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At a special event in Hollywood, Calif., today Disney Interactive unveiled the next generation of their popular Disney Infinity video game, introducing Marvel characters to the mix.
Immediately bringing some Marvel flair to the special announcement event, Disney Infinity 2.0 was introduced via a special transmission by none other than Nick Fury, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson.
Video: Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes announcement highlights
(Video by Jeremiah Daws)
Then Agent Coulson himself, actor Clark Gregg, came out to introduce Disney Interactive president Jimmy Pitaro.
Before getting into the details of the new game, Pitaro talked up the first version of the game, noting that it has outsold competitors with more than $500 million in sales and 3 million starter packs sold. Enhancing the game, more than 10 million free Toy Boxes have been downloaded, many created by the fan community.
Adding to the success, Disney Interactive is now infusing the gaming platform with all the excitement of Marvel.
The official name of Disney Infinity 2.0 is “Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes” – and it’s big. Characters to be included in the new game will be Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Spider-Man and even popular villain Loki.
Video: Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes trailer
Then Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment Joe Quesada took the stage to explain how involved Marvel has been in the development of Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes, taking its decades of comic book history and applying it to the new video game. Joining him was Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis to explain how he has been making sure the video game will blend with the rest of the Marvel universe.
They showed some character development, revealing the evolution of the artwork to make it blend the Marvel style with that of Disney Infinity, working together with the game’s designers.
Quesada calls Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes “one of those evolutionary leaps” for the company that has successfully expanded from comics into movies and TV shows.
Just like the original Disney Infinity, the Marvel characters of Disney Infinity will arrive via physical figures that interact with the game.
There are “over a dozen” more figures to come.
Figures, power discs, base, and Toy Boxes from the original Disney Infinity will be fully compatible with the new Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes.
More than 80 new power discs will be released for Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes, including new features such as team-ups where additional non-player characters (such as Iron Patriot and the Winter Soldier) will arrive and help as well as costume changes. New vehicles will include motorcycles, a mini Helicarrier, and even “Lola” from “Agents of SHIELD.”
The Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes Starter Pack comes with three heroes plus an “Avengers” play set piece. In addition to the classic gameplay, there will be Toy Box Games added for more gameplay, including tower defense and dungeon crawler options.
The “Avengers” play set will feature Marvel Manhattan, four times larger than the previous version’s largest play set (The Incredibles). There will be recognizable locations from Marvel movies, like Stark Tower.
Gameplay is enhanced with more locomotion options for each superhero. There’s hover and forward flight modes, both featuring combat, plus a super jump feature and wall climbing for certain characters (Hulk, Spider-Man). Combat is further enhanced with special moves for each character with new animations that match each character’s abilities. Black Widow is a melee character while Thor and Captain America are brawlers, each featuring difficult moves. Hawkeye is a range character, where battle is focused on his bow. Characters have upgradable abilities, like Hawkeye’s bow and Cap’s shield.
The Toy Box mode in Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes has been altered with the addition of structured play. It’s not solely a do-it-yourself mode like the original, which Disney Infinity creators describe as “complicated” and admit they may have “missed the mark” a bit with it.
A new brush system allows easy creation of cities, race tracks, dungeons, castles, tree houses, and other widespread structures.
New “builder” characters will help players build up worlds in the Toy Box automatically, though everything they create will be fully editable.
Interiors are also added to Toy Box mode, enabling further customization of elaborate structures, both inside and out, filling them with props and decorations.
New tower defense levels include Asgard from “Thor,” enabling a battle across the galaxy within Toy Box mode.
Dungeon crawler levels are automatically generated, allowing players to explore, scavenge, and battle through vast randomly created worlds, all within the Toy Box.
Game creation within the Toy Box mode will be more robust and easier to use, allowing players to develop their own unique play modes.
There will be more user generated content to come and Disney Interactive is beginning to hire expert Toy Box builders to work for them to develop even more downloadable content.
In addition to all the Marvel goodies, it was revealed that more Disney characters are on the way for Disney Infinity 2.0 as well.
Brief glimpses of Maleficent, Merida, and Stitch are seen in the trailer.
(Thanks to Eric for the screenshots!)
Disney Infinity Marvel Super Heroes will be released in Fall 2014, available for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC, and via the iTunes app store. (No Nintendo Wii.)
