While I wouldn’t call myself much of a fan of Disney aside from being a fan of a few of their movies, but Epic Mickey is looking pretty epic so far. The game itself is pulling from a history of over 80 years of Disney characters and Mickey Mouse history in general. For me, the many references in the game would probably go right over my head and would be pretty hard to find something for me to latch on too. For instance, the world of Epic Mickey starts off with Steamboat Willie, a cartoon from 1928 in which Mickey made his first appearance. This is where the adventure kicks off and you can read more about below.

It’s hard to imagine that you could take a character like Mickey Mouse and give him so many depths in terms of story-telling. He’s been hard to come by in the video game industry but with releases like the Kingdom Hearts series and now the upcoming Epic Mickey, Mickey Mouse is making a return for gamers. Releasing exclusively on the Nintendo Wii this Fall, gamers will be able to paint their way through the long and forgotten world of Disney characters. Warren Spector and his team over at Junction Point Studios are having re-born Mickey in a way that you can attach to him and feel for the character. Mickey is thrown into the world of Wasteland and must find his way back home. Wasteland is the world of forgotten Disney characters from the many years of Disney cartoons and movies.

You’ll fight through the world using paint and thinner. With these two options in mind, you can paint the world around you and restore objects that are outlined and use the thinner to erase characters and objects in your. Keeping this in mind as well, play style will matter, so as you venture through the world you will affect the story as you progress through the game.  You’ll be advancing through the story by completing various side quests that will also change the way each character views you. Whether you decide to help them along the way or ignore them. To advance through the game, players will go through film screens or portals if you will. These turn into mini-games inspired by the old Disney cartoons, like Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first cartoon.

There are two parts of levels to adventure through that you’ll discover in the game. One is the upper level and lower level; this is how you’ll advance to various parts of the game. The upper level is the more challenging part to keep you on your feet. The lower level is the easy parts of the mini-games to get you through to the next section of the game. There are plenty of collectibles to keep you busy as well. One of things that was mentioned for instance was various old Disney pins that you can find around the world. Also, the games currency is the old Disney tickets that you can use to buy things with. Warren Spector mentioned in his discussion that there were A, B, C and D tickets in the old Disney parks given out which you’ll notice in the game. It was mentioned vaguely that some of Mickey’s friends will appear in the game in some form, but that you’ll just have to wait and see. Also mentioned was that no one was going to have a voice in the game and Spector’s quote was “If Oswald didn’t talk, no one was going to talk”. In which this rings true considering over the years, none of the old Disney characters ever had a voice in the old cartoons and movies.

Disney Epic Mickey is a new tale for the Disney icon, Mickey Mouse. Taking the game exclusively to the Nintendo Wii is a bold choice for Disney. Using the power of the Wii Remote you’ll be painting and controlling Mickey through your adventure. Disney Epic Mickey will be hitting store shelves this Holiday 2010.  Check back to TheNPCs for more coverage on Epic Mickey.