Disney Infinity 3.0 Review

The third edition of Disney Infinity has arrived and this time, the Force is strong, with the inclusion of Star Wars, in addition to Marvel, Pixar and Disney franchises.   All of these franchises can now play together within the toy box,, Frozen’s Olaf can race against Darth Vader in Halloweentown or Mickey Mouse can do battle with the evil Ultron.  With huge improvements coming to the Toy Box, anything is possible.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is being released on Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, with IOS, PC and Android versions coming later.   There are a few different options to buy Disney Infinity 3.0, there is the starter pack which comes with the excellent Star Wars themed Twilight of the Republic play set (which includes Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano).  Other options include the Digital download option and a single software disc which is only available in the UK.   If you don’t want to buy another starter pack or aren’t interested in Star Wars, the digital version will be the best option.  Due to confusion over last years 2.0, Disney decided not to release two different starter packs.

Reviewing Disney Infinity isn’t always an easy as its unlike other video games, with Infinity, you don’t just buy the game and have full access to every single piece of content in a traditional storyline like you might find in other games like LEGO Jurassic World or Mario Maker, because of additional play sets like Inside Out, Star Wars, Marvel plus the expansion games.    I view these like separate games within the Infinity platform, these aren’t required to play 3.0’s Toy Boxes, but can unlock additional toys to be used within the Toy Box.

As we saw in 2.0, all previously released figures and power discs from 1.0 and 2.0 which include Spider-Man, Elsa, Buzz Lightyear, Lightening McQueen, are all fully compatible with 3.0.  Older play sets and Toy Box game discs will just unlock those toys but won’t offer those game experiences.  So this offers additional value to previous purchases.

There are 2 playsets released at launch, Pixar’s Inside Out and Star Wars Twilight of the Republic, this play set features characters from the prequel movies and Clone Wars cartoon series and this play set is included in the starter pack.  Star Wars Rise of the Empire will be released a month later as its exclusive to the Playstation bundle for the first month.  There will also be a Star Wars: The Force Awakens play set released in December to tie in with the new movie and a new Marvel Battlegrounds play set will follow in March.   These will be patched in later, so having an internet connection on your console will not only allow for updates to the game but also allow players to have access to all the content created by Disney and the community.

The opening scene features a few different gaming sections from the Play sets and Speedway.  It’s a nice opener but I didn’t think it had the same magic touch that we saw before.  But it’s a nice way of getting a taster of those launch playsets.

For this review, I’m not including the play sets or expansion game, some might argue that this is the main focus of the game, but I will be reviewing them separately, which you will find link to below:

• Twilight of the Republic Review
• Inside Out Review (Coming Soon)
• Takeover Expansion Game Review (Coming Soon)

The Toy Box has had another major upgrade, they have neen busy working on all the aspects that worked in the previous versions and upgrading them, making it a more pleasant experience.  There are two types of players within the Toy Box, builders and players.

For players, Disney have introduced the Hub which has changed that initial experience of the Toy Box, instead of wading through menus or dropping into a empty toy box, Disney have introduced the Hub.  Within the Hub, there are a wide variety of different adventures to play through, different areas, tutorials and much more. It is a much more interesting place than 2.0’s intro section and something I can see myself using often, as it’s not just a introduction to all the toys and options but a centrepiece for the whole toy box experience.  However I’ll admit, for those of us who are used to Infinity, it can feel a little slow & frustrating but thankfully it’s not required but it does unlock a few toys.   You can jump into many of the options through menus at the start menu but the hub is much more friendly and welcoming.

There is plenty of toy box adventures within the Hub, some are simple but it could keep players entertained for hours.  Plus the community content means players have a constant stream of new content which can be found in the El Captaine theatre which shows off many of the top new toy boxes from the community plus new videos from Toy Box TV.  This new interface makes finding new content more enjoyable and easier.  Having brand new content almost daily, is a major plus for Disney Infinity.  Disney create their own content and weekly top 5 toy boxes are blurring the line between play set and toy box, with many of the new toys added in 3.0, making toy boxes much more fun to play.

One of the new features is the Flynn’s Arcade which can be found in the Hub, this online matchmaking section adds quick and safe online play, without all the chatter.  So even if you haven’t got many friends online or on your console, you can still take part in online fun, though it usually ends up with just fighting between players, but I’m sure this will really add a lot of  replay value and will be a popular function.

Builders are going to have a lot of fun within 3.0, all the new toys from the new playsets and expansion games will add more depth to the game but more importantly, many of the small bugs and issues from 2.0 have been ironed out, making building toy boxes better.   I have spent countless hours building toy boxes in 2.0 and plan on doing the same with 3.0, which is why I do feel an upgrade to 3.0 is extremely good value for money.  It’s a bit of a pain grinding through toy boxes and play sets to unlock more toys but it does encourage extended play.

Many of the new toys like the path finder, have revolutionised the Toy Box experience, better interaction with text and cameras, mean toy boxes can have much more focus on stories and at the same time, offer more structured play.  The power of the toy box mode is huge, while it can be overwhelming to start building a toy box, playing through the tutorials and with the template, will help.  While many players focus on play sets, the Toy Box is the heart of Disney Infinity, and now with many of the little issues have been fixed and more toys have been added to the huge collection.  It feels like the Toy Box experience we should have had in 2.0.

Power Discs have returned in 3.0, but Disney have changed the format in how these are sold, moving from blind bags to open window packaging and reducing the overall number of power discs.  Within 6 weeks in 2.0, we saw over 80 discs released, compared to just 12 in the same time frame in 3.0.  More are to be announced and there will be Zootopia and Good Dinosaur discs to come later, but power discs should be viewed more as an optional extra and not something required.  If your on a budget, this would be the first thing I would suggest to skip and to focus on play set’s.

If you enjoyed Disney Infinity’s 1.0 or 2.0 Toy Box, I would seriously recommend upgrading to 3.0, even if you don’t plan on trying out any of the new figures or play sets.  Everything has been improved and to enjoy the latest toy boxes from the awesome community, you will need this new software, so the digital option is the best way to upgrade, unless you are located in the UK, where the software disc is available separately and this is possibly the best way of getting 3.0.

Overall, taking the price of just the Digital or Software disc into account (ie removing the Twilight of the Republic cost from the starter pack), Disney Infinity 3.0 offers great value for money.  There are countless hours of building and playing in toy boxes, that even without the addition of all the new play sets and expansion games, makes 3.0 a much stronger game than we’ve seen in previous versions.   3.0 is starting to feel more like a platform than a standalone game, with the promise of more content and patches, its hard to sum up Disney Infinity 3.0, but all I can really end this review on, is that I love it and will be spending the next year building and playing toy boxes plus dabbling in the additional content that can be found within the play sets and expansion games.