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  • As much as I wanted it to be, this isnít a game for me.

  • In fact, if hearing the word Disney brings to mind musical steamboats, poison apples

  • and animation at least 50 years old, this probably isnít a game for you either. This

  • is a Disney game, but in the Disney Channel sense...as opposed to the Mickey and the Beanstalk

  • sense.

  • I mention this not to demean the game, but to keep the expectationsóand perhaps hopesóof

  • older Disney fans in check and to illustrate what the game does embrace. This is not a

  • game without its own magic. Indeed, for an audience that grew up with

  • Lilo and Stitch instead of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, this universe is just as magical.

  • Released for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Disney Universe is an action-platform

  • title that brings together some of Disneyís most popular worlds. There are 18 worlds,

  • each based on its own universe, and youíll explore them while wearing the costumes of

  • characters from dozens of Disney franchises.

  • Sadly, Saludos Amigos isnít one of them. I think Iím just old.

  • Initially, that was one of my big complaints. Not the lack of Saludos Amigos, but the

  • fact that youíre playing this game in a Mickey costume rather than actually playing as Mickey

  • Mouse. Itís like the game asks, ìHey, who is your favorite Disney character? Yeah, thatís

  • a good one. Hereís a costume instead

  • ìYou can just put it on your generic blue guy

  • Of course, I eventually came to appreciate the gameís intention. Virtual worlds have

  • been created to allow people to experience Disneyís universe for themselves, but the

  • entire system soon goes awry, and itís up to you to restore order. That means youíre

  • playing in costume because the entire game world is, in fact, simulated.

  • You might thinkóas I didóthat this would dilute the gameís magic. Iím not sure the

  • presence of actual Disney characters wouldnít have made this an exponentially more magical

  • experience, but it actually works as is. Youíre exploring worlds based on The Lion King, Alice

  • in Wonderland, even live-action films like Pirates of the Caribbean. Pairing the designs

  • with the story, Disney Universe does achieve the feel of an attraction gone wrong, a virtual

  • Disneyland that needs repair.

  • As an attraction should be, the game also looks pretty good, too. Disney Universe benefits

  • from solid art design, especially in the more creative worlds such as Alice in Wonderland.

  • Itís not a technical showpiece or anything, but it looks a lot better than most of the

  • games your kids play.

  • Make no mistake, though...thatís what this is. Disney Universe is very much a kids game,

  • and thatís reflected in the gameplay. This is a button-mashing platform game, designed

  • to be simple and straightforward. If youíre looking to actually explore these Disney worlds,

  • youíll be disappointed to learn this game is very linear. You just move from one objective

  • to the next, and thereís very little to do in between.

  • But that said, there are a ton of objectives. Specifically, there are more than 50 levels

  • and enough unlockable costumes to make a kidís head explore. Thereís also a system that

  • lets you level up each costume individually, which is another nice touch.

  • This game excels at what itís trying to do, which is to be a Disney-infused take on the

  • LEGO games, essentially. The action and experiences are similar, but the difference is the magic

  • that comes with Disney involvement. For that alone, Disney Universe is the best kind of

  • kids game and an easy recommendation.

  • Even without steamboats.

As much as I wanted it to be, this isnít a game for me.

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