As Disney Interactive continues its quest to deliver a break-out video game hit, the company revealed its biggest project yet: "Disney Infinity." The new game combines characters and worlds from numerous Disney franchises and could potentially grow to include virtually all of them.
Following the blueprint constructed by the popular "Skylanders" series, "Disney Infinity" will come packed with a few Disney character figurines that are essential for play. The toys house chips inside and, when placed on a special board (included in the game), give players access to certain levels and determine what character they'll be playing as. If you want to play as Jack Sparrow, place his figurine on the board and start sailing away.
Like "Skylanders," the game is an action/adventure title, but it differs from Activision's hit in one key area: "Infinity" also sports a world creation system similar to 'Minecraft' that lets users build their own levels.
"We are going to allow this place that's kind of like your living room floor," John Blackburn, Disney VP and general manager of "Infinity" developer Avalanche Studios, told Wired. "We're not going to go into [your living room] and tell you how to play with your toys, and that's the same thing here. We give you a bunch of toys and say, here, go play."
Some of the worlds that Disney showed off included those from "The Incredibles" as well as "Monsters University" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." But while you can only play in a certain world when using a specific character, gamers are free to use any character they want to build brand new playgrounds. Theoretically, this means players could build a world that resembles "The Lion King" and play in it as "Mr. Incredible."
The game will initially launch for $75 in June and come packed with characters from just the three films mentioned above, while more will be added later. Additional characters will cost $13, and each one will have its own unique figurine as well as gameplay abilities. As players make their way through each character's specific world, they will solve puzzles, fight bad guys, and collect new items and abilities, which can later be used to build new levels.
"Disney Infinity" will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, 3DS, and Wii. If "Skylanders" is any indication, character stats and abilities will transfer across consoles, meaning you can take your toy to your friend's house and play on a different console as long as they have the game. There will be an iOS app available, too, but that won't be the full game. It will instead compliment the main titles by letting players level up their characters and get items that they can transfer to their figurines.
"'Disney Infinity' combines prominent Disney and Pixar characters and scenarios in a way that mimics how kids play in real life," Blackburn said. "With our platform's unique gameplay mechanics and innovative approach to user generated content within the 'Toy Box' mode, 'Disney Infinity' will spark imaginations and provide endless hours of fun and creativity."
