Epic Mickey 2 The Power Of Two Ps Vita

[Elly Garnand]

EpicMickey 2: The Power of Two is a 2012 platform game developed by Junction Point Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios, and is the sequel to Epic Mickey. Unlike its predecessor, which was only released for the Wii, the game was released on the PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 in November 2012, and would make further releases on the PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows over the next two years. The game features an optional co-op mode where a second player plays as Oswald and assist the first player, Mickey, in saving the Wasteland. The game also has a companion called Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for the Nintendo 3DS.[2] It was also the last game to be released by Junction Point Studios, as it was released two months before its closure.

All has been well in Wasteland since Mickey Mouse saved it from destruction by the Blot, with the world's inhabitants beginning its restoration, but a series of earthquakes have been occurring lately. The Mad Doctor, who apparently survived his previous defeat and mostly communicates by singing, arrives and asks Oswald to join forces with him in order to save Wasteland. Not trusting the Mad Doctor, Gus, the leader of the Gremlins, and Ortensia, Oswald's wife, contact Mickey, who enters Yen Sid's workshop once more and takes the Magic Paintbrush to aid him as he enters Wasteland. Oswald joins up with them in Dark Beauty Castle, explaining the Mad Doctor warned him of an impending attack by Blotworx - Blotlings piloting Beetleworx-like machines. The castle begins collapsing from an earthquake, forcing them to escape; Oswald retrieves his powerful remote en route.

Gus goes through Prescott's belongings and retrieves blueprints that suggest his main project was not the mech, but rather an undercover operation in Ventureland. Mickey and Oswald follow the trail through Ventureland, which leads them to Autotopia, a region that was presumed to be destroyed by the Thinner Disaster. There, they witness mechanical siphons erected by Prescott pumping Wasteland's primeval spirits, the Guardians, out of the ground. After disabling them, they discover a secret projector playing what appears to be a television show of the Mad Doctor's own creation; travelling through, they learn what happened to the Mad Doctor after the events of the first game. He crash-landed in Disney Gulch and set up a new lab there, creating the Blotworx as part of a plan for revenge, but was forced to cast them out due to their hostility. In the attic of Lonesome Manor, which has been retooled into a secret television studio, they find the Mad Doctor's diary, from which they learn of his true plan. He convinced Prescott to build him a television device with which he plans to broadcast a television program, called The Mad Doctor's Wonderful World of Evil, into the Cartoon World, where its ratings would bestow upon him remembrance and thus a new heart, allowing him to leave Wasteland. Wanting to become a Toon again after discovering that his animatronic parts were deteriorating, the Mad Doctor schemed to capture the Guardians in Autotopia. He knew they would have the power to make him a Toon, and this had been the cause of the earthquakes all along.

Oswald and Mickey confront the Mad Doctor at his attraction, now revealed to be a doomsday device intended to destroy Wasteland upon the doctor's departure. He demands the brush from Mickey, with which he intends to rule the Cartoon World, in exchange for sparing the residents of Wasteland trapped on the ride. Mickey is prepared to hand it over, but Oswald prevents this from happening. The pair defeat the Mad Doctor, whose robotic body finally gives out and is either killed or redeemed depending on which path is taken in his fight. If redeemed, the Mad Doctor experiences a true change of heart after being splattered with Paint and saves the heroes from falling into a pool of Thinner; and, as a reward, is turned into a Toon by the Guardians. Afterwards, all of Wasteland celebrates Mickey and Oswald's triumph with a parade highlighting the duo's major choices throughout the game.

Like its predecessor, Epic Mickey 2 takes place in a world based on classic and retired Disney characters and attractions. Likewise, the gameplay in Epic Mickey 2 closely resembles that of the original. One of the biggest updates is the addition of Oswald as a supporting character for Mickey; Oswald can either be controlled by the computer or a second player. Oswald uses a remote control in a way similar to how Mickey uses his paintbrush, to attack (or befriend, in some cases) enemy characters and to power or reprogram machines as needed to complete tasks. Oswald also has many other abilities, such as flying with his ears, taking off his leg, using his arms as boomerangs, etc. There are also some special abilities that can only be used when Mickey and Oswald are working together. In the PlayStation 3 version of the game, players are able to use motion controls using the PlayStation Move controller.

