Disney Infinity 3.0 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PC)

TOTR_Yoda-XLCombining much of the best of past years with some new improvements, the newest Disney Infinity game is a worthy successor.  In its third year, and creatively titled Disney Infinity 3.0, it is the newest incarnation of one of the two powerhouses of the hybrid toy figurine-videogame hybrids.  Whereas the Skylander line has focused on unique characters and an engaging storyline, Disney Infinity relies on its huge back catalogue of well-known characters to bring into its game.  Just in time for the upcoming movie release, Infinity version 3.0 has the pleasure of presenting the Star Wars universe.


To bring you up to speed, Disney Infinity videogames use a special attachment to interact with physical toy figurines.  These are placed on a special base and are then appear on the screen.  The figurines unlock special characters and situations in the game and the game records ongoing information onto the figurine.  Thus a figure could be carried to a friend’s house and be able to use all its collected abilities in another version of the game.  Thankfully, figurines are cross-compatible with all versions of the game, and older figures (from game 1.0 and 2.0) are forward compatible.  New figurines don’t work in past games, though.

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The “starter set” of Disney Infinity 3.0 includes a couple figures and nice story mode for players to explore (cooperatively or alone).  As in past years, the story mode is not quite as long or in-depth as other figurine games.  However, this year’s Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic storyline is very stellar.  Running roughly six hours, the storyline provides a diversity of environments, missions, and enemy types to keep the entire adventure new and exciting.  Combat is excellent, with each character’s special attacks truly unique – Yoda can pinball between enemies and Anakin can Force-pull items out of opponents’ hands.  Thankfully, there is little content in the adventure hidden behind false walls requiring additional figurines to access (looking at you here, Skylanders.) So even with the basic figures in the starter pack, you have the whole Star Wars adventure to explore.

 

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Infinity’s claim to fame, though, is in its Toy Box mode.  This is a mode where gamers can create their own worlds to explore and can even share them online with other gamers.  Worlds can be made where figures race each other, have a shooting match, run through a “platformer” level, and many other options.  It is this mode that puts Disney Infinity out ahead of the videogame figurine crowd.

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This time around, Disney was smart enough to leverage the Toy Box mode as much as possible.  The new Toy Box Hub serves as a sort of in-game tutorial on how to use the world building tools.  This supplies hours of fun even before one even tries out other user-created worlds.  Explore all the tutorial levels and challenges are you will at least have a decent handle on how to use all the creation tools.   Of course, the more you play in the Toy Box, the more you unlock and upgrade your chosen character.  There is even a little sidekick sub-game where you can put a little mini-me to work for you in the game.  They will slowly gain in power and can even fight alongside you to provide ongoing benefits.

 

 
The longevity of Disney Infinity 3.0 will remain the Toy Box mode.  One could theoretically make (or let someone else make it and just download theirs) role-playing games, shooting games, complicated Rube-Goldberg levels, or any manner of racing games.  Lazy as I am, I plan to pick and choose the best of the best levels from other folks to download and play with my boys.

 

 
Of note are the two Toy Box expansions: Toy Box Takeover and Toy Box Speedway.  Both provide additional story content that is accessed through the Toy Box mode.  This is important, as all the standard story content (in “playsets”) can only be accessed with the figurines associated with that setting.  In the Toy Box, everyone can play with everyone else.  In Toy Box Takeover, you are working (solo or co-op) to defeat Syndrome by playing through a wide variety of levels.  Toy Box Speedway provides a more robust racing game (think Mario Kart) through custom designed Disney Themed racecourses and racing vehicles.  Race Anikin and Wreck-it Ralph through the Monster’s Inc. racecourse that runs along the tops of a maze of doors.  The expansions are somewhat story-lite but are still great places to repeatedly visit and provide a fun way to level-up one’s characters.

 

 

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Verdict:  

Disney Infinity 3.0 is a true improvement over previous versions.  I currently rank it as the best “figurine-videogame” available, and not just due to the cool Star Wars theme.  The title provides a wealth of gaming opportunities without even trying to hit up your pocketbook for more.  (I appreciate that the game doesn’t taunt you with content you can’t access because you haven’t bought the right toy.)  That said, there are plenty of add-ons available so be prepared to protect your pocketbook from temptation.  It’s a great game, and aside from the danger of it becoming a money-sink, it makes a great game to play with as a family.

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