Disney Infinity: A Mish-Mash Of Genres

Image via Disney

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is usually where you find the latest and greatest games from all your favorite franchises. The latest iterations of Halo, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid all debuted at this year’s E3, but there was another showcase that seemed slightly out of place.

Disney Interactive Studio’s Disney Infinity is not a next-generation title by any means, but it does look like a lot of fun. The trailer below is pretty hysterical, and it seems like you can play as whatever Disney character you want.

While the trailer seems to show an infinite amount of gaming “genres,” in reality there are only two game modes: Play Set and Toy Box. Play Set is your typical single-player experience. You play through a specific world as specific characters. So, for example, you could play “The Incredibles” campaign and go through all the events of “The Incredibles” movie as a video game.

Play Set seems like a fun enough time, but what really has me excited is Toy Box. It’s essentially a sandbox mode where you can do almost anything you want. You want Sully to fight Woody on the Black Pearl? Check. You want to race as Lightning McQueen through the set of Monster’s University? You got it.

While the graphics aren’t comparable to some of the other games showcased at E3, the game still looked like a blast. Disney confirmed that the game will be released on every current-generation system and support both online and couch multiplayer.

Here’s where things start to get a little pricey. The game comes with something called an Infinity Base and three figurines to place in the Infinity Base. Placing the figurines in the Infinity Base imports those characters into the world.

That costs $75. And if you want to use more characters, you have to buy more figurines, each figurine costing $12. Uh, what? Look Disney, I already spent a good chunk of change on this game, and now I have to buy more figurines to unlock other characters? Count me out.

It’s a brilliant money-making scheme. I can already hear the cries of little kids asking their parents to buy them the latest and greatest Disney characters so they can play with them on screen.

I don’t see Disney skirting back from this model, and it makes sense in a way. It’s a great way to use all the Disney properties. Still, at that price, I’ll pass and just play with my actual Disney toys. Not that I have those. Because I am an adult and too old for such things, right? Right.