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In-Depth with Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes

If the recent event I attended is any indication, Disney Infinity is going all in with Marvel.

Clark Gregg from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Joe Quesada and Brian Michael Bendis from Marvel Comics, and even a video featuring the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury interrupted the presentation to announce the arrival of the upcoming fall release of Disney Infinity 2.0.

And if what we get in the fall resembles anything like what we were shown today, it’s going to be awesome.

Disney Interactive announced a slew of additional features, characters, and settings to come in the upcoming Marvel Super Heroes line of Disney Infinity Playsets, as well as the overall Disney Infinity package.

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First up: the figures. Iron Man, Hawkeye, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and Hulk are confirmed, with a dozen other characters to be announced later (along with additional Disney characters that are slated to release as well, but this event focused solely on Marvel properties). The figurines look just as sleek and cool as last year’s set of toys, featuring the same strikingly angular designs and colorful palettes as the other characters. They look cartoony, yet bad-ass; sharing in the Disney Infinity Aesthetic, but bringing a style all their own. While those six characters are the only one’s confirmed, a trailer featured the likes of Spider-Man, Loki, and even Rocket Racoon – so expect some surprises.

Speaking of last year’s toys, you’ll likely be happy to know that everything from last year’s version of Disney Infinity will work on the new release: which includes figures, Power Discs, Toy Box creations, and even the base itself.

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But if you’ve never made the plunge (or want a decent starter pack for the new edition), Disney’s got you covered. The starter pack for Marvel Super Heroes includes Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, a base for the figures to interact with the game, the Marvel Playset (to actually play the game) and two Toy Box Power Disc games. These games are unlocked when you place the Power Disc on the base, and feature three-to-four-hour-long mini-games. These discs feature stuff like tower defense games or even a procedurally-generated dungeon crawler. Additional Marvel Playsets and Disney content will be announced soon.

The included Marvel Playset features the version of Manhattan you’ve likely seen in films like The Avengers, and it’s four times larger than the city featured in The Incredibles. Characters can fly, super jump, and climb walls, beat up foes, throw weapons, and more, all depending on their unique skill sets. Also, one of my biggest complaints has been addressed – each character is not only unique in how they move and act, but now as they level up, they will unlock new powers and skills from a surprisingly large-looking skill tree. It’s a surprising amount of depth for a series that was sorely lacking it on the first go-round. Plus, this makes actually buying all of the figurines a much more enticing proposition.

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Toy Box, Disney Infinity’s level creation suite, has gotten an overhaul as well. They’ve added brushes, which can easily paint and build large sections of a level (be it the level itself, or something like a race track) quickly and easily. You can even drop builders in who will take it upon themselves to automatically create sections of the level for you, without any assistance on your part. Creations can be even more varied now, as Disney Infinity will let you create interior sections that connect to buildings that you’ve placed. Logic toys help players create common game types by placing a series of items with all of the hook-ups already created – all the player needs to do is places those objects in a level, and boom: instant game.

With new characters, additional powers, 80 new power discs, a level cap of 20, and with virtually all of my complaints from the first Disney Infinity game seemingly addressed, Disney Infinity 2.0 is looking even better than ever. We’ll likely get to find out even more at E3, so keep it tuned here for all of our future coverage. And be sure to keep an eye out for Disney Infinity 2.0 on all last and current-gen consoles this fall.

Check out all of the characters and some candid pictures from the event below.

I've been gaming since my dad made the bad decision of buying me a Nintendo when I was four years old. Every day I'd find myself with my face glued to a TV screen, punching away at buttons, getting furious with Bowser, Dr. Wily, and those freakin' birds in Ninja Gaiden. Since then I have failed to get my parents to play any board game with me, I sold my full copy of Earthbound with box and guide for $300 to some dude in Austria for rent money, and I still believe in Nintendo even after all these years.

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