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It's Friday, you've got £40 burning a hole in your pocket and Epic Mickey is staring at you from the shop shelf. To buy or not to buy? Let NGamer help you decide. While our full review will be in the issue on sale December 15th, we present some abridged thoughts below.

After all Warren Spector's big talk, what is Epic Mickey? Let's see what the review says. "Epic Mickey is a hybrid of Okami, Mario Sunshine and Zelda. Let's call it an adaptable platformer: Mickey jumps, but what he jumps onto is down to a magical paintbrush. Spraying paint restores levels, filling in floors, platforms and bridges. Conversely, thinner strips stages to the core geometry and what is lost in solid ground is made up for in trinket-rich crannies and shortcuts."

Like the sound of that? It comes with two caveats. The platforming itself ain't too hot. "Junction Point's first foray into third person bounding is workmanlike, all death pits and moving platforms. Very late 90s N64. This is particularly felt in 2D segments based on animated shorts - lovingly styled, but ploddingly built." The camera's duff too. "The constant battle of wills with stubborn d-pad controls is massively at odds with the spirit of exploration inspired by the brush. "

Pretty major problems, counterbalanced by some pretty major qualities. Combat has "malicious potential" for example. "Why waste three tins of thinner on a splatter (basic cannon fodder) when a tiny splash might erase the floor and dunk a whole platoon into a thinner lake?" And we love the non-linear design: "Epic Mickey doesn't hold you to a single course of events. Quests have multiple solutions. Maps have multiple routes. Even bosses can be won over with enough charm."

Most importantly, the game's got legs. "The subtlest decisions don't reveal themselves until a second play-through. We missed one boss encounter completely because we unwittingly appeased him earlier in the game. Elsewhere, a single moment of malice erased a whole batch of quests." Alas, the range of choice isn't always brilliantly signposted, something some critics have mistaken for linearity. We say "Go everywhere, talk to everyone and try anything - the game is better for it."

Whatever your take on its mechanics, there is no denying Epic Mickey's pull as a Disney 'thing'. As our review so eloquently puts it: "If Epic Mickey is not a great platformer, it is a great Disney 'thing'." Mickey's time in the cartoon wasteland is a quest for redemption. "This Mickey is a bit of a jerk. 80 years of unquestioning affection will do that to a guy. Watching him earn that affection, and from those he's hurt the most, is thoughtful stuff you simply don't get in any other licensed game."

If it is conflicted and confusing in certain regards, Epic Mickey's grand ideas still manage to elevate it above just about every other third party game we've played this year. It is simply too interesting to write off on the grounds of technical mishaps. Our summary? "With its artistic vision and big ideas Epic Mickey is Disney's best since those halcyon 16-bit days. But clumsy design prevents it from true greatness." And it receives a tasty 86%. Need further convincing? Wait for complete review, on December 15th.

O_O hat geschrieben:viil besser als hüpfspili gahts gar nöd.

zeromeier hat geschrieben:

O_O hat geschrieben:viil besser als hüpfspili gahts gar nöd.

zu ziitä vo super mario world het ich das underschribä

da no en vogel:

O_O hat geschrieben:

zeromeier hat geschrieben:

O_O hat geschrieben:viil besser als hüpfspili gahts gar nöd.

zu ziitä vo super mario world het ich das underschribä

da no en vogel:

sidusson hat geschrieben:i ha jetz guet 3 h zocket u i finges e absolute dräck.. sorry die kamera isch wou no us 1996, dquests längwilig, dsprungpassage totau ungenau.. es hetmi numeno afa aschissä

setting usw wär kool.. aber so... hei neeei.

Es Review hat geschrieben:Epic Mickey is a heftier, more intellectually intriguing game than one might gather from any initial impression that mistakes it for Super Mickey Bros.

intellectually intriguing

Master(G) hat geschrieben:

intellectually intriguing

Master(G) hat geschrieben:

intellectually intriguing