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Epic Mickey - Power of Illusion review: Uneven strokes
Evil witches – they're always up to something. In the case of Mizrabel, that something typically involves the Castle of Illusion. That's where she wreaked havoc on the Sega Genesis back in the early 90s, and it's where she's breaking out her bag of evil tricks once again, this time on the Nintendo 3DS.A spiritual successor to Castle of Illusion with an Epic Mickey makeover, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion sees Oswald the Rabbit calling on his old pal Mickey to once again quell trouble in the Wasteland. People have forgotten about Mizrabel and her castle, so both have been banished to Oswald's dimension of forgotten Disney properties. But she's not just going to sit there and take it. Instead, she's kidnapping plenty of popular characters and stealing their "heart power," all so she can make the return trip to Toon World.%Gallery-158644%
Epic Mickey 3DS and the power of creation
While Epic Mickey 2 continues to mine Disney film history for its subject matter, Dreamrift Entertainment's Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion aims squarely at video game nostalgia, bringing back the Castle of Illusion from the classic Sega Genesis game, along with its villain, Mizrabel. It refreshes the vintage setting (and its attendant slow-paced platforming) with new designs and new touchscreen tricks.The Castle of Illusion has fallen into Epic Mickey's "Wasteland," Dreamrift creative director Peter Ong explained to me during a meeting at E3. "Mickey's quest actually takes place in the Castle of Illusion in this game, but at the same time it's situated in Wasteland, so you'll see characters familiar to Epic Mickey and Wasteland such as Oswald being involved in Mickey's quest," Ong said.
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion returns to the Castle
Disney has officially announced Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for 3DS, for those of us without Nintendo Power subscriptions. It allows you to draw objects "that magically transform into classic Disney-style 2D illustrations," which then become 3D on the 3DS's top screen.Dreamrift's 3DS sidescroller pays tribute to the Genesis game Castle of Illusion, portraying a future in which that game's title environment has been transported into Epic Mickey's "Wasteland." The witch Mizrabel attempts to drain the cartoon essence from popular Toons to pull herself out.This plot point seems to be a convenient excuse to bring in more Disney characters, as the screenshots are absolutely crawling with them. Power of Illusion will be out this fall alongside Epic Mickey 2.%Gallery-152235%
Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion confirmed for 3DS by Nintendo Power
During all the Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two pre-announcement kerfuffle this week, we caught wind of a supposed 3DS version that, until now, has gone unmentioned by Disney Interactive. While we've still yet to receive an official announcement, Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion has appeared on the cover of the April issue of Nintendo Power, which is close enough for us.Dreamrift, the studio formed by Henry Hatsworth alumni that brought us Monster Tale, is listed as Power of Illusion's developer in an online preview of the cover story. The article also lists the game's release window as Fall 2012, indicating a concurrent launch with The Power of Two. Nothing else is currently known, but we're hoping Power of Illusion gets some adorable accessories like its console cousin.
Monster Tale brings Chomp home in March
Monster Tale, the pet-game-slash-platformer from Henry Hatsworth dev DreamRift, has been pretty much under the radar since E3 -- not that it wasn't quiet before then. Today, however, publisher Majesco sent out a new trailer for the interesting DS adventure, which reveals a March release date. That release timing suggests that this game is destined to remain under the radar, since March is also home to Okamiden and, more importantly, the 3DS. Majesco would do well to keep releasing these trailers, and keep the game fresh in our minds.
Preview: Monster Tale
Developer Dreamrift, a company formed by the creators of Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure, has partnered with Majesco for its next game, a DS title called Monster Tale, intended for younger audiences. The core Hatsworth concept of performing one action on one screen to affect the gameplay on the other screen remains, but the hyper-British Empire theme has been swapped out for an exaggerated version of childhood, complete with villainous neighborhood bullies. More importantly, the bottom screen, which hosted a falling-block puzzle game in Hatsworth, is now home to a "virtual pet" called Chomp. At least, that's how Majesco puts it. I think the use of the term "virtual pet" does a disservice to the game. People who are into virtual pet games would likely find the interactions with Chomp too limited and the platformer on the top screen too distracting; and while those who like action-platformers would probably really like the upgrading system Chomp provides, they might never know it due to their instinctual evasion of pet sims. %Gallery-92883%
Henry Hatsworth devs crafting Monster Tale on DS
Dreamrift, the new studio formed by Henry Hatsworth designer Peter Ong and programmer Ryan Pijai, is working on a new DS game that, once again, involves two distinct genres of running simultaneously across both screens. Instead of Hatsworth's weird mashup of platformer and falling-block puzzle, however, the new Monster Tale combines platforming and ... a pet simulation. The result is something reminiscent of A Boy and his Blob. In Monster Tale, Ellie fights her way through the Monster World in order to free its denizens from the control of the "Kid Kings." Acquired items can be sent to the bottom screen, home of a monster named Chomp. The items Chomp eats or plays with in the bottom screen boost his abilities, or even transform him into one of around 30 forms when summoned to the top screen to protect Ellie. Will a cup of tea transform him into a dashing British adventurer? Probably not! Majesco plans to release Monster Tale this December. %Gallery-92883%
Henry Hatsworth creators leave EA for new studio, DreamRift
We thought that the DS puzzle/platforming hybrid Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure seemed a little bit weird for EA. The developers seem to have noticed the incongruity -- two of the project leads have just announced their departure from EA to found a new studio called DreamRift. Peter Ong, Lead Designer on the title, and Lead Programmer Ryan Pijai have yet to announce what kind of games they will work on as DreamRift, but they will reveal their first project to publishers at GDC this week. It would be pretty ironic if they left EA and switched gears from clever, original DS titles to games about dudes in the future shooting each other.
