25 replies to this topic

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

Incredible story: http://kotaku.com/53...-spector-speaks

A Wii exclusive Mickey Mouse game, from Warren Spector!

Greetings,
Manuel

[vdub_bobby]

A new, long interview/article with Warren Spector, with screenshots, at Kotaku.

I only skimmed it (so far), but this stood out (not in a good way):

Quote

Spector says that the game won't support the Wii Remote's MotionPlus technology because the technology became available to developers too late to the studio.

"We played with it and I think that it would be a great fit for our core mechanic, but the best I can say is that in the future we'd love to do more with it," he said.

Ummm...WTF? The game doesn't come out for another year (release date=fall 2010), and MotionPlus has been out for six months or more, and they don't have time? A year and a half isn't enough time? Give me a break; what a total cop-out. The core mechanic of the game is using the remote as a paintbrush, which just cries out for pinpoint control...

I'm trying not to be a naysayer a year ahead of release, but its starting to look to me like they're more interested in telling a Story and getting across an Important Message than making a really great game.

Edited by vdub_bobby, Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:13 PM.

[Cybergoth]

vdub_bobby, on Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:06 PM, said:

The core mechanic of the game is using the remote as a paintbrush, which just cries out for pinpoint control...

You realize that the WM+ enhancement doesn't improve the reading of the optical sensor that is tracking where the Wiimote is pointing to at all?

It just contains an extra dual-axis gyroscope, which in combination with the regular accelerometer readings enhances the precission of the motion detection.

The pointer sensor is sitting on top of your TV, it won't change with a plugin in the Wiimote

[vdub_bobby]

Cybergoth, on Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:37 PM, said:

vdub_bobby, on Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:06 PM, said:

The core mechanic of the game is using the remote as a paintbrush, which just cries out for pinpoint control...

You realize that the WM+ enhancement doesn't improve the reading of the optical sensor that is tracking where the Wiimote is pointing to at all?

It just contains an extra dual-axis gyroscope, which in combination with the regular accelerometer readings enhances the precission of the motion detection.

The pointer sensor is sitting on top of your TV, it won't change with a plugin in the Wiimote

Fair point - I'll (try to) withhold judgement. But Spector himself said that it would "be a great fit" so ....

[Cybergoth]

vdub_bobby, on Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:20 PM, said:

Fair point - I'll (try to) withhold judgement. But Spector himself said that it would "be a great fit" so ....

I think that's just standard buzztalk. "Oh yeah, WM+ is great, but..."

Sidenote:

Remember the ruckus LucasArts made regarding their lightsaber game when WM+ was announced?

=> http://www.computera...e.php?id=195258

So why does their current(!) Star Wars game still not support WM+?!?

[vdub_bobby]

Cybergoth, on Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:26 AM, said:

So why does their current(!) Star Wars game still not support WM+?!?

Because it's a low-budget piece of crap?

[vdub_bobby]

Epic Mickey has caught the eye of the New York Times:

Quote

Now, however, concerned that Mickey has become more of a corporate symbol than a beloved character for recent generations of young people, Disney is taking the risky step of re-imagining him for the future.

The first glimmer of this will be the introduction next year of a new video game, Epic Mickey, in which the formerly squeaky clean character can be cantankerous and cunning, as well as heroic, as he traverses a forbidding wasteland.

And at the same time, in a parallel but separate effort, Disney has quietly embarked on an even larger project to rethink the character’s personality, from the way Mickey walks and talks to the way he appears on the Disney Channel and how children interact with him on the Web — even what his house looks like at Disney World.

Nothing new for folks that have followed this in the gaming press, but there you go.

This quote was interesting, though:

Quote

Other observers are less impressed. “The approach warrants a lot of caution given the difficulty that publishers have had gaining traction on the Wii,” said Doug Creutz, a media analyst at Cowen and Company.

Industry veterans with experience in the family niche think that the Disney brand can overcome such hurdles.

“This is a huge opportunity to create more relevancy for Mickey and pull him into the fastest-growing entertainment medium,” said Jim Wilson, the chief executive of Atari’s North American business. “If it’s a good game — and given the strength of the developer and I.P., the likelihood of that is high — people are going to buy it.”

Not that the idea is not radical. “I was told to withhold judgment until I had seen the whole pitch,” said Graham Hopper, executive vice president for Disney Interactive Studios.

