Disney Infinity 2.0 PS Vita Review

This past week, Disney released Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes on the PS Vita, this portable version of console game comes with an exclusive Black Suit Spider-Man variant figure, plus Spider-Man playset and both Marvel Toy Box Game Discs (Escape from the Kyln & Assault on Asgard).  The starter pack also comes with the game cartridge and a special cordless Bluetooth base.  All previously released figures and power discs from 1.0 work on the Vita version, as they did with all other versions of 2.0.

The PS Vita version is almost the full console experience, all three playsets (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avengers and Spider-Man) and the 4 Toy Box Game Discs (including the Disney ones Tropical Rescue & Forest Siege) are all playable on this portable version.   This is the Vita’s main focus in my opinion, the play sets and toy box game discs being included is a major difference to the other portable versions such as the Android and IOS version.  The Vita version is almost the full console version and not a free to play cut down option and that makes the whole game much more interesting.

And the Toy Box experience is also included, so the ability to create a toy box is identical to other versions as are the latest Toy Box creations in the community section.  Though it struggles much like other consoles in this generation with larger Toy Boxes that were created on the PS4 or Xbox One.

Here is some gameplay footage from the PS Vita:

 

One aspect of Disney Infinity 2.0 had to be removed to make the PS Vita version possible, they have removed the multiplayer options within the game.  This could be a issue for some players, but for me personally, this is a portable version and the game probably wouldn’t have been possible, had those options been included.  This is why the base is slightly different, since it only has one spot for characters, compared to the console versions with 2.

There are some differences with the Bluetooth base, it is cordless and only has 2 spaces, 1 for a figure and another for a playset piece.  It can be charged via a USB cable and one thing that has to be done before it can be used, is to sync it through the PS Vita settings.  There is a little button underneath to turn it on and holding down the button puts it into sync mode.

The Black Suit Spider-Man figure is also completely compatible with the full console versions and has been one major reason why Infinity collectors had been picking up this Starter Pack.  The figure is slightly different to the original Spider-Man figure, its smoother due to all the webbing being removed, and it simply looks stunning.  Its a perfect figure and a character that is a lot of fun to play.  And being able to use it on my PS4 and iPad versions, does give the whole starter pack more value for money.

Comparing how the game runs to how it runs on the PS4, wouldn’t be a fair comparison, and obviously using the PS Vita Remote Play, does mean it looks better than the native PS Vita version, but half the time I use my Vita, I’m not able to use the Remote Play function, so having a fully running version that doesn’t require internet access does make more sense to me.  And it is much more fun experience compared to the IOS version, which can be rather frustrating to play objects within a toy box, the PS Vita version’s buttons make this issue non-existent.

I do have a slight issue with the PS Vita version and that’s because I don’t think its entirely portable.  Carrying around figures, power discs, play set pieces and the base, seems to have lost the point of it being portable.  It’s fine if your playing at home or a friends house, but trying to sit on the bus or on a plane with everything set up, isn’t ideal.  And taking one figure is fine for a toy box experience, but because of the way the play sets/toy box game discs work.  You need a couple of other characters encase a character dies and goes into timeout.

Moving forward, Disney need to work out what they want from a portable version, personally the game works much better than what I’ve experiences on the IOS version, its much smoother, easier to control and a lot of fun.  But its not portable, Skylanders have a different system where you can load a couple of characters into “memory”, so you don’t need the figures with you.   Having all the playsets and game discs mean its a much richer experience, but the portable version to me should simply a port of the PC version or even simply the IOS/Android version with just the Toy Box.

The PS Vita does have some major issues as a whole at the moment, there isn’t a huge amount of support for the console and Disney Infinity 2.0 is one of the big games to come to the system in 2015.  It’s a shame it was so far into the life cycle of the game, had this been launched back in the fall with the other console versions, it might do slightly better.  Releasing the game, the same week 3.0 was announced, was going to be difficult to convert people onto the game.

There can be little doubt that the delay, will have hit sales of the game and Vita players will no doubt be wanting to pick this game up and I’ll recommend that they do.  Its a lot of fun and with so few big games on the system, it stands out as one of the bigger titles of the year.  However, taking the base, playset pieces, game discs, power discs and figures with me when I head to work or to family, doesn’t fit the purpose of a portable version.

Taking that whole issue aside, the game is a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed going back into the play sets, but more important to that, it gives me a much more stable way of creating toy boxes away from my PS4.  Similar to how I use my IOS version, I can now build a large portion of my toy boxes and do some finishing touches on the PS4 later.  The Toy Box mode is so much more easier to use than the other portable versions and this is where I find the PS Vita edition to be the superior portable version

If you have a PS Vita, I’d seriously recommend giving this edition a closer look, this is a slightly slimmed down version of the PS3 version and a much more beefed up version of the IOS/Android version.   The game runs very well for a portable device, its not perfect as some of the larger toy boxes do suffer some slow down, for playing playsets, toy box game discs and building within the toy box, its a much better experience than I’ve had on the IOS.   On its own merits, its a perfectly enjoyable version of the game that is a lot of fun, especially if you haven’t got the full console version, but just expect to carry a large bag of accessories with you if you take it out away from home.

Here is an unboxing video for the PS Vita Starter Pack:

Here is a look at the Black Suit Spider-Man Gameplay footage on the PS4:

What do you think of the PS Vita version?