Disney Universe

Has plenty of entertainment for those who might not necessarily be on the lookout heart-stopping challenges or precision requirements, but rather an issue-free and enjoyable adventure with their friends.

It has some niggling issues that will annoy regular gamers, but young kids will jump into the action with both feet and have a wonderful time.

This is a simple, welcoming escapade that can (and probably should) be ignored by the vast majority of adult gamers this holiday season. Those with children or younger siblings however, would do rather well by giving this a look.

An entertaining game, that is only recommendable for young kids for its excessive simplicity. It uses Disney characters but doesn't make the most of the license, but can be very fun when four people play.

There's no other way to slice it: Disney Universe is for kids. Or perhaps for you and your kids. Much like the brand itself, the gameplay in Disney Universe is timeless, in that it's widely accessible and easy to understand. However, if you're looking for something deeper and more satisfyingly complex, there's not quite enough on the disc to stand on Disney fandom alone.

Disney Universe is a sweet game, as you'd expect from the saccharin mouse. But it's not an ambitious game, and after playing for a couple of hours, the illusion of the dense level design wears off, and you might feel it's a little bit thin. With more going on, and more reasons to go back to conquered levels, this could have been brilliant.

Has its problems, but it's a solid title bound to please its intended audience.

There are enough clever ideas here to mitigate for its shallowness.

Disney brings its whole universe in a single video game, forgetting to add a nice story and a more complex gameplay to please all the players and not only the youngest ones.

Disney Universe could be too simple and thin for a real gamer, but the younger you are and the more friends you have, the better it gets.

A great Disney fan service that appeals to a larger audience than you might think. [Christmas 2011, p.85]

Disney Universe gets more interesting when you grab three friends (or kids) and play together, but so does just about everything. There's a nice little competitive element in the game, and players can sabotage their friends' efforts by hoarding power-ups and triggering traps. That said, the game is so shallow and repetitive that only the most easily amused will be able to slog their way through to the end credits, with or without companionship.

A perfect game for kids, especially with four players, but the simplistic gameplay and rather small levels may soon begin to grate on everyone else. Plus for every unique idea there are a bunch of others that seems to be repeated over and over again. Disney Universe is a fun diversion but nothing more than that.

With heavy inspiration from LittleBigPlanet and the Lego games, Disney Universe offers some enjoyable gaming moments that are suitable only for kids.

Disney Universe is far from a bad game. Its general competency is evidence of a capable team that has cherry-picked designs (both systemic and aesthetic) from other titles and paired them with a clutch of inspiring licenses. But the disparate parts only click together in a rather mundane way, failing to capitalise fully on the licenses or match up to the quality of its video game inspirations.

A fun riff on the Lego formula, and although it doesn't add anything other than an extra two players it's a fun diversion for Disney fans.