Epic Mickey
Hero or Scrapper? Paint pirates and smack-talking cows
by Alexia Scotten
E
24
AT A GLANCE: An action-adventure platforming game that sends Mickey Mouse on an epic journey of creativity and discovery Developer: Junction Point Studios Publisher: Disney Interactive Distributor: Prime Interactive
Nov 2010 Platforms
pic Mickey is part of an effort by the Walt Disney Company to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character we all know and love by moving away from his current squeaky clean image and reintroducing the mischievous side of his personality. In the game, Walt Disney is represented by the sorcerer Yen Sid, who created a pen-andpaper world for his forgotten and rejected creations. Mickey finds himself inside Yen Sid’s study after entering a mirror in his own house. He tries to create a model of himself and through a comedy of errors and paint thinners manages to turn it into a wasteland. Many years later, Mickey has forgotten about the incident, until the Phantom Blot enters his home through the same mirror and pulls him into the Cartoon Wasteland. Player actions can either have Mickey hailed as a Hero, or feared as a Scrapper – a term for being overly mischievous. These choices will open up different alliances, side-quests and power-ups, depending on the path taken. Mickey uses a magic paintbrush than can be used on enemies and painted portions of the environment. Mickey is also able to create objects from sketches, for example a clock to slow down time, or a TV to distract an enemy. To travel between sections of the Cartoon Wasteland, Mickey must traverse 2D sidescrolling levels based on his classic cartoon shorts such as Steamboat Willie and Clock Cleaners. Mickey received a character redesign in this game to give him a slightly more ‘retro’ look; this, combined with the animation engine, replicates the stretchy athleticism of the classic cartoons. Game designer Warren Spector has stated that Epic Mickey was planned as a trilogy. There you go, more for the mouseketeers. g
PC X360 PS3 Wii PSP DS PS2
gamecca preview • issue 16 • October 2010