Epic Mickey: Power Of Illusion: Taking the Mickey out of 3D
4th Aug 2012 | 19:00
Looking for an old Mickey Mouse game to base your new Mickey Mouse game on? It may as well be Castle Of Illusion, one of the best platformers of the 16-bit era.
Though simple, it looked and felt like an interactive Disney cartoon. Dreamrift pay homage to the Mega Drive classic with Power Of Illusion, a 3D... er, 2D... okay, 2 + 3 = 5D sidescroller that will tie in with the recently revealed Wii sequel.
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Unlike, say, the 3DS version of
The story begins with the castle's accidental arrival in the Wasteland, thanks to an uncharacteristically clumsy Yen Sid.
Unfortunately, the medieval dwelling came with a bit of excess baggage: Castle Of Illusion's evil witch, Mizrabel. In an attempt to return to the 'real' Disney world, Mizrabel has kidnapped the 'illusions' of a bunch of famous Disney characters, including Mickey's sweetheart, Minnie Mouse.
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If it all sounds a bit Kingdom Hearts, then it will sound even Kingdomier and Heartsier when we tell you that each level is based on a different Disney film. Peter Pan and Beauty and the Beast are in there, naturally, but modern movies such as Tangled are set to be represented too.
While the core platforming is based on Castle Of Illusion, this would be a pretty poor Epic Mickey game if it didn't incorporate a magical paintbrush as well. The brush used in Power actually goes beyond the Wii one in some respects, thanks to the canvas-like qualities of the touch-screen.
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For instance, your talent as an artist now matters, at least slightly - well-drawn objects will perform better than poorly or 'interestingly' sketched ones, so this probably isn't the place to indulge your passion for cubism.
After using paint to add items to the environment - or thinner to remove them - you'll see your creations change from 2D to 3D before your eyes. It sounds nifty, and we're looking forward to seeing it in action.
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The 3D aside, this has the potential to be a quality sidescrolling platformer - a genre that appears to be back with a vengeance. We used to lament the 2D handheld tie-in, but Dreamrift's hands are far more capable than most. We'll know for certain at the end of the year - which gives us plenty of time to master our drawing skills.