Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition (Wii U) Review

Disney Infinity 3.0 definitely begins this potential. From the outside, with the emphasis on the toy buying part of the deal, observers might consider Infinity to be nothing other than a shameless cash grab to match Activision's successful Skylanders franchise.

However, this would be doing a disservice to a remarkably deep and replayable title that delivers a lot of enjoyment to both kids and adults alike - maybe even more so for the big kid who holds Disney and some of these famous franchises in great esteem.

What is very impressive is that the treatment of much loved licenses, such as Star Wars, amounts to one of the most fun campaigns that has been experienced on a home system in many years. Cubed3 has played the Star Wars: Twilight of The Republic story, which comes with the Infinity 3.0 starter pack.

This is just one of the Star Wars campaigns on offer (the other being Rise Against The Empire, based in the original trilogy era), and represents an enjoyable jaunt around well-known Star Wars locales, such as Tatooine and Naboo, in a six-hour campaign as Anakin Skywalker or the Jedi Ahsoko Tano (or other characters, depending on the player's additional toy purchases).

Frankly, in terms of an enjoyable Star Wars single-player story experience, Infinity provides the best since at least Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Indeed, this iteration replicates it partly, without necessarily all of its depth. It isn't particularly challenging, but nor is it too easy, considering the target age group. What it provides is a brilliant mix of third-person adventure with a deeply impressive skill tree system, action packed combat and some variety, with very cool boss battles and vehicle segments.

The only fault that can be picked up is a rather pernickety camera, an irritating need for exact preciseness on ledge jumping, as well as a lack of inspiration in some of the side-quests. Additionally, this is an experience that holds its own graphically, in large part due to the imaginative art style, which takes serious homage from the successful Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.

Of course, anyone who has even a basic knowledge of the Disney Infinity series knows that beyond the individual license-based campaigns, there lays a significantly packed feature known as the Toy Box. It is this feature that marks the experience out as something rather unique.

It is remarkable the amount of depth it holds in the ability to mix and match many famous Disney assets; from characters, buildings, music, and skyboxes, all in building player-created scenarios and worlds. Not just limited to placing down some nice eye candy, but even developing basic AI patterns and scripts, as well as races and mini-games.

Intriguingly, the toys used in this mode need to be bought using in-game collectable shards, as well as being given as rewards for completing objectives. What this encourages is a joyous sense that most of the best sandbox experiences offer - a steady stream of rewards and incentives to keep playing.

What marks Infinity out, though, is that the collectibles are so tangible. Unlocking a new toy unlocks the potential of adding a whole new dimension to any created toy world. Of course, everyone knows that world editing does not have a particularly established, nor appealing, tradition using a traditional console controller. Thankfully, it is a fairly pain-free experience here, with usability at the forefront. The user interface in laying down the basics of a world stays fairly simple, and tutorials are well presented in guiding the process.

It is no surprise that there are even conventions and contests now popping up, showcasing the best created Toy Boxes. Allowing players to upload their creations for the game community to download and play is an obvious and very welcome step.

The imagination on show in one particular creation, for example: creating the Death Star trench run and a final battle with Darth Vader at the seat of the Emperor is a testament to the fun that can be had here. It demonstrates the content and replayability the Toy Box mode provides for those who don't have the time or patience to develop their own.

To be honest, though, as well polished and developed as Disney Infinity 3.0 is, there is a group of the gaming community that will see the plastic figures on offer here as the epitome of the worst excesses of "money-grabbing" DLC content. It is very fair to say that buying just the starter pack limits the experience a great deal.

In other words, the entire strategy of the game is to encourage additional buying. This is a quandary individuals have to weigh up for themselves, and, ultimately, make the decision whether Infinity stands as an ever-expanding sandbox, or a crying child cash drain.