Disney has big video game ambitions, spending at least $180 million on their development this year alone. It has had successful spinoff titles, but no true self-published blockbusters. Disney generated about $86 million in retail sales from January to September in the United States, according to NPD data. Nintendo of America, the leading seller of games, had about $1 billion in sales.

Edited by vdub_bobby, Fri Nov 6, 2009 4:08 PM.

[vdub_bobby]

So this is finally out today - anyone pick it up? The reviews are a bit disappointing; all I've read mention major control and camera issues.

[eggomania]

I received my copy of the Collector's Edition yesterday. I played a little yesterday. From what I have played it is pretty impressive. So far I have not had a lot of problems with the camera, though it would have been nice if the camera positioned itself behind Mickey unless you wanted to rotate it somewhere else. The game looks really nice. It's apparant that a lot of work went into this game. Just the fact that a Disney game has gotten a lot of buzz is feat in itself, as many Disney games are a letdown. I'm curious if the rest of the game will be as cool as what I have played so far.

[hex65000]

I was really surprised that NPR did two spots on this title and interviewed Spector during at least one of them. Although the way he talked it was like Mickey Mouse never was in a video game before... Off the top of my head, I can think of at least 3 platforms where Mickey was mentioned in the title and was shown prominently in the cover art.

Sounds like an interesting title, but I've exceeded my buy limit for games this month pretty badly...

Hex.
[ Notes the mountain of titles he should bust out and play before he buys anything else, but I'll likely buy something anyway... ]

[cimerians]

Its a Super Mario Galaxy clone without the upside down stuff.

I'm an hour into it and my thoughts:

After playing the masterpiece Super Mario Galaxy 2, Epic Mickey feels like a second hand but admirable effort.

Like God Of War III and Castlevania Lords of Shadow\Dantes Inferno.

Like Mario Kart Wii and (name any other kart game thats actually good but not better than Mario Kart)


The good news is that its STILL a good game. Its got the Mario Sunshine painting with a little Super Mario Galaxy jumping spinning attacks with the nunchuck\wand.
Its fun and its worth a purchase if the price drops but don't expect anything great if you played the Mario games already. Nintendo makes it so hard to beat what they do.
(Cause they do it the best)

The only camera issue I have is that it doesnt really follow you, so a lot of times you need to hit "C" to reset it in front of you so you can see. I also have a slightly
hard time trying to figure out what to paint or what to "thin" (un-paint).

It's nice and its hard to put down sometimes cause it is good.....but it could have been waaaay better.

Update:
http://www.destructo...ct-189184.phtml

I lost some respect for Warren. I used to follow his blog and love all the work he's ever been involved with but to say that this isn't at least a little bit of a Mario clone is totally wrong. Thats the FIRST thing that came to mind when I played Epic Mickey.

[PingvinBlueJeans]

cimerians, on Mon Dec 6, 2010 11:19 PM, said:

Its a Super Mario Galaxy clone without the upside down stuff.

I'm an hour into it and my thoughts:

After playing the masterpiece Super Mario Galaxy 2, Epic Mickey feels like a second hand but admirable effort.

I just got a Wii and was thinking about picking up Epic Mickey. It looks really cool, but I've read mixed reviews, and it seems that nearly everyone would recommend Super Mario Galaxy over Mickey (as demonstrated by the comments above).

There's just two things...

1. I already have one Mario game...I purchased New Super Mario Bros. Wii with my system.

2. Am I wrong in thinking that I might enjoy Epic Mickey more if I play it before the Mario Galaxy games? It seems like the Galaxy titles are universally regarded as masterpieces and make everything else seem a bit bland by comparison.

Thoughts?

[cimerians]

PingvinBlueJeans, on Thu Jan 6, 2011 12:38 PM, said:

cimerians, on Mon Dec 6, 2010 11:19 PM, said:

Its a Super Mario Galaxy clone without the upside down stuff.

I'm an hour into it and my thoughts:

After playing the masterpiece Super Mario Galaxy 2, Epic Mickey feels like a second hand but admirable effort.

I just got a Wii and was thinking about picking up Epic Mickey. It looks really cool, but I've read mixed reviews, and it seems that nearly everyone would recommend Super Mario Galaxy over Mickey (as demonstrated by the comments above).

