Disney Universe

This article is about the video game. For the concept of the Disney shared universe, see Mickey Mouse universe.
Disney Universe
North American Xbox 360 cover art
Developer(s)Eurocom
Publisher(s)Disney Interactive Studios
Composer(s)
Steve Duckworth
Jim Croft
Jeremy Corbett
Guy Cockcroft
Platform(s)Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: October 25, 2011
  • AU: October 27, 2011[1]
  • EU: October 28, 2011
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Disney Universe is a co-operative action-adventure video game developed by Eurocom and published by Disney Interactive Studios.[2] The game was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 in October 2011 in North America and Europe. It features the ability to suit up as characters from multiple Disney franchises, including Aladdin, The Lion King, Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Phineas and Ferb, Tron: Legacy and The Muppet Show.[3] The game was made backward-compatible for Xbox One and Series X/S on November 15, 2021.

Gameplay

Up to four friends can connect through local multiplayer and play through 6 different worlds to defeat enemies, and collect powerups and coins. One unique feature is that the enemies actively try to hinder a player's progress by setting up traps or hiding key items.

The two main attractions of the game are the levels and the costumes. Players travel to 6 worlds from classic and contemporary Disney and Pixar properties, consisting of Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, WALL-E, Monsters, Inc., and Aladdin. The travellers can acquire 45 costumes based on numerous other Disney franchises, such as The Little Mermaid, Tron, Mickey Mouse, Lilo & Stitch and Finding Nemo.[4]

Character mode

The costumes need to be upgraded by finding stars in the levels. The skill set remains the same for each, but becomes more powerful. Each character has a handheld weapon specific to that character.

Development

Downloadable content

Downloadable content has been announced to be a big part of Disney Universe for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Through the "Online Shop" featured in the game or the PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace, the DLCs featured additional costumes and worlds.[5] The first release featured a Disney Villains Costume Pack. A theme-pack based on The Nightmare Before Christmas,[5][6] was released near the Christmas season and is the Disney Universe voting poll winner. Theme-packs based on Phineas and Ferb, and The Muppets were released in March 2012.[5]

Re-release

Disney Universe: Ultimate Edition included the original Disney Universe game along with all six downloadable content packs. The extra downloadable content included packs from The Disney Villains, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Jungle Book, Phineas and Ferb, The Muppets and the Neverland pack.

The Ultimate Edition was released on June 27, 2012, in PAL regions, but not in North America and other NTSC regions.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews on all of its released platforms. Where it is praised, there are the same negatives. When writing for the Disney Universe experience, Druanne Miyamoto video game reviewer journalist for Metacritic describes the game as an excited detailed game "(...) players will never get bored exploring the Disney Universe." and although it's not exactly alike to the films they represent it still provides the player with a sense of "freshness".[14] For the WIRED review, Michael Venables complains about how the environment seems "watered down" and how its "Disneyness" is taken away from the characters designs. Just as well he connected the game's similarities to that of the Lego video games series' following the same game mechanics.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Magic Carpet Rides, Swashbuckling Pirates Adventures and More Await Players in Disney Universe, Available Today". Impulse Gamer. October 27, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Disney Universe". IGN. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  3. ^ a b Venables, Michael. "Review: Disney Universe for XBOX 360". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  4. ^ Clark, Matt. "'Disney Universe' Is Mickey's Answer To 'Little Big Planet'" Archived 2012-10-08 at the Wayback Machine. MTV Multiplayer. 2011-05-26.
  5. ^ a b c Disney Universe DLC Unveiled Archived June 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Disney Universe's Nightmare Before Christmas DLC now out
  7. ^ "Disney Universe". Metacritic.
  8. ^ "Disney Universe". Metacritic.
  9. ^ "Disney Universe". Metacritic.
  10. ^ "Disney Universe for Wii review". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  11. ^ "Disney Universe for Wii review by Philip J. Reed". 7 November 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  12. ^ "Disney Universe Review: Not An E Ticket Ride". Game Informer. 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  13. ^ "Disney Universe review". IGN. 26 October 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  14. ^ "Disney Universe critic reviews". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.