Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

The mechanics are as mediocre as they were on the other systems, but additionally the Wii U version suffers from a stuttering framerate and superficial usage of the Wii U gamepad.

There's a lot to like about Mickey's return to Wasteland, and the follow-up does improve on its predecessor in a number of ways. [Dec 2012, p.92]

The Wii U version should be your last resort. I can't help but think it must have been rushed to meet the release date, when it would have benefited from some extra time in development.

A bad port, done without effort and rushed. There's little use of the Wii U exclusive features and the frame-rate drops below 20 without reason. You'll get used to that and enjoy the great game behind it, but we recommend playing in on another platform.

Speaking of wasted potential, if the developers wished to shove the Wii U GamePad down players' throats, they should have at least done something interesting with it.

If only the main story and gameplay could begin to keep up with the wondrous vision that the game's world-builders came up with, Epic Mickey 2 could have been a fantastic game. Sadly, instead it's a journey of discovery that is bogged down by mediocre gameplay, bad A.I., and occasional bugs.

For every tiny victory over the failings of the original, the sequel commits a massive oversight leading to even bigger problems. And in spite of the undeniable appeal of its twisted interpretation of all things Disney, what ultimately sinks this sequel is the sheer absence of fun in its formula.

The Wii U version also offers excellent graphics and motion controls, but exhibits some slowdown at times.

A potentially great title let down by a terrible camera and one of the most bewildering controller decisions we can remember. Get the Wii version instead.

The great presentation values present in Epic Mickey 2 are regrettably unbalanced by mediocre gameplay while imprecise and questionable control schemes drag things down even more.

With legendary game developer Warren Spector overseeing the game and iterating upon the things that worked in the first game while fixing those that didn't, I had high hopes this sequel would be one of the great games of the holiday. Unfortunately the end result is a game that I like even less than the original. There's a reason you'll see this game on sale at retailers already – it's not all that enjoyable. Buy with caution.

I want to be as explicit as possible and say that Epic Mickey 2 is not worth your time. A bad camera system, a poor help system, bad AI and the lack of substantial Wii U features make this game dull, uninteresting and frustrating.