There's just two things...

1. I already have one Mario game...I purchased New Super Mario Bros. Wii with my system.

2. Am I wrong in thinking that I might enjoy Epic Mickey more if I play it before the Mario Galaxy games? It seems like the Galaxy titles are universally regarded as masterpieces and make everything else seem a bit bland by comparison.

Thoughts?

It doesn't come close to Mario Galaxy, still thats hard to answer cause it is a pretty good game but I cant see spending 50 bucks for it unless money isn't an issue.

Yup you will like it if you dont play Mario Galaxy. Since I played Mario Galaxy it was sort of a let down cause I was expecting something a little different.

Other things I noticed while playing more and more of the game is that its not exactly the most accurate game in terms of collision detection or certain camera angles will make you miss your target. Makes me want to smack the devs.

You will get frustrated quite a bit thinking you just jumped on a mushroom only to fall to your death cause of the issues I mentioned above. There are save points but sometimes they are far between....other times when you fall or miss a ledge cause you completely cant tell how far it is, you will spend almost 5 minutes making it back to where your were to try again....and fall again. (Repeat).

Its got issues but its still good. I wouldn't pay full price.

[PingvinBlueJeans]

cimerians, on Thu Jan 6, 2011 2:57 PM, said:

It doesn't come close to Mario Galaxy, still thats hard to answer cause it is a pretty good game but I cant see spending 50 bucks for it unless money isn't an issue.

...

Its got issues but its still good. I wouldn't pay full price.

Well, money "isn't an issue" in the sense that I have a few Christmas gift certificates to burn anyway, but I suppose that money could still be spent more effectively on better games (whether that's Mario Galaxy or something else altogether). Money isn't a huge issue in the long run, because there aren't that many Wii games I really want, so I know I'll get them all eventually. That is one advantage of 'growing up'...you don't have to make those kinds of difficult decisions anymore once you can pretty much buy whatever games you want anytime (within reason, of course).

Still, it is nice to budget oneself as much as possible. I suppose the fact that Mickey will eventually get a price drop (and that Mario likely will not) is something to consider. I just got my Wii this week, and money issues aside, I was primarily thinking of the fact that I already have one Mario game already and wanted to try something different beyond the usual Nintendo fare. There hasn't really been a good Mickey game since Mickey Mania.

Thanks for the input...I guess I'll have to think about it.

[Dennis V]

cimerians, on Mon Dec 6, 2010 11:19 PM, said:

Its a Super Mario Galaxy clone without the upside down stuff.

I'm an hour into it and my thoughts:

After playing the masterpiece Super Mario Galaxy 2, Epic Mickey feels like a second hand but admirable effort.

Like God Of War III and Castlevania Lords of Shadow\Dantes Inferno.

Like Mario Kart Wii and (name any other kart game thats actually good but not better than Mario Kart)


The good news is that its STILL a good game. Its got the Mario Sunshine painting with a little Super Mario Galaxy jumping spinning attacks with the nunchuck\wand.
Its fun and its worth a purchase if the price drops but don't expect anything great if you played the Mario games already. Nintendo makes it so hard to beat what they do.
(Cause they do it the best)

The only camera issue I have is that it doesnt really follow you, so a lot of times you need to hit "C" to reset it in front of you so you can see. I also have a slightly
hard time trying to figure out what to paint or what to "thin" (un-paint).

It's nice and its hard to put down sometimes cause it is good.....but it could have been waaaay better.

Update:
http://www.destructo...ct-189184.phtml

I lost some respect for Warren. I used to follow his blog and love all the work he's ever been involved with but to say that this isn't at least a little bit of a Mario clone is totally wrong. Thats the FIRST thing that came to mind when I played Epic Mickey.

You've hit the nail on the head. I got into the hype of this game also and came away a little deflated. Still, it's a fun game and I do like it, especially having Warren Spector(Deus Ex)behind it. My wife and kids are big on Disney anyway.

[Vic George 2K3]

With this game and Tron Evolution coming out around the same time, it's surprising that we don't see Mickey Mouse in Tron gear throwing identity discs at his enemies.

[Taskmaster99]

i myself havent played it....but have snuck a peek at my girl playing it on her Wii. Aside from some questionable cameras......it looks good. She's enjoying it as well.

