Two new trailers for the upcoming video game “Disney Universe” were released by Disney Interactive Studios. It was also announced on Twitter that the game will be at the Disney Gaming Pavilion at D23. Click here to read more about the game, or watch the two following trailers that give a preview of the Wall-E and Lion King themed worlds. (The Lion King one gives some nice hints as to the type of mini-games that will be included in Disney Universe.)
Kinect Disneyland Adventures (pre-order on Amazon now) was announced at E3, a popular computer and video game trade show. The premise of the game is that players can roam around Walt’s original park in an effort to ride various rides and complete challenges. Gameplay also lets players high five Mickey, hug Snow White and create souvenirs for Kinect Share. While this game has some appeal, I worry that it won’t compare to Epic Mickey or even Disney Universe, another recently announced title from Disney.
Players get to interact with over 40 popular Disney faces including The Queen of Hearts, Cinderella, Captain Hook, Winnie the Pooh and many others. Avatars explore the park and enter various levels within certain attractions. Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan’s Flight, Big Thunder Mountain and many other beloved rides are featured. Players earn coins along the way, and rewards for challenges include a few other experiences familiar to any visitor of Disney parks.
I probably won’t buy this title, but I wouldn’t be surprised if many parents buy it for their younger children. The paid actors that Disney hired to be the “kids having fun on stage” clearly enjoyed the game. If I were younger, I’d probably love the game. It allows children who are mesmerized by the parks to be able to experience a little bit of that at home. That is what I view as the strongest selling point of the game.
On the flip side, that’s also probably my least favorite thing about the game. It cheapens the experience of actually going to the park. Epic Mickey involved a similar notion of exploring a Disney park. However, that was a variation of the living, breathing parks. This is as close to the real park experience as current technology allows for. That all being said, I think the game also functions as a great way to teach your children how to behave in Disneyland or Walt Disney World. There should be bonus points for walking from ride to ride, and you should be forced to wait in line for a FastPass.
See two amazing videos featuring actual game play below the jump:
