From apps on the iPad to multiplayer games on the Xbox 360, video games are big in our home. Although we all have our favourites, Disney Infinity is one game we all enjoy playing as a family.
Disney Interactive’s video games have always been a favourite, like the LEGO games and Disney Universe, providing adventure, fun, and destruction without all the gore and violence found in so many popular video games. Yet it’s not so childish that parents dread being asked to play.
We had a great time at the preview party but playing Disney Infinity at home on your own system is always much more fun. If you’re into video games as a family you’ll want to put Disney Infinity on your gift list for these 10 reasons:
Family-Friendly Game Play. Learning to scare monsters or fight pirates, parents and kids will enjoy adventure and co-operative play without scary scenes, deadly weapons, and blood. You use creative tools such as toilet paper shooters and paint blaster for the action and instead of death you run out of energy and start over again.
Disney Environments You Love.Disney Infinity play worlds are based on familiar Disney movie environments such as Toy Story, Monster University, and Pirates of the Caribbean. The game allows you to take a step inside these words and play as one of your favourite characters.
Multi-player Split Screen. When playing in multi-player mode between two people with different skill levels, you’ll enjoy the split screen feature. This means while your child is decorating the walls in Monster University you can complete the scare mission. You’ll be playing the game together but without the frustration of dealing with the other player’s skill or interest.
Instant Drop-in/Drop-Out and Character Swap. The Disney Infinity console enables you to easily swap players in the game. Start playing Mike in Monsters University and switch him out for Randy. The characters transport right on your screen almost instantly. This also means other players can join-in or leave a game without disrupting the other player’s game play, an important feature when you’re playing with someone who has a short attention span.
Multiple Games in One Set. Most games you purchase only include one game but the Disney Infinity starter set includes three built-in games: The Incredibles, Monster University, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Using the game cube and one of the three characters included within the starter set you can choose which adventure you wish to play. Plus you have access to the Toy Box, which is a whole other area of creative fun.
Game Play Freedom. Although there are set missions within each play world, and the more missions you complete the more areas and rewards you open, but sometimes you just want to explore. Within each play world you are left to determine your interactivity. Take a mission or just interact in the world and characters. My youngest likes to play this way, pretending she’s the character. This is another reason I love the game’s split screen feature.
Get Creative. Separate from the individual play worlds you have access to the Toy Box, a place that you can create and bring all your characters in to interact. Create a track and race Lightning McQueen against Buzz Lightyear (if you have these characters). Have Sully paintball Cinderella. You’ll never see this in a Disney play world but the Toy Box lets you break all the rules and the kids love it.
Expandability. Starting with the Disney Infinity start set, the game is designed to expand for future worlds and game play. Add new characters, power-ups, and even play sets. Disney Infinity isn’t just one game that you play it’s an evolving game that has the potential to expand based on the growing world of Disney.
Share in the Community. Although we have yet to try this feature, Disney Infinity enables you share your Toy Box creations with the community as well as enjoy someone else’s creative ideas. Try out someone’s racetrack or explore another person’s castle. Users can share their ideas and if approved by Disney the community can enjoy. This reminds me of the community aspect of Little Big Planet, a features my kids love.
Works with Existing Gaming Station. Disney Infinity is a game not a gaming system. The console you use to teleport your characters into your different environments connect through a USB input on your existing gaming system (XBOX 360, PS3, Wii, WiiU).
It can sometimes be hard finding a video game that has appeal for the whole family but Disney Infinity seems to deliver. From structured game play to a creative free for all, the game offers many aspects to video game fun on family game night. If you haven’t discovered the gaming fun that is Disney Infinity, we have a starter set and more to giveaway to our Canadian readers (ends Oct 29). I’m sure I saw Jack Skellington character on the Disney Infinity website and I’m already looking forward to new characters and worlds being made available.