In fact, if hearing the word Disney brings to mind musical steamboats, poison apples

and animation at least 50 years old, this probably isnít a game for you either. This

is a Disney game, but in the Disney Channel sense...as opposed to the Mickey and the Beanstalk

sense.

I mention this not to demean the game, but to keep the expectationsóand perhaps hopesóof

older Disney fans in check and to illustrate what the game does embrace. This is not a

game without its own magic. Indeed, for an audience that grew up with

Lilo and Stitch instead of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, this universe is just as magical.

Released for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Disney Universe is an action-platform

title that brings together some of Disneyís most popular worlds. There are 18 worlds,

each based on its own universe, and youíll explore them while wearing the costumes of

characters from dozens of Disney franchises.

Sadly, Saludos Amigos isnít one of them. I think Iím just old.

Initially, that was one of my big complaints. Not the lack of Saludos Amigos, but the

fact that youíre playing this game in a Mickey costume rather than actually playing as Mickey

Mouse. Itís like the game asks, ìHey, who is your favorite Disney character? Yeah, thatís

a good one. Hereís a costume instead.î

ìYou can just put it on your generic blue guy.î

Of course, I eventually came to appreciate the gameís intention. Virtual worlds have

been created to allow people to experience Disneyís universe for themselves, but the

entire system soon goes awry, and itís up to you to restore order. That means youíre

playing in costume because the entire game world is, in fact, simulated.

You might thinkóas I didóthat this would dilute the gameís magic. Iím not sure the

presence of actual Disney characters wouldnít have made this an exponentially more magical

experience, but it actually works as is. Youíre exploring worlds based on The Lion King, Alice

in Wonderland, even live-action films like Pirates of the Caribbean. Pairing the designs

with the story, Disney Universe does achieve the feel of an attraction gone wrong, a virtual

Disneyland that needs repair.

As an attraction should be, the game also looks pretty good, too. Disney Universe benefits

from solid art design, especially in the more creative worlds such as Alice in Wonderland.

Itís not a technical showpiece or anything, but it looks a lot better than most of the

games your kids play.

Make no mistake, though...thatís what this is. Disney Universe is very much a kids game,

and thatís reflected in the gameplay. This is a button-mashing platform game, designed

to be simple and straightforward. If youíre looking to actually explore these Disney worlds,

youíll be disappointed to learn this game is very linear. You just move from one objective

to the next, and thereís very little to do in between.

But that said, there are a ton of objectives. Specifically, there are more than 50 levels

and enough unlockable costumes to make a kidís head explore. Thereís also a system that

lets you level up each costume individually, which is another nice touch.

This game excels at what itís trying to do, which is to be a Disney-infused take on the

LEGO games, essentially. The action and experiences are similar, but the difference is the magic

that comes with Disney involvement. For that alone, Disney Universe is the best kind of

kids game and an easy recommendation.

Even without steamboats.