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Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Nov 23rd)


Hero-of-Time

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Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is currently in development for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, producer Warren Spector has announced.

 

Speaking in an Associated Press interview, Spector revealed that, unlike the 2010 original, the game will be a musical with full voice acting for all characters.

 

"I'm such a geek about musicals," he said.

 

"I love the co-op and next-gen stuff, but for me, when a character breaks into song, which they do on a regular basis in this game, it's magic."

 

You can also expect drop-in, drop-out co-op, with one player controlling Mickey and his paintbrush, and the other playing as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who wields a remote control with which he can manipulate electricity.

 

"You can sit down at any time with a friend who is playing as Mickey, and you can take control of Oswald," explained Spector.

 

"If you're playing as a single player, Oswald will be there every second of the game. He's not just a multiplayer character. He's a helper, whether you're playing alone or with a friend or family member."

 

The other key focus for Spector and his team at developer Junction Point is the game's camera - much criticised in the original. He promised a much more user-friendly experience this time around.

 

"We've had a team working on the camera from literally the day we finished the first game. They'll be working on it until the day we ship the second game," he said.

 

"(There have been) over 1000 specific changes made to the camera. Our goal is that you will not have to touch the manual camera controls even once to play through the main story path of this game."

 

Spector didn't reveal much detail about the sequel's plot other than that it will see Mickey return to Wasteland. Similarly, no word on a release date or on the 3DS version rumoured earlier this week.

 

 

I'm quite surprised that they are releasing this for the Wii rather than the WiiU.

 

I'm loving the sound of the musical antics, very Disney. It's a shame I have no hype for this, due to the first game being very average.

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The first game featured a great concept that was executed really badly.

 

That kills any enthusiasm I could possibly have for this game. The idea of it having 700 people doesn't fill me with confidence either (It's a matter of there being too many cooks in the kitchen. Cheap Chinese labourers, making generic and boring level designs, just like the first game only worse)

 

Junction Point are gonna have a hell of a time trying to redeem their name. Also, it the Wii is the lead platform (as the screenshots suggest), then I expect it to control like shit on the PS3 and 360 (strike 1 already!)

 

I'm looking forward to the 3DS spinoff far more than the console game!

Edited by Dcubed
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Was the GT footage from the Wii or HD version? It looks alot like the first Epic Mickey so hopefully they are gonna use this power of two co-op in interesting ways. The way he said (unless I misheard it) that Oswald is always there, whether you are in co-op or not, made me think of it in sort of DKC terms. :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some 10 minutes of Wii footage:

 

 

Found it on Rock Paper Shotgun of all places. ;)

 

Edit:

Ok, I'm confused. Where's the pointer? o.O

I believe the camera looks improved, but the player messes up quiet a bit at the end of the video. It looks as if they're controlling the paint by turning the player...

Edited by Burny
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Hmm I wonder if they've done away with the pointer controls for ease of multiplatform?... well basically just to get it on the 360, as the PS3 could have used move.

 

Or maybe you have the option of pointer/analogue stick controls/

 

Either way, all the controls look a bit clunky.

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I already wasn't a fan of the movement physics in the first game. It's hard to describe, but I think they felt indirect and lacked "personality". For me that was a result of the floatyness of mickeys movements. If this footage is anything to go by, it's the same here. It didn't help that the game tried to be a Jump'n'Run half of the time.

 

Aiming with the paint was another thing that felt off, as hitting something depended on Mickey's line of sight, but the camera was all over the place. I'd be surprised though, if they didn't support the pointer again. I can't see why they would support Move otherwise. Maybe they have just included a Classic Controller option and the player in this footage is using it?

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That kills any enthusiasm I could possibly have for this game. The idea of it having 700 people doesn't fill me with confidence either (It's a matter of there being too many cooks in the kitchen. Cheap Chinese labourers, making generic and boring level designs, just like the first game only worse)

 

Eh?

 

They hire "cheap Chinese labourers" to create games now? Think you may have got wires crossed somewhere.

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Eh?

 

They hire "cheap Chinese labourers" to create games now? Think you may have got wires crossed somewhere.

 

Not at all actually. Although It may not be China and the core concept and design is still done internally.

 

According to Spector in this 1UP interview they already outsourced asset creation for the first game. The core concept may be done by Disney's studio, but the actual "dirty" work of creating the final level geometry and various assets is then handed over to some outside company. In that case they mention Bulgaria, which is bound to be cheaper than doing everything in the states.

 

And then there is this gameindustry.biz interview with spector, where he states they've got about 700 people "around the world" working on the second title. You can bet that they haven't outsourced to countries with the highest average wages.

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all, if this was common procedure for most or all big "AAA" titles nowadays. Although I don't know about another developer who has been this open about it.

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I really liked the first game, it was such a trip down memory lane. I hope Spector has been able to create the same atmosphere in this sequal. As a game it may not have been very spectaculair, even has a few flaws, but if you like old school Disney, then Epic Mickey is truly really great.

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