Disney Infinity 3.0 Review

Disney Infinity 3.0 is the third game in the toys-to-life genre to come out in as many years. While 2.0's The Avengers play set that was included in the starter set was a disappointment, there was hope that with 3.0's addition of Star Wars would not repeat the mistakes of 2.0. Is the Force strong with this game or has it turned to the Dark Side? 

No one was more excited last year than me when it was announced that Disney 2.0 would be Marvel focused.  At the same time, I was disappointed with 2.0's starter set that included The Avengers play set. The biggest thing was the setting was New York City, but it was bland, sparse and empty. I didn't get the feeling that I was playing in a huge metropolis. With 3.0, that has changed. If you buy the starter set, included is The Twilight of the Republic play set from the Star Wars prequels. From the start you can tell they were out to correct previous mistakes. The campaign is spread over four planets and the space above them. Cities are filled with people, droids and vehicles, making it feel alive and vibrant. Even space has asteroids and ships that always make you feel very much a part of the Star Wars universe.  If you were a fan of The Clone Wars cartoon, you will feel right at home with all the characters voiced by the actors from the show. 

The pack includes two figures, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. These two figures really show off the fantastic combat in the game. Ninja Theory, who have developed such games as Devil May Cry, Enslaved and Heavenly Sword, handled the combat this time around and it shows. The combat feels tight and polished. It is really fun to force grab a bad guy and unleash a combo, then at the end use your finishing move. It's not complicated, but it is very satisfying for young and old to pull it off.  Each character has specific moves and combos that make it worth collecting the different figures. As of right now, Twilight of the Republic is the only Star Wars play set and figures available. This time, rather than flood the market with most of the collection at one time, Disney is staggering releases, unless you buy the exclusive Playstation 4 edition that includes Rise Against the Empire and Boba Fett a full month ahead of release.  

For those that have played Skylanders you should note that none of 3.0's game is locked behind character specific walls. You can play the entire game and it's side missions with only the two included figures in the play set. In 3.0 you can collect tokens specific to the Star Wars figures throughout the game that will allow you to play as any of the Star Wars figures in any play set. This means if you want to have Luke team up with Darth Maul on the Death Star it's no problem. Just find Darth Maul's token to unlock him in the Rise Against the Empire play set. This was in 2.0 for a few characters, but you had to find 10 coins specific to said character. Only having to find one token is much easier and having one for all the figures makes more sense. Also gone are the blind two packs for the power disks. In past games, there have been two or three different series of twenty plus disks that allow team ups, new outfits and more. This time around there are four different packs with four disks in each pack.  

As in every Disney Infinity game, the Toy Box is where the game really shines and this year it is bigger and better than ever. The new Toy Box Hub is a welcome addition that is really a huge tutorial that shows how to create your own game modes and more. I have never been much of a Toy Box designer, but I do like to play the community crafted games and levels. With such a huge community, there are hours upon hours of things to do that the game would never grow old. Now that they have included the toy dispenser, you no longer have to worry about unlocking toys for the toy box in the game. You just spend the coins you collect to buy what you need to make levels.

Overall, 3.0 is a huge upgrade over 2.0. The Twilight of the Republic is hands down one of the best Star Wars games I have ever played. The staggering of new play sets and figures is nice on the wallet, but with only two more sets to release (Empire and Episode VII) and the Pixar Inside Out play set now available, I would like to see more play sets released. A Tron play set or even updated 1.0 or 2.0 play sets. The Toy Box Takeover expansion game is available right now and the Toy Box Speedway expansion is coming soon that will add Mario Cart type racing gameplay, as well.  

Score 4 out of 5

Thanks to Disney Interactive for supplying the game for review.

Would you like to win a Disney Infinity prize pack for Playstation 4? The prize pack includes the Disney Infinity starter pack for PS4, the Toy Box Takeover expansion, the Twilight of the Republic Power Disc Pack and the Yoda and Obi-Wan figures! All you have to do is leave a comment below about your fondest Star Wars memory. Was it getting that toy you always wanted for Christmas? Maybe camping out for days to be first in line to see the latest movie? Tell us and we will pick one lucky winner! Deadline for entry is September 27th at midnight EST Open to US only. (Winner will be chosen from the Disqus comments only on this page)