Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Critic Reviews

For the first time Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a playable character and he even has his own voice. The fun is to play co-op, a big innovation in comparison to the previous Mickey game. Mickey and Oswald are a perfect team.

Ropey controls can't stop the charm offensive of this unique cartoon platformer.

If Disney lore and collectible culture is your thing, Epic Mickey 2 delivers. If co-op puzzle-solving is your thing, Epic Mickey 2 delivers. If revealing the character and talents of Oswald is intriguing then Epic Mickey 2 delivers...But there are so many options, so many details, collectibles, characters to appease that progress doesn't flow efficiently, and retreading areas becomes tiresome.

A visually quirky throwback to retro Disney, but under the unique surface it is a frustrating, dull and entirely mediocre platformer.

It doesn't matter if you're playing Epic Mickey 2 by yourself or in split-screen, there is a lot of fun to be found in walking around the magical worlds created by Disney. It is a shame that some sloppy mistakes and the often not ideal camera kill the mood. The story is also somewhat lacking, which makes Epic Mickey 2 far less impressive than its predecessor.

This is very much a game that Warren Spector wanted to make, not the game his fans wanted him to make; the real fun comes from soaking in the contents of the man's mind, the ideas that govern the world he has created and the ways Disney memorabilia have come together into something grand, rather than from the simple experience of playing through it.

I rather would have loved to experience a mellow action-adventure than this sequel that wants to surpass its predecessor in all areas – but fails to do so. Although there are a lot of interesting features and ideas, all of them just add small mistakes that add to the frustration.

Just like its predecessor Epic Mickey 2 combines platforming and puzzles in a world divided into hubs between which you can travel by jumping into movie screens. With the brush you can repair or destroy structures, which sounds kind of goofy, but offers a ton of choices.

Better with friends. That must be the motto Warren Spector and his team have used to conceive Epic Mickey 2, a new adventure that takes the original and supplies it with a cooperative mechanic that expand the same basic gameplay with two characters on-screen all the time. Visually an exercise of Nostalgia mixed with Steampunk elements, fully (very well) voiced this time, and with plenty of 2D-3D levels and sidequest missions, Epic Mickey 2 fails with the Oswald's AI and again the camera, and a story that is really longer but sometimes insubstantial in missions and narrative.

Gets a lot more right than wrong, and even if it doesn't quite match the brilliant atmosphere of the first game, it's still a solid platformer/action adventure with excellent production values.

Despite the odd frustration, Epic Mickey 2 is a brave platformer. It's intelligent, full of humour and, in typical Disney style, the cut-scenes are musical. Like the theme parks, environments are rich, and characters are OTT and full of enthusiasm. It's an enjoyable journey through the past century of Disney, and despite the pitfalls there are some beautifully created levels and moments of pure magic.

Mickey is back to save The Wasteland and this time he's accompanied with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The game is filled with nostalgia, Disney magic, great voice acting and song, but is also colored by it's slow pace, tricky camera and level confusion. Still, The Power of 2 is a solid platformer, even with its frustrations.

Epic Mickey 2 leaves me feeling conflicted because it remedies the original's control issues to some degree and does something new with co-op that alternates between being very helpful and annoying, depending on how the AI is when playing solo and is hurt by distracting viewpoints when using it with another person. As a result, Epic Mickey 2 feels like only a partial step forward instead of the huge one it could have been if everything worked perfectly. It's still worth playing if you liked the first, but not something I'd recommend as a full-price buy.

In the end, Disney's Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two is not a bad game per se but it's also not a great arcade experience. The game itself feels a little too Wii-like in not just the presentation but also the way it has been programmed on the PS3. It just doesn't feel complete. Not being negative, there are still some great moments in the game and exploring the strange stages of The Wasteland is a joy. Unfortunately the frustrations of the game, especially when it comes to your AI component and the controls does become a chore in the end.

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is better than the first game, but it still needs work to perfect the gameplay mechanics that hinder it. At the end of the day, kids will love this game, but maybe not hardcore gamers.

Some great level design hampered by some poor companion AI and sometimes inadequate controls.

Not being able to switch characters is a huge misstep.

The game still delivers on the charm and occasionally hits some truly inspired highs, but fundamental issues hold it back from ever getting within sight of its goals.

Despite the best efforts of all involved to try to avoid the pitfalls of the original, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two still is still guilty of some of the offences of old, but it's as stylish and creative a platformer as you are ever likely play. Nobody can fault the developers for their ambition, and it's abundantly clear everyone on board had love and respect for the source material. Perhaps the third time around they'll perfect the formula.

This sequel clearly worked out some camera issues of the original on the Wii, and offers a nice addition with cooperative play, but lacks the production values, polish, pacing and innovations we would have hoped.