Disney Epic Mickey

Marvelous game, stunning animations, RPG motives, multiple solutions to puzzles, stylish visuals, great hero with potential to compete with iconic Mario – all buried six feet under because of crappy camera and controls. [Issue#199]

It's unfortunate that Epic Mickey has such a nasty barrage of poor gameplay design choices as the story is absolutely top notch.

Epic Mickey may not always be entirely satisfying to play, but it's still enormously interesting to wander around with an eye open for the detailing. [Jan 2011, p.92]

If not for the clumsy camera it would be a timeless classic, but with the camera Epic Mickey can be dated at approximately 1997.

While Epic Mickey struggles with a few camera problems, it's a great and kind of unique platformer. The mood is great, mixing both nostalgic disney with a little darker steampunk elements to create an interesting world with a truly good soundtrack and enviorments. You are also able to alter the story in the game in a way rarely seen in games like this.

Epic Mickey falls short of brilliance, but because it stands on such a strong concept, it doesn't always need brilliance to remain compelling.

Epic Mickey goes out of its way to show gamers Walt Disney's body of work, but rarely fires on a level that turns this beloved content into exciting gameplay.

It's still arguably an above-average 3D platformer, even considering the flawed platforming fundamentals. The style, story, core gameplay concepts and attention to Disney history go a long way toward redemption. It's just so damn disappointing because a few short months ago, it looked like it would be so... epic.

Disney Epic Mickey is a good game that ultimately didn't live up to its potential, but that doesn't mean it's not worth playing. It gets increasingly more fun, especially towards the end, and it's sad to think that some players may not make it this far due to early frustrations.

Epic Mickey is a game that falls short in the part that counts: the gameplay.

Epic Mickey could have been a much better game than it ended up. If you're a Disney fan, I'd highly recommend picking it up: if not, you can pass this one up without too much fret.

Epic Mickey comes together as a decent, if not heavily flawed platformer.

A wonderful love letter to Disney art and memorabilia, but a disappointing gameplay debut from Junction Point, set back by unpolished and unrefined design.

Epic Mickey is the most disappointing kind of game: a high-concept affair that does so much right, it's crushing that the one thing is does most wrongly is not be fun to play. This will be a frustrating game for core and casual gamers alike, but mostly for casual gamers who, attracted by the story and presentation, will be put off by the dated and difficult play.

The platforming, while serviceable enough on its own, is made needlessly annoying with a horrendous excuse of a camera. But if you manage to get it working long enough, you'll be treated to some of Disney's finest, from the animated shorts of the early twentieth century to the nightmarish visions of a world that is normally reserved for cherished childhood memories.

Even though I cursed and swore my way through the bulk of the game, the characters and the story moved me in a way that very few games do. But, epic disappointment or epic tale, it definitely earns its name.

Disney Epic Mickey is undeniably the disappointment of the year for us. It was a concept that promised so much when it emerged last year but has ultimately ended up falling far short of the mark. What's more troubling than all of this, though, is that it feels like a game that's been held back from reaching its full potential; you do get the sense that it's perhaps not Junction Point's lack of talent but its lack of creative license that's led to these disappointments.

For all its big ideas, Disney Epic Mickey never quite weaves its disparate strands into a convincing whole. Its conceptual ambition is let down by merely adequate mechanics, and Mickey himself remains a rather abstract figure at the centre of it all.

The Mickey Mouse's return finally isn't as epic as we could expect, but the Wii got close to having a great game.

Tedium and monotony overwhelm Mickey's new adventure, smothering its clever use of the Disney license.

It's lovely and beautiful, and the attention to detail is wonderul. Sadly the game is wrecked by the terrible camera that will ruin some of it's finest moments.

To have this checklist of all the genre's flaws step up in place of the ambitious and promising title we were promised is wildly disappointing. [Issue#104, p.106]

This game has so much going for it, but the crippling problems make it hard to recommend as more than a rental.

Epic Mickey was supposed to prove that in the right hands, even an established character and dull-as-dishwater brand could be exciting and different. Instead, what we get is a really amazing concept and cool story wrapped around a stinker of a game.

Sadly, the execution simply falls well short in this case.