Disney Universe closes with a pop-rock rendition of the famous "It's a Small World." It's a Disney tune, but it isn't delivered in a particularly charming manner, making this performance a fitting end to a Disney-themed game bereft of the idealism that characterizes the worlds it represents. In this action/platforming/puzzle hybrid, you and up to three friends leap and whack your way through dozens of levels based on popular Disney films. Six films are represented: Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters, Inc., and WALL-E. But if you were expecting the worlds to properly represent the atmosphere of these films, you'll be saddened to learn that Disney Universe wears its inspiration very lightly. Nor does it make up for its wan portrayal of Disney licenses with consistently enjoyable gameplay. There are morsels of joy here, but they're sprinkled sparsely throughout and are incapable of overwhelming the pervasive taste of boredom.
6342884Ducks don't care for the cold much, but this isn't a duck: it's a tyke in a duck costume!None
In Disney Universe, you are a nondescript little gremlin with a penchant for Disney costumes. Before you enter a world, you choose a look: Donald Duck, Jasmine, Tinkerbell, or some other Disney character. Over time, you unlock an entire stable of costumes, though you must purchase them using coins the game liberally showers you with. Once clad in the outfit of your choice, you and up to three others are swept into the world of your choosing, starting with the Pirates of the Caribbean world. (Additional worlds, like costumes, must be bought.) Once there, your goal is to move from one level to the next by solving puzzles, mashing the buttons on your controller, facing bosses, and rescuing the dressed-up gremlins held captive.
The formula is vaguely reminiscent of the popular Lego film tie-ins, though without the witty storytelling, evocative art style, and overall quality of those games. While you must occasionally exercise your noggin to figure out how to proceed, the game generally shows you what you must do at any given time--though to be fair, you can turn off guidance arrows if you want to involve a few more brain cells. Either way, most levels have a predictable rhythm: move some objects around, fight off some enemies, possibly participate in an optional minigame, and enter a portal to the next area. And unfortunately none of these tasks are much fun, particularly if you play on your own. Pushing cannons and ferrying stopwatches around don't make for compelling entertainment on their own terms, and your "reward" for accomplishing these tasks is, in many cases, the arrival of little black fiends that you beat up on.
These fiends are sneaky devils. They pick up and move around puzzle objects that you have dropped into place, hop on and ride any animals that might roam the level, and drop spike traps that cause your happy-go-lucky avatar to go stiff as a board and fall to the floor. These are nice touches that make your enemies seem like cunning creatures rather than sword fodder. Unfortunately, it isn't fulfilling to bash them into oblivion. Despite their efforts, you can cut through most of the little fiends easily. Every so often, however, a larger beast with an inflated health bar appears, pounding the ground or twirling about like a cyclone to enhance the challenge. But rather than adding substance to the combat, such enemies are usually just frustrating. It's inordinately difficult to outrun one of those spinning foes, for example. You are sometimes prompted to perform a counterattack or avoidance maneuver, but when you're mashing the attack button, the prompt doesn't give you enough time to react. There's little penalty for dying--you just drop some coins and respawn for another go. The uncomfortable dichotomy of easy and frustrating will probably turn off Disney fans of all ages, but particularly the younger audience at which the game is clearly aimed.
Where are we and what's going on?!
