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Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

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Bob Hoose

Game Review

After Disney bought up LucasArts, you probably heard the rumors that Mickey Mouse is a Jedi Knight now. And he certainly fights like one in Epic Mickey 2.

In the first Epic Mickey, our little red-shorts-wearing rodent pal kinda got himself in trouble. He jumped through a magical mirror, messed up a sorcerer’s handiwork, and just like that set a plague-like entity loose in a place called Wasteland—a magical toonworld based on classic one-reelers and iconic Magic Kingdom attractions. Of course, it was then up to Mickey to defeat everything bad and restore order.

Mick and a black-and-white tooney named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit were sort of at odds in that game. But this time around, it one for all and all for one for the two of them. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s all happily ever after.

O-S-W-A-L-D, L-U-C-K-Y
For some reason, earthquakes are tearing Wasteland asunder once again. This time, though, a baddie from the last game, the Mad Doctor, steps up to forswear his past diabolical ways and promise his help with the rumbling problems. He’s so sincere about it, in fact, that he breaks into joyous song every time he pops up with something to say. Oswald quickly welcomes the Doc’s newly turned leaf, but his kitty cat girlfriend Ortensia isn’t so easily convinced. She calls out for a little more help from Mickey. And the mouse and the rabbit quickly set off to get to the malevolent root of the problem.

Like its predecessor, Epic Mickey 2 has our heroes repairing things, solving puzzles, and working with a number of crumbling animatronic versions of pals like Goofy and Daisy Duck as they make their way through a variety of Disneyfied worlds. They encounter references to classic cartoon characters ranging from Captain Hook and Cinderella to Prince Charming and Pete’s Dragon.

Mickey once again has his magic paintbrush that can shoot paint or thinner to battle baddies or impact the world around him. (See, exactly like those Jedi lightsabers!) Oswald totes a fancy remote control that uses electrical zaps to recharge sputtering machinery. A twist on the franchise formula is that Oswald and Mickey travel side-by-side through this whole adventure, turning a single-player game into one that can be shared at any point with a friend or family member.

I should also note that all the characters talk this time around. It’s a small detail that ends up adding a lot of charm. It also lends itself to some fun bits in the musical sections.

What Kind of Mouse Trap Is This?
There are a few holes in this mouse game’s cheese. Merely annoying, thanks to some odd camera angles and button controls, is the fact that jumping from here to there can end Mickey in the drink or tumbling off a precipice more often than not. Even aiming your paint and thinner spurts in the right direction when battling a dragon, for instance, can be really tricky.

And then there’s Oswald.

If someone isn’t grabbing a controller and specifically guiding Oswald’s movements all the way through the game, he can end up wandering around, ignoring your prompts and, in some cases, flat-out getting in the way of your puzzle-solving progress.

Content concerns aren’t epic, of course, so I’ll summarize them like this: Things can get a little dark in an “I’m going to enslave the world!” megalomaniacal way. There is haunted mansion-style magic at play. And there are the scores of robotic baddies that Mickey and Oswald punch, kick and splash with paint or thinner.

Bob Hoose

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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