It's hard to tell exactly what the plan was with Disney's new video game, Epic Mickey, out for the Nintendo Wii. Of course it's a platformer -- "platforming" has a rich heritage of successful, exciting games, where the basic premise involves getting your character (in this case, Mickey Mouse) from Point A to Point B by jumping -- platforming -- from space to space. Epic Mickey's genre is filled with classics from the 8-bit and 16-bit era like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, and is paired up against modern-day critical-darling or smash-hits like Super Meat Boy and Psychonauts. The first thing you should know is that Epic Mickey is in no way a learning kid's game. There is very little in the way of educational value outside the incidental lessons one learns from falling off a cliff over and over.
The second thing you should know is that Epic Mickey is incredibly frustrating to control for an adult with a lifetime of video game playing, much less a youngster who might not be used to the advanced and often finicky control scheme. The truth is that these awful controls and the fact that it's not a learning kids game effectively breaks Epic Mickey.
It's a shame, because some of the more innovative and fun parts of the game are extremely engrossing and fun to watch. This shouldn't ever be discounted by parents who choose to interact with their children and either play the video games and learning kids game alongside them, or, as in the case of Epic Mickey, sit back and watch when there's no option for a second player. It's easy to become a very bored parent when the game's story is lacking.
This definitely isn't a case with Epic Mickey. The story is deep for a children's game and maybe a little dark for kids who are frightened easily. The story involves some characters from the early days of Walt Disney -- think "Steamboat Willy" -- who've become jealous of the fame and fortune that Mickey and his pals have. After some early conflicts, the "old" characters join forces with the "contemporary" characters in order to battle a new menace. This is about the only moral "let's work together" educational moment I found that came close to feeling like a learning kids games.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to get much further in the plot, because the platforming portions of the game so utterly frustrated both me and my son. As much fun as it was to use Mickey's paint brush and can of thinner to paint over and/or erase obstacles from the world, there were just too many moments where Mickey fell again and again (and again!) to his cartoony death. It was around the 3rd hour of frustration when we finally gave up and went back to our learning kids game. I recommend you skip this one.
William is a New York City-based writer and father of a video gaming boy. He has played platforming games, shooters, sports, learning kids games, and puzzle games nearly his entire life. Someday his son will beat him in a game of ThinkSmart, but until then, that'll be his go-to game.
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This article has been viewed 58 time(s).Article Submitted On: December 13, 2010
