'D isney Universe" (Xbox 360; Rated E10; $49.99) is a curious experience. Specifically, for a game called "Disney Universe," it seems oddly distant from the Disney worlds it purports to emulate.
"Disney Universe" takes place in something like a virtual amusement park built to be a fun and safe place to play. But there's a ghost in the machine somewhere that's making it a dangerous, hazardous environment for pretty much everyone. As a big-headed little being extremely reminiscent of Sackboy from the "LittleBigPlanet" franchise, you get to travel to each of the worlds in this amusement park, knocking out the digital baddies and saving your chums.
What this equates to is level after level of 3-D brawling and platforming, with a healthy dose of puzzle solving for good measure. Most levels progress something like "pick up thing A, drag it to thing B, jump on new platform C to open up trapdoor D that you can shoot with the newly combined A and B, move on to the next thing." The levels are tightly designed, with plenty of little nooks and crannies hiding collectibles, though nothing stays hidden for very long when there are big blue arrows pointing to the important bits.
As far as the experience of playing, there are some delightful little moments of incongruity; dressing up as Jack Sparrow to traverse a "Wall-E"-themed world in which there is a chicken-chasing challenge is strangely satisfying fun. Mostly, though, you forget you're dressed up as a Disney character, and you forget that you're playing in Disney worlds. The music is largely homogenized "modern and cool" beat-driven junk, and aside from having fairly distinct color schemes, the different worlds mostly blend. There are no gameplay surprises to be found in any of the 50-some levels. Some of the target shooting is fun, but it's all just solving simple puzzles and whacking red-eyed bad guys.
There is very little to offer a longtime gamer that hasn't been done before. Even the enemies are uncomfortably reminiscent of the also-Disney-centric "Kingdom Hearts" series. Perhaps most important than any criticism I could level, however, are the words of my son: "Have you played dad's new game? Disney Universe? It's awesome!"
That's right. The kids will dig it, and it's a substantial enough game that it'll keep them busy for a while. Play it with them and try not to betray your boredom.
