Toy Box Expansion Games are a new addition to the Disney Infinity product line. Unlike Playsets they offer a smaller, more affordable chunk of content that can be explored using a combination of your favourite characters. From Buzz Lightyear and Rocket Raccoon to Obi-Wan Kenobi, there are no limitations as to which figures can be brought into play.
That on its own is one of the expansions’ biggest strengths. There’s nothing more annoying than shelling out on a catalogue of figures only to find that some of them are incompatible with entire portions of the game. For example, Disney characters cannot be used in Marvel or Star Wars Playsets and vice versa. There’s also a sizeable number of figures that can only be used when messing around in the Toy Box.
This has always been a major drawback for Disney Infinity and one that has no doubt hampered the sales of certain characters. Things are changing, however, with Toybox Takeover signalling a much-needed change in direction.
Upon placing the physical expansion piece on the Infinity base, players are transported to a new world inhabited by plenty of familiar faces. It’s a jovial scene with characters milling around, interacting with one another. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the mischievous Syndrome swoops in, snatching a powerful pair of magic wands before making off with his troupe of villains.
What comes next is a solid three to four hours of adventuring through a series of increasingly challenging levels. What’s different about these, in comparison to those that feature in Playsets, is that they have a discernible hand-made feel to them. Where certain areas like Genosis and Tatooine were built from the ground up, Takeover’s pirate-infested dockside, urban metropolis, and supervillain lair have clearly been constructed using components from 3.0’s Toy Box.
Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this. Although lacking a comparative degree of dynamism, these stages are mostly fun and will help to inspire wannabe creators in building their own inventions.
It must be said, however, that Takeover is fairly one-dimensional in its approach to gameplay. If you’re not a particularly huge fan of Disney Infinity’s fighting then you may want to hold off buying this first Expansion Game. In Takeover, each stage is predominantly focused on combat with the occasional platforming puzzle thrown into the mix. When playing you’ll also notice that the camera angle has been drawn out, giving Takeover the look of a top-down 3D brawler.
Sidekicks are another key focus here, featuring much more prominently than they do in the core game. They’re basically pint-sized AI partners and can be equipped with a variety of different weapons and helmets for a range of bonus effects. Over time, these sidekicks can be developed further by feeding them items and boosting their core attributes. It’s a neat little system and one that plays perfectly into Takeover’s pseudo RPG approach. So, too, does the presence of loot chests scattered throughout the various stages.
There are other collectibles out there too, chief among which are Toy Box components that can be used to enhance your own creations. Exclusive to Takeover, these include complex inventions such as the safe tower – a huge storage locker that requires players to dial in a series of number using three pressure pads. Although creative, these unlockable tools are non-essential, feeling more like a genuine reward instead of something that has simply been stripped from the core game.
Toy Box Takeover is far from ground-breaking yet, for just over a tenner, it provides a fun and affordable distraction from 3.0’s base game. With individual figures priced at fifteen pounds and Playsets clocking in at more than twice that amount, it’s hard to argue with the value proposition. What’s more, Takeover gives existing players the chance to finally dust off some of their older, lesser used characters and see them in action. Let’s hope the next expansion, Toy Box Speedway, can offer a similarly enticing detour with its crossover kart racing.