Junction Point and Warren Spector developing sequel for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii with co-op, full voice acting, and focus on music.
Mickey Mouse is gearing up for another adventure. In an interview with the Associated Press, Junction Point co-founder Warren Spector revealed Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
Due out this fall, the game will boast drop-in, drop-out cooperative play with Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald will be AI-controlled when another human player isn't available.
Another new design choice for Epic Mickey 2 is full voice acting. Frank Welker (Abu from Aladdin) is slated to play Oswald, with other cast members also featuring human voices.
In addition to voice acting, Epic Mickey 2 will focus on music so much so that it will be a musical. "I love the co-op and next-gen stuff, but for me, when a character breaks into song, which they do on a regular basis in this game, it's magic," Spector said.
Composer Jim Dooley (Infamous 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) and lyricist Mike Himelstein (Dorothy of Oz) are creating original songs for Epic Mickey 2.
In Epic Mickey 2, Mickey will again carry a magical brush, while Oswald will wield a "remote control" that commands the power of electricity. As is the case in most co-op games, Mickey and Oswald will need to work together to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles.
Epic Mickey 2 returns to the original game's Wasteland setting. Spector said players will revisit locations from 2010's title, but various disasters have ravaged the land, altering the terrain in the process.
Spector promises that the much-maligned camera system from the original has been overhauled for Epic Mickey 2. He said a team has been working on fixing the camera system since "literally the day we finished the first game."
Epic Mickey 2 is hardly a surprise. Earlier this year, a report pointed to Junction Point developing a multiplatform sequel with co-op. The original Epic Mickey shipped exclusively for the Wii in 2010, fell short with critics, but went on to sell 1.3 million copies. For more on the title, check out GameSpot's review.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
Honestly, I'm not excited about it being a musical. I hate the fact that in every musical movie, someone is on a time limit and they waste all their time singing and then still get what they need. I am excited about being able to at least have Oswald Help out a bit.
@Kaffikjelen Just because the Wii doesn't have the power the PS3 has, doesn't mean you can't make decent multiplatform games. Look at the LEGO games, they were multiplat on both PS3 and Wii and they were still decent games. Besides, even if it's a Wii game that gets ported to PS3/360, doesn't mean it will be the superior version because of more console power.
I finished the first one and liked it but they really do need to work on the aiming system and the camera angles. Those made the first one almost unbearable at times. Other than that... I am up for the sequel! :)
Musical video game? That will be interesting. No examples come to mind where you are in the middle of a battle and the main character starts singing.
I played the first one and liked it. I hope they keep doing a good job. I also am very excited it is being released on other platforms besides the Wii. :)
The last game for the Wii? Epic Mickey 2 should be moved to the Wii U which should help the Epic Mickey series do better since the original Epic Mickey game only sold 1.3 million on an installed base of 97 million Wii consoles. Nintendo has best port this on Wii U and forget about releasing it on Wii.
I've been thinking about playing the first one, and I still might, but this article makes me want to skip it.
Sounds like a lot of people are making comments on the first game without ever having actually played it.
happy its comikng pissed the fudge up that it went agants its orignal gamers promouse remember these words guys huh "EXCLUSIVLY FOR NINTENDO WII" why now the game will never be the same crap bye i love disney !!! :)
Warren Spector would have to create 100 bad games in order to have the same amount of good and bad games. Goes to show you how good Deus Ex was. I will buy this game and try it, just like Deus Ex, I only saw Deus Ex on a game channel (some italian one which no longer exists) and did not rely on reviews, you will be surprised at how good they turn out. Ratings and Reviews these days are too biased.
It's impossible to make a decent multiplatform game for both PS3 and Wii. The latter lacks the horsepower of the former.
Is always like this. A new game comes, people who doesn't like it get thumbs down, people who like it like get thumbs up...
Le-Sigh... Kingdom Hearts 3 is a distant dream. More crappy (visually/gameplay/camera control) games today
ill probably just get it for wii if its not gimped...if its just bad graphics i dont care.. but...i hope its announced for wiiU at E3..
The best credit for Frank Welker you could find is Abu? You do realise he is basically in everything!
I still want to pick up the first one! I just can't seem to take a break from all the other good games that keep releasing for all the other systems. Just need to be rich!!
Was this that big announcement from Disney that was mentioned in a previous article...?
I'm glad to know that there's real voice acting in this one. I figured they'd eventually give Oswald a voice based on the mumblings in the first one (also done by Frank Welker, if I'm not mistaken). And even though Warren defended the camera in the first one, it's nice to know he's man enough to make it better this time around.
@QOSMSTR : If rumor has it there might/will be an individual Epic Mickey for 3ds but it isn't confirmed.
@Lytmare Yeah, I know. I'm not judging, I'm more curious than anything. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anything like this has been done before.
The first game was hideously boring and repetitive and the paint/thinner idea was far from being fully realized. I sure hope they do a better job with this one, because the idea has potential.
@PixelAddict Dude, this is about as close to an old disney movie as they can go! I'm not a fan of these games... but it could be a fun rent, just for the throw back to my childhood.
(continued) Finally, there were a couple of problems in the game design and programming that should have been fixed: (1) for some reason it was possible to use Gilda's Axe late in the game to obtain something that should have required a moral choice, even though I didn't HAVE the axe anymore, and (2) all the collectibles carried over to a second playthrough but the benefits--like expanded health and increases in maximum capacity for paint and thinner meters--DIDN'T! If they fix these problems, I'll be all over Epic Mickey 2, cause for the most part, the first one WAS a lot of fun. (Only started to get disappointed when I went through the Bog/Haunted Mansion area.) I hope Co-op is done well, though, and I hope the other characters are implemented better into the story. I'd prefer to be able to DO something with Donald, Goofy, or Daisy after finding all their parts.
Hmm...well, I really enjoyed the first game. In fact, I recorded myself playing it and I'm planning to gradually upload a Let's Play to my YouTube channel when I get the time. I was one of roughly 5 people defending Warren when he was assaulted for suggesting some reviewers might have misunderstood what he was going for with the game. But I didn't think it was perfect by any means. The camera didn't bother me as much as most players, but it certainly had problems. The game didn't do enough with the "moral choices" aspect to make me think it was anything more than some kind of gimmick. (PLEASE bring back Scrapper Mickey) The game was WAAAY too linear for a platformer of its type. (Why on earth couldn't we revisit previous areas?) It was too easy to accidentally lock myself out of potential content without using a strategy guide. The pins were fun to collect, but since most of them could be obtained on a single run through, it left something like 6 to collect on second and third run throughs, which is not enough incentive to play through a second time. Plus the pins didn't serve any useful purpose. (TBC)
The first game was really only held back by poor camera angles and control. If they promise to improve that then I am excited for the sequel.
"Frank Welker (Abu from Aladdin)" What they should have said was "Frank Welker (from everything)"
Cool....I enjoyed the first one to a point but I found it got boring pretty fast. I'm glad the second one is hitting all the consoles since I don't buy Wii games anymore...co-op sounds good but drop in drop out co-op probably means no two player achievements....that sucks
The magic paintbrush returns in this video review for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
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