The Disney infinity 2.0 release date is just around the corner (Sept. 23), and we’ve heard a lot about the toys and characters. The franchises and their associated characters are so important, in fact, that Disney has given the game a “Marvel Super Heroes” subhead even though plenty of other characters will be available.
But toys and franchises aside, what’s new in the Disney Infinity 2.0 Toy Box Mode? After all, that’s where most gamers will spend the majority of their time, no matter the toy they place on the portal base.
Fortunately for all of us (and our kids) who enjoyed the first game, there’s quite a bit of new stuff to be excited about.
Certain core gameplay mechanics are alive and well in the Toy Box, though with some meaningful enhancements. For instance, the Disney Infinity 2.0 Toy Box will still let you create whatever in-game world you want, including wacky mini-games or race tracks, and then knock them down whenever and however you see fit. But you won’t just be concerned with the structure this time around.
Unlike last year’s game, the Disney Infinity 2.0 Toy Box allows you to customize the interiors of your buildings so they feel like home. Nothing in the game is quite as advanced as the PlayStation Home experience, but it’s bound to be an improvement from last year’s sterile experience of walking through Cinderella’s Castle or (gasp) not even being able to walk through structures such as EPCOT’s Spacechip Earth.
This new interior-design element is intended to make the game seem not just more personalized, but also more alive or vibrant. However, it’s not necessarily going to make the game more complex.
New in the Disney Infinity 2.0 Toy Box Mode is a feature called the Creator Tool. Using this tool, toy boxes can be built more quickly and much more easily. That was one of my kids’ (and other gamers’) complaints in the original game: the Toy Box was cool and powerful, but the learning curve of many parts was pretty steep even for adults.
With the new Creator Tool, you can choose from pre-built Toy Box elements such as terrains, rails, race tracks and buildings to get things going. You can also add themes pretty quickly, and then unleash a team of automated “builders” to take over some of the more mundane decoration and terrain-building tasks.
And yes, all of your original Disney Infinity toys, play sets and Toy Box creations will be compatible with Disney Infinity 2.0. So, although Amazon still has plenty of Disney Infinity toys and starter packs available
The retail package also includes new Toy Box game discs pre-loaded with mini-games for use in your Toy Box. Not only is this a useful bit of game content to keep kids busy right from the beginning, but it can also be a good inspiration to think up your own mini-game ideas.
What’s most encouraging about all these new Disney Infinity 2.0 Toy Box goodies is how they straddle the line between necessary and fun. On one hand they show Disney recognized the learning-curve struggles in its original game and found ways to minimize them. On the other hand, they’re just plain awesome improvements that could really amp-up the fun factor of Disney Infinity 2.0.