wants Mickey out as soon as possible, but realises the two need to team up to defeat the Phantom Blot.

For the most part the game is a 3D platformer with a very large ‘Banjo Kazooie’ vibe.  In every world there is your main objective, which is usually split into several tasks and a bundle of side quests.  Scattered about each level are trapped gremlins, and freeing these little fellows usually means certain things can be completed quicker. For example, part of a task requires that you to find and turn off four valves, however if you seek out a gremlin and free him he will do the task for you.  This is one of the game’s plus points as there are a myriad of ways you can get things done.  Unfortunately DEM relies far too heavily on fetch quests, and it puts a real dampener on what could have been an amazing experience.  Far too often you will be asked to go and retrieve something off ‘X’, and when you get there you will be told that ‘X’ first needs something off ‘Y’.  Unfortunately ‘Y’ will want something off ‘Z’, who in turn wants something off ‘X’.  It’s a never ending circle that interrupts the actual meat of the game.

The most interesting featuring of DEM is the paint/thinner mechanic. The magical paintbrush you are in possession of is capable of firing thinner which erases objects, and paint which restores them.  This paves the way for some interesting puzzles as you restore cogs, remove blockages, and generally clean up the area…or will you?

That’s where the game’s morality system kicks in.  Using thinner is seen as the ‘evil’ way of doing things, whereas paint is ‘good’.  You can use thinner to defeat the enemy; or you could use paint and befriend them, garnering the trust of the locals.  It’s a clever idea that never really gets fully utilized which is a real pity.  Most of the choices you make won’t make a massive amount of difference on your play through the game, but there are a few interesting ones thrown in for you to chew on.

Acting as a portal between the game’s hub ‘Mean Street’ and other levels are some wonderful 2D platforming sections.  These are absolutely gorgeous and easily eclipse the 3D sections; in fact I would pay to have a PSN or LIVE release of these bits.  The jumping mechanic is solid, and although they are on the easy side it never becomes a bore.

The graphical style of DEM is a bit hit and miss.  Mickey is wonderfully animated, as he lopes about the place, but the same can’t be said for some of the NPCs who look adequate at best.  The levels also never find the perfect balance, and for every Tron inspired marvel there is a boring trudge across what seems like a generic town.  It is simultaneously the best looking and most average looking game on the Wii.  As mentioned above, the 2D sections are the stand out.

The biggest issue facing the game is the extremely wayward camera, and it’s a real gamebreaker.  For a game relying on precise jumps and finding hidden objects, the camera does its damnedest to stop you from doing anything.  It will swing in front of you, to the side of you, and pretty much anywhere you don’t want it to go; meaning frequent plummets to your doom.  It also has an impact of using your paintbrush as more often than not you will unleash paint/thinner all over the floor instead of where you were trying to aim.  The whole experience is a lesson in patience.  For a game trying to compete with the plumber who shall not be named, getting such a basic thing so badly wrong is inexcusable.

Pros

• A good story
• Some great ideas
• Some superb animation
• Total fan service

Cons

• Far too many tedious fetch quests
• Dreadful, game breaking camera

Bitterly, bitterly disappointed is my summation of the last ten plus hours.  At its core DEM is a solid game which flits between genius and mediocrity, yet is mired by a camera system that is fundamentally broken.  Disney fans will find lots to love, as it is complete fan service, and there is a good story to enjoy.  Others may want to look elsewhere, as there is far better on the Wii.

Score: 7/10