Modeled after the brush used by Mickey in the game, it features a soft foam tip. 'Power of Illusion' is pretty, but just when it starts to get interesting, it's over - the whole adventure is only about four hours long. Step into the magical world of Epic Mickey with this paintbrush-shaped nunchuk. Another potential highlight - a huge roster of beloved Disney characters - goes to waste because none of them does anything to help Mickey. The paint/thinner trick is cute the first few times, but becomes wearisome once you realize the developers will allow you to draw just a handful of items, which are repeated ad infinitum. It's a fairly pedestrian exercise in running-and-jumping mechanics, distinguished by a gimmick that links it with 'Epic Mickey 2.' Again, Mickey is armed with a magic brush, which he can use to paint helpful climbing blocks or to thin out pesky obstacles by tracing them on the 3DS touchscreen. Like its predecessor, 'Power of Illusion' sets Mickey loose in a castle filled with monsters and traps. The new 'Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion' (Disney, for the Nintendo 3DS, $39.99) pays tribute to that classic, but doesn't deliver quite the same magic. One of the most fondly remembered video games in Disney history is 1990's 'Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse,' a gorgeous adventure that pushed the graphics of the Sega Genesis to new heights. Unfortunately, Mickey also has to use paint and thinner to fight mobile enemies - a chore made frustrating by clunky controls, sloppy aiming and awkward camera angles. The most interesting puzzles here require using the brush to rebuild or destroy structures around the Wasteland. The Mouse is again armed with a magical brush that can shoot paint or thinner, while his buddy, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, carries a remote control that can harness electricity. After the Wasteland is torn up by earthquakes, Mickey is summoned to help restore it - and find out what caused the disaster.

'Epic Mickey 2' returns to the Wasteland, a decrepit world based on classic Magic Kingdom attractions like Frontierland and Adventureland. It's the continuation of designer Warren Spector's effort to rehabilitate the rodent - and given the drab, charmless result, it's a project I'm ready to give up on. Disney.Īnd yet, here he is in 'Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two' (Disney, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99 Wii U, $54.99 Wii, $49.99), his second high-profile video game in three years. Mickey is more corporate logo than character, the smiling figurehead at the prow of the mighty S.S. The kids in my family adore Ariel, Simba and Buzz Lightyear, while I have a soft spot for Scrooge McDuck. 'Disney Epic Mickey' is an exclusive title for the Wii console and is rated E. It can restore objects dissolved by Thinner. Paint can be sprayed by the player in the game, similar to Thinner. for more than 80 years, I don't think he's anyone's favorite toon. In 'Disney Epic Mickey,' players use a magic paintbrush to create or erase parts of the iconic character's world. Mickey painting a building Paint is a blue fluid found in Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2 and Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion that can used with Mickey's Paintbrush.

While Mickey Mouse has been the face of The Walt Disney Co.

Epic mickey paintbrush