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Disney Infinity

Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS, PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, WiiU, Xbox 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer: Avalanche Software
Release Date: Aug. 18, 2013 (US), Aug. 20, 2013 (EU)

About Brian Dumlao

After spending several years doing QA for games, I took the next logical step: critiquing them. Even though the Xbox One is my preferred weapon of choice, I'll play and review just about any game from any genre on any system.

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Xbox 360 Review - 'Disney Infinity' Frozen Toy Box Pack DLC

by Brian Dumlao on Jan. 13, 2014 @ 12:30 a.m. PST

Disney Infinity allows players to experience original adventures in some of their favorite Disney and Pixar worlds and to build their own worlds using the power of their imagination.

In a way, the Frozen Toy Box pack shows off how advantageous Disney Infinity can be for the company. While it still spent a decent amount of money to create a separate game based on the 53rd animated Walt Disney film, it was also able to provide current Disney Infinity owners with the chance to play as the newest additions to the Disney family. It would have been nicer to get a full-on adventure pack like The Lone Ranger, but it's better than nothing.

The pack includes two figures from the "Frozen" universe: Anna and Elsa. Like the rest of the figures released for Disney Infinity thus far, the physical forms look great, with a very nice amount of detail for each. Anna is the most detailed of the duo, with the dress patterns appearing nicely as she stands with a happy look of an adventurer holding climbing supplies in her mitten-clad hands. Meanwhile, Else's two-toned dress is simpler but also looks nice as she stands with a menacing look on her face, arm outstretched to unleash a magic spell. Both characters stand at the same height and are average in size when compared to the other figures in the series.


In-game, both characters fit in with the Disney Infinity aesthetic rather well. There isn't much to their idle animations, but they look good. The original voice actors Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel reprise their roles from the film, and while the lines aren't that memorable, they sound good and will bring a smile to the younger set of fans.

Both characters differ greatly in their move sets, but only one seems to have gotten any real attention. That character would be Elsa, whose moves fit in perfectly with her icy nature. Her basic strike unleashes an icy cold blast, temporarily freezing anyone standing in her way. Her projectile attack throws snowballs that also temporarily freeze opponents. Even her slam attack results in enemies freezing in mid-air, making her a fun character to use in a fight and further strengthening the case that an adventure level based on the movie would be perfect.

Meanwhile, Anna feels like she's been recycled. Her basic melee attack is the same combo used for Rapunzel, with the only difference being the use of a shovel instead of a skillet. Her secondary attack makes up for it: she uses a grappling hook to scale objects, pull her to ledges and platforms, and pull her opponents closer. Her slam attack also employs the grappling hook to pull her faster toward the ground, making her an interesting character to run with before you apply other tools or packs to her arsenal.


Unfortunately, the challenges for both characters are pretty weak. Anna's challenge involves using platforming skills to collect as many objects as she can in a set time period. The good news is that the challenge level is presented in 2-D but retains 3-D movement, making it feel different from other challenge levels that offer the same objective. The level also changes every time you play it, making it feel fresh until you start to see the levels repeat. It has an advantage over other challenge levels, which aren't so dynamic. On the other hand, the levels for Anna are rather small, which is easier to point out because the camera is so far from the action. Also, despite these stages supposedly showcasing her platforming abilities, the objects you have to collect simply fall from the sky. With a generous time limit in your favor, you could rack up a silver medal without too much effort.

Elsa, on the other hand, has a decidedly more interesting challenge level that is very different from every other character so far. You're given four crossbow-style slingshots aimed at an ice castle, and your job is to destroy as many targets as possible within the time limit. Each object has points assigned, so yellow targets are worth one point while red ones are worth three. The targets appear in sets at random locations, and while red ones disappear quickly, yellow ones stay put until they are destroyed. Overall, this is a fun little distraction because this is the first time it has appeared in the series.


In both cases, it feels like a missed opportunity to create something special for these characters. The textures and skies are reminiscent of the "Frozen" film, but the objects you collect and hit are the generic Disney Infinity balloons instead of something related to the movie. The music is also from the default Disney Infinity playlist instead of from the film, making the challenge levels feel even more generic. When you look at what was done on Rapunzel's challenge level with everything related to "Tangled," these stages are pretty underwhelming.

As a replacement for the fact that the Frozen pack doesn't have an associated adventure world, two environment packs are included. Both the sky and object texture discs are included in the package, instantly giving you the ability to create Toy Box worlds with a "Frozen" theme. The sky disc provides a winter daytime setting with snow-capped mountains and the ice castle in the background while the texture disc covers the ground in fresh white snow and adds the same snow texture to any vegetation in the current level. It's a very good move, as it gives the package some added value beyond the characters.

The Frozen Toy Box pack is a good example of how individual characters from a related film should be packaged. By providing everything related to the film in one set, it gives players the chance to do anything they want while the film is still fresh in their minds, and it saves them the trouble of hunting down the necessary power discs. It is interesting that Elsa gets the lion's share of good content while Anna gets a mediocre challenge level and a partially borrowed attack set. Overall, the package is good, and fans of the film will be fine having this in their collections.

Score: 7.0/10



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