What you won’t like
This doesn’t look much like a next-gen game
While the levels and Toy Box appear thoughtfully designed, the graphics are lackluster. This could easily have been (and is) just a PS3 or Xbox 360 game – it doesn’t take advantage of next-generation console capabilities at all.
The animations and look of the heroes are good, but bad guys all look alike, and their design is unmemorable.
Above: The game worlds and superhero mechanics: fun. Gameplay during missions: not so much.
Wait, I have to do this again?
The action in quests and missions in the main play sets are repetitive and inane: kill this, protect that, carry the other thing somewhere. You can also play the mini-games (the starter set includes two Toy Box Game Discs, a dungeon crawler and a tower defense game; others are available for sale), and the games in the Toy Box.
The voice acting gives them more replay value than they deserve, but you’ll still have more fun playing with the people on your couch or online than you ever will from the missions you’re completing.
Their lower difficulty level is excusable considering the younger target age for this game, but their mind-numbing repetition isn’t. Boss fights toward the end of levels provided welcome relief, and the achievements sprinkled throughout the games are fun to earn.
Above: Disney Interactive’s buildings: way, way better than my Toy Box buildings.
Okay, I’ll admit it: I build boring games
The Toy Box build-your-own features are still clunky to use, and in the end, the games you design are not that fun to play. Well, at least mine aren’t. The sheer number of control combinations it takes to build anything halfway decent is a deterrent, especially when the content included with the game is reasonably fun in its own right (especially the mini-challenges on the Toy Box side).
However, trying is reasonably addicting, even if your results are terrible, and I expect this is the part of the game that people will come back to long after they’ve tired of the main missions and quests. Building cities and rooms is still fun; I enjoyed the challenge, even if the results weren’t great. Then again, my houses sucked in The Sims 4, too.
Above: Just the start of your kid’s wish list.
Press Start, open wallet
You’ll find loads of ways to spend lots of money on Disney Infinity 2.0. The core game isn’t cheap, and more play sets, those Toy Box Game Discs, and more than 20 character figures make the price climb.
Our condolences, parents: Disney has done a fine job of making each character feel and play differently this time around, so it truly is fun to swap between them and explore new abilities.
Unfortunately, that means your kids are actually going to have some ammunition when they convince you to buy a bunch of them at $14 a pop. (Not to mention the $35 each time you have to buy the world they can play in; while you can collect coins for some crossovers, they’re limited.)
Just in case you didn’t have enough to buy, Power Discs give your game random enhancements. (One allows you to see the world through Iron Man’s visor, for example; another lets you drive the Hydra motorcycle.) And yes, those are fun too.
On the bright side, you can use your original Disney Infinity figures and power discs in Toy Box areas of Infinity 2.0, sometimes giving your characters new abilities.
Disney was kind enough to supply all the figures and playsets and some sample discs to test the game with, and if you can shell out that kind of coin … it adds immeasurably to how fun the game is to play, long-term.
I’m so sorry. Feel free to pretend I didn’t say that, even though it’s true.
Above: Preeeetty sure the guy in the back playing Iron Man is practicing his skills to throw another player to his death.
Conclusion
Disney Infinity 2.0 has a pile of different types of gameplay in a single box: story-based missions and quests, mini-games of different types, the micro-games in the Toy Box, the pre-built quests and rewards in the Toy Box, and the build-your-own areas.
It’s designed for younger audiences, and it’s definitely best when played with other people. The physical parts of the game and the soundtrack and voices are truly well-done.
This one has the potential to have some staying power in your living room, as long you don’t mind coughing up some money to feed the beast. The story-based quests aren’t going to win you over after you’ve seen them once, but playing the different characters with all their abilities will, and you’ll find the build-your-own section engaging, despite the wonky controls.
Hopefully, with better results than I could create.
Score: 75/100
Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes is available September 23 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and iOS. The core game with the base, three figures, two mini-games, and The Avengers Play Set piece costs $75. Disney provided GamesBeat with the game, figures, play sets, and power discs for this review.