GAMING: Disney’s Infinity

The biggest entertainment companies combine their best characters in one flick to hit it big—Ironman, Thor and Captain America were all featured in successful individual films, but together they made “The Avengers,” the third highest-grossing movie of all time. After the success of “Man of Steel” and “Injustice: Gods Among Us,” DC Comics plans to follow suit with a multi-hero blockbuster of its own.

Now Disney is getting in on this trend with perhaps the biggest collaborative epic to date. “Disney Infinity” is an upcoming platformer video game that includes characters from Disney and Pixar’s most popular films. The trailer is a “Who’s who” of animated film royalty. Based on the range of characters and environments, “Disney Infinity” could provide gaming fans of these films with years of entertainment.

Too Many Characters to Count

The “Disney Infinity” trailer depicts Captain Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and James P. Sullivan from “Monsters, Inc.” coming to life in a virtual world. Mr. Incredible flies in as the play set from “The Incredibles” springs up from the ground. From there, virtually every prominent animated Disney character from the last decade makes an appearance. As the trailer concludes, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Wreck-it Ralph, Lightning McQueen and other notable heroes assemble to take on the evil robot Zurg.

Jack Sparrow, James P. Sullivan and Mr. Incredible come with the starter pack. The rest of the characters are available separately through Power Discs, which can also alter the terrain, add special vehicles and alter character statistics. “Disney Infinity” is set to launch Aug. 18 and costs $74.99.

Separate and Custom Worlds

“Disney Infinity” will feel like at least five games in one. Users can play with their favorite Disney characters in two modes: Play Set and Toy Box. In Play Set mode, game play is restricted to one movie’s theme and characters. The Starter pack comes equipped with play sets from “Monsters University,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars” and “The Lone Ranger.” Each set is a game in itself. Once you conquer those settings, Power Discs will unlock new worlds and characters.

Toy Box is the more intriguing play mode. The trailer notes that in this mode, “There are no rules.” It proves it by revealing a completely customized world with elements from many Disney/Pixar favorites. It appears that Toy Box mode really is a free-for-all: You make the world, customize the characters and create the tasks. Disney would have to be brain-dead to put so many characters in one game without enabling them to interact. Toy Box mode lets players indulge in their wildest Disney video game fantasies. Most of these movies pop on cable channels periodically. If you want to get pumped for “Disney Infinity,” Directstartv.org can hook you up with your favorite Disney/Pixar titles.

It’s impossible to tell how a game will play without getting your hands on a controller, but all signs point to “Disney Infinity” wowing gamers. Variety.com reported that developers spent more than $100 million to produce the game. With that budget and so many notable characters, “Disney Infinity” should be the kid-friendly game of the year.

Photo by Flickr user hyku

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juha DeGraw
Juha moved to the U.S. from Finland to study mobile gaming technology. When he is not tooling around with SMS platforms, he is writing about the changing tech landscape in the U.S.