Disney
Interactive Media Group and game designer, master storyteller and huge Disney
geek Warren Spector announced the sequel to last year's Wii game "Disney Epic Mickey
,"
with some changes that fans will love – or hate. The problems with the camera that plagued
Epic Mickey will be a thing of the past, and Oswald will be a playable,
speaking character.
Traditionalists
may argue that since Oswald never had a voice in his Disney shorts, he shouldn't
talk now. However, the majority of gamers who play the Epic Mickey games won't
know this, and might find a silent character off-putting. He DID speak in Epic
Mickey, but the sounds that emanated from the characters were more like sighs
and grunts, something Warren Spector stated (in Nintendo Power Magazine) was
akin to the classic Mario games.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Not
only will the characters speak in Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, they will sing! Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will be a
classic Disney magical, musical adventure, with songs written especially for
the game by James Dooley ("Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
/ At World's End," "The Simpsons Movie") and Mike Himelstein ("Shrek," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse") – note: Himelstein wrote the hilarious "Welcome to Duloc."
Oswald
will not only be a playable character for co-operative play (two people playing
together) but will also be a strong NPC (non-player character), with intuitive
AI (artificial intelligence). What do all these acronyms mean? It means that
even if you're playing alone as Mickey, Oswald will join you independently and
actually help you get along as the game progresses. This is a wonderful and
rare thing in the gaming world.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
PlayStyle
Matters, which was explored a bit in the first game, will be further exploited
in the sequel. PSM means that the decisions you make as a player toward "good"
or "scrappy Mickey are actually reflected in later gameplay, Mickey with his
paint/thinner brush like in the first game, Oswald with a remote control that
controls electricity. In Epic Mickey,
Mickey actually changed his looks depending upon whether the player played him
as kind or not.
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
will be the first cross-platform Epic Mickey game,
playable not only on the Nintendo Wii
but also on the Xbox 360
and the PlayStation 3, introducing the story and characters to a much wider audience of
gamers.