In August 2011, Destructoid posted an article that speculated that a sequel, Epic Mickey 2, was in development and showed possible box art for the game.[3] These rumors were further encouraged when Disney France and Warren Spector invited the French media to an "epic project" taking place on March 27, 2012. Nintendo Power magazine also commented on the rumor, stating that their April 2012 issue would include a "top-secret" title preview, with the preview for the issue showing a cropped down picture of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Game Trailers also stated that their March 22, 2012 episode would include a "world-exclusive preview of Warren Spector's new epic adventure" and that it would be "notably significant".[4] Warren Spector himself also commented on the game's development, revealing that he had "a team of over 700 people working on the sequel".[5] Following this, on March 20, 2012, the official French Nintendo magazine posted a comment on Twitter, revealing that Disney had plans to create a companion to the main sequel for the 3DS, under the name Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion.[6]

Warren Spector officially confirmed the rumors, revealing the sequel's title to be Epic Mickey: Power of Two.[7] Spector also directly addressed the camera issues that reviewers criticized in the first game, stating that "they'll be working on it until the day we ship the second game. (There have been) over 1,000 specific changes made to the camera. Our goal is that you will not have to touch the manual camera controls even once to play through the main story path of this game".

Spector also revealed that the game was to include voice acting and musical numbers, both of which were absent in the first game. Spector said: "I'm such a geek about musicals, I love the co-op and next-gen stuff, but for me, when a character breaks into song, which they do on a regular basis in this game, it's magic".

Spector also commented on the sequel's co-op features: "It's drop-in, drop-out co-op, you can sit down at any time with a friend who is playing as Mickey, and you can take control of Oswald. If you're playing as a single-player, Oswald will be there every second of the game. He's not just a multiplayer character, he's a helper, whether you're playing alone or with a friend or family member". Wasteland itself will feature old areas ruined by earthquakes and other natural disasters, as well as new areas such as Disney Gulch, based on Disneyland's Frontierland.[8]

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two later received a port to Sony's PlayStation Vita platform. The Vita version was developed by Blitz Game Studios (in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment), which has already dealt with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version of the game. This version was optimized especially for the Vita, such that the defects of the original version were placated; in particular the frame-rate and artificial intelligence. The Vita version supports co-op online or via ad-hoc connection.[9]

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two received "mixed or average reviews", with most complaints being the game not fixing issues that were present in the original, as well as issues with Oswald's AI. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Wii version 67.60% and 64/100,[13][19] the Xbox 360 version 60.80% and 59/100[14][20] the PlayStation 3 version 57.83% and 59/100,[15][21] the Wii U version 55.42% and 57/100,[16][22] and the PlayStation Vita version 51.50% and 57/100.[17][23]

Epic Mickey 2 was projected to sell over 2 million units worldwide. Despite heavy marketing and being released on several platforms, however, the game ultimately only sold 529,000 copies in the United States by the end of 2012,[36] a quarter of what its predecessor sold. Following these financial losses, Disney made an official statement on January 29, 2013 that Junction Point Studios was to be closed in order to direct resources to other projects, with Warren Spector also stating that he was "in doubt" about the future of the series.[37]

Epic Mickey was envisioned as a three part story by Warren Spector,[38][39][40] but a third Epic Mickey game was never announced, and developer Junction Point Studios was closed on January 29, 2013.[41] Spector commented on the closure that "Disney just wanted to move in a different direction. Probably the right decision for them, frankly. No regrets. I had a great time working for Disney."[40] Epic Mickey 2 was one of the last games to be published by Disney Interactive Studios before it closed in May 2016.

In 2016, concept art was leaked of a canceled kart racer based on the Epic Mickey franchise, named Epic Disney Racers, which was to include a number of other playable characters from Disney's legacy including Scrooge McDuck and Cruella de Vil, as well as Mickey and Oswald.[42]

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