Review: After sophomore slump, 'Disney Infinity 3.0' strikes back

A few hours into Disney Infinity 3.0's Twilight of the Republic play set, I found myself escorting none other than Jar Jar Binks to Coruscant's Jedi Temple. Despite accompanying the galaxy's most despised character on a mission type most gamers would consider one of the medium's most tedious, I was having an absolute blast...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Disney Interactive's first crack at the toys-to-life category differentiated itself from genre pioneer Skylanders by offering standalone, story-driven campaigns as well as creation tools that allowed players to craft their  own adventures. Complemented by a cast of fan-favorite Disney and Pixar characters, the formula yielded a good first effort and plenty of promise for future iterations.

Unfortunately, Disney Infinity's Marvel-themed sequel traded much of the charm of its predecessor for a soulless experience that couldn't be saved even by its iconic comic book cast. While its Toy Box mode saw some significant improvements, its core Avengers, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy content provided little more than lifeless environments, repetitive combat encounters, and boring objectives.

Thankfully, Disney Infinity's Star Wars-focused third effort sidesteps the Bantha fodder and puts the franchise back on track, delivering its best installment to date.

This is the Disney Infinity game you're looking for

Learning from last year's mistakes, 3.0 doesn't solely rely on the popularity of its characters from a galaxy far, far away, but instead supports them with imaginative content and improved mechanics.

This is apparent as soon as you pick up a lightsaber and experience the overhauled combat system. Forgoing the mindless button-mashing that left countless Frost Giants face down in last year's version, 3.0's Twilight of the Republic play set favors satisfying, nuanced encounters. Younger gamers can feel like badass Jedi Knights by hammering on attack inputs, but those craving a deeper, layered approach can string together combos, juggles, ground pounds, and dash attacks. Toss in the ability to unlock and upgrade Force powers, finishers, and melee moves, and Infinity's Star Wars' heroes make Marvel's mightiest look like grade-school bullies.

Despite the fact that bundled toys Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano both wield the Jedi weapon of choice, they bring their own styles to the battlefield. Anakin, for example, uses the Force to toss items from the environment at enemies, while his Padawan sends her dual sabers spinning around the room. It doesn't hurt that, unlike last year's play sets, 3.0's are populated by interesting enemies, from grunt-like battle bots to level-capping bosses. Regardless of what Dark Side threat you're trying to destroy, pinballing between targets and leaving sparking robot limbs in your wake is legit fun.

The Clone-era campaign encourages you to tackle different story missions, side-quests, and challenges. Which brings me back to babysitting Jar Jar. Thanks to the slick combat, I had good fun protecting the annoying Gungan. But even if I hadn't, there were plenty of other engaging activities to pick from. Unfolding over four open-world planets (Coruscant, Naboo, Tatooine, and Geonosis) — and the space between them — the campaign's brimming with opportunities.

Make your own magic

Of course, if you really want to star in your own saga, the game’s Toy Box is the best place to ignite your creative spark. Building on the improvements introduced in 2.0, the new Toy Box is deeper, but also more streamlined and accessible. Budding game designers looking to craft deeper experiences have access to new tools, like a cool path creator that puts characters and vehicles on predetermined routes.

What impresses me most about the Toy Box, though, is its ability to engage players who have little desire to create their own content. Where previous iterations offered little in the way of non-building activities, 3.0's DIY mode has dedicated areas for combat, racing, and platforming. These serve as tutorials for their specific disciplines, but also as mini-games. From a Tie Fighter-destroying turret challenge to a motorcycle race through the streets of Agrabah, these bite-size games are surprisingly fun time-sinks. I spent hours pelting creatures in a Monsters, Inc.-themed paintball arena as Jedi master Yoda, but any toy from all three Infinity entries works in these hub games.

Disney Infinity 3.0 isn’t without a few fun-halting flaws, however. I experienced a number of technical issues, like lengthy load times, hiccuping cut-scenes, dropped audio, and delayed character spawns. None of these are dealbreakers, but the instability is uncharacteristic of the franchise; an annoying day one patch is likely.

With just two character figures, a single play set, and no power discs or Toy Box expansion games, 3.0 also represents the series' smallest starter pack. It’s not like the game lacks content — there’s plenty to do here — but another character, perhaps one proficient in ranged combat, would've sweetened the deal.

Disney Infinity isn't a standalone game, but an evolving platform supported by tons of sold-separately content. Rise Against the Empire, a playset based on the original Star Wars trilogy, is sold separately, as are play sets for Pixar's Inside Out and (eventually) The Force Awakens. If you're willing to open your wallet, there's a steady stream of additional figures, play sets, expansion games, and power discs available at launch and beyond. The problem, naturally, is that this endeavor gets expensive quickly.

So is it worth it? Disney Interactive tries to alleviate that a bit in two ways: they dropped the Starter Set price ten bucks (last year’s game was $75), and they’ve made the Toy Box 3.0 available as a $30 download if you want to get the new creation tools without all the Star Wars adventure stuff. This is still pricey, but at least it’s getting (marginally) cheaper.

That said, there’s a lot in here. The overflowing Toy Box, substantial play sets, and option to download and enjoy user-created content pack this initial offering with, well, infinite play time. Whether you're a fan of the previous games or a Stars Wars geek wondering what sort of sparks would fly if Darth Vader's lightsaber clashed with Captain Jack Sparrow's sword, 3.0 is an easy recommendation.

What's Hot: Polished combat; varied play set content; improved Toy Box entertainment

What's Not: Technical hiccups; smaller starter pack than previous versions

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