[Cafeman]

BUMP of thread: ++ 1 year.

I bought Epic Mickey a few months back for $19.99. I started to play it last week in the evenings and it was memorable enough for me to want to post something.

I agree with above comments - gameplay is in the mode of Mario Galaxy but not as refined. I must say, after reading many negative things, I was surprised that I enjoyed the game as I worked my way through it. It isn't that difficult, at least not so far, which is good because I needed some easy levels just to figure out what Mickey can / cannot do.

Gameplay is fun and rewarding, the angles and camera issues are not always perfect but not a big problem - I've seen worse many times over the years. The gameplay is fun - but you don't play this game for the gameplay, you play it for the rich Disney history and excellent art & portrayal of Disney characters, including Mickey. I love how Mickey is drawn and animated - he is a cartoon, not too cute though, and I like how he has a personality - he can talk smack, he can get angry at things, but he also feels sad by his own mistakes and deplorable condition of the Wasteland, or when he (for example) first sees the Oswald & Walt Disney statue.

Right now I'm like 5 or 6 hours in. I'm in the City of Tomorrow fighting a Tron-themed Pete, complete with wii-mote swinging to deflect Pete's tron discs. Although simplistic and impossible to fail at, the between-worlds 2D cartoon movies that you progress 2d-style through (Clock tower; Steamboat Willie) are one example of the nice attention to detail in the game about Disney's history.

Anyone here at AA find this game a magically good time?

[cimerians]

I never finished it.
The camera angles got on my nerves a bit too much.

The sequel, now thats something I'm looking forward to:

http://www.eurogamer...s-lead-platform

[Metal Ghost]

I need to press on with this game. I really like it, and my daughter loves to simply watch me play it....our only problem is that the only Wii is at the in-laws house (I have this game because my wife's grandmother bought it for me for something to do at their house). So I just don't get a lot of play time with it.

[Cafeman]

Update on my own experience: Since my last post, I've played through the pirates levels, assembled Daisy Duck and Goofy animatronics (you need to find their arms & legs, or buy them), and fought Animatronic Captain Hook. I saved the sprite of the somewhat effiminate "Pete Pan" (not Peter Pan) so he could fly, and he then fought Hook in the air, a nice reward sequence.

There's a substantial amount of back-n-forth between levels and going back to the hub, "Mean Street" (not Main Street). But that didn't bother me - you aren't forced to do these sub-quests, but you will be rewarded with money or power sparks (which are needed in time) if you do. Hint: buy the bigger wallet in one of the Mean Street stores as soon as you can. I didn't, and after 1,000 I was unable to pick up any more E-tickets as I went thru the Pirate levels.

Again I'll say that the art is fantastic in this game, and so is the music. Now I'm at the Lonesome Ghosts level called The Bog or something like that. Oswald is starting to like me (Mickey) because of my work in the Wasteland. Some of the pirate machines are tougher enemies too, I didn't figure out how to defeat one type so I just avoided it. Never before have I seen a game where you can use thinner to erase walls, but can also erase the bridge you might happen to be standing on over a deadly sea of thinner! Gotta be careful.

[Mendon]

Cafeman.....

To be honest, when this game was announced I was really, really excited. But, for whatever reason, I didn't get around to buying it at launch and then when I read review after review talking about what a terrible camera system was incorporated into the game, I thought to myself that I was lucky to have not snapped it up upon release.

Now, after reading a few reviews similar to yours, my interest in the game has returned and I'm going to be ordering it from Amazon today.

Thanks for your comments!!!


Mendon

[cimerians]

Mendon, on Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:00 AM, said:

Now, after reading a few reviews similar to yours, my interest in the game has returned and I'm going to be ordering it from Amazon today.

Thanks for your comments!!!


Mendon

Now for that price I think its totally worth it!

[Mendon]

cimerians, on Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:17 AM, said:

Now for that price I think its totally worth it!

LOL... agreed.

And my interest in the game was so high before it launched that I was even going to buy the Epic Mickey Paint Brush Nunchuk to go with the game. Hmmm... wonder if its still for sale and how much?????

Mendon

[cimerians]

Mendon, on Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:25 AM, said:

... wonder if its still for sale and how much?????

Mendon

Hmmm...I think it would be between 25 and 35 bucks.

http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B0040QAN0M

Looks pretty cool actually.