Infinity Guru

Infinity 3.0 feels like a surprisingly fresh experience in both play modes – playsets and Toy Box – thanks to some major changes in the way characters are controlled, the scope of the sandbox environments, and the creative options (and guidance) available in the world-building activities.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is the best of the series yet, with the excellent Twilight of the Republic starter set, and the general polish of the game overall is extremely refined with gameplay feeling much more responsive.

While the space combat was pretty simple, I still found it enjoyable and good for breaking up long stretches of running around on the ground. These space sections provided a little more variety and kept me playing for longer stretches than I did with the Disney Infinity 2.0 Marvel Play Sets.

It might not reach the level of cinematic authenticity the upcoming Battlefront is targeting, but as far as story-based adventures go Twilight of the Republic offers up one of the most entertaining Star Wars videogame experiences in years.

Whether you are collecting sparks to be spent in the in-game store, unlock special gifts and set pieces for use in construction, or become well versed in what you can and can’t do within the confines of the game’s creation system, fun is had at all times. Its fun and engaging, in a manner that is not usually found within content creation software.

What makes Disney Infinity so great is that Disney curates content for you in addition to all of the usual fixins, and provides easy access to top-rated creations -- so it takes very little effort to find the "good stuff." I had access to a limited amount of levels pre-launch, which includes a Gravity Falls level with a log ride and roller coaster, as well as a rhythm memorization minigame, a seek-and-find puzzle, a stealth sequence, and of course, classic platforming levels.

The surprising star of Disney Infinity 3.0 is Toy Box Takeover, a separately sold adventure that unites the Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel universes in a crazy adventure in which the strangest conflicts can arise – such as Minnie Mouse throwing explosive purses at stormtroopers.

Creation in the Toy Box is more intuitive than ever, allowing would-be designers to put levels together quickly and spend the bulk of their time polishing and perfecting them. You still must spend a lot of time unlocking everything.

Where melee strikes used to lack any sense of grace or weight, lightsaber combat is probably the highlight of the whole experience now, with a ton of cool moves available and a good sense of heft and timing to everything.

In previous Infinity titles, the sheer amount of "possibility" often left me paralysed with indecision, but 3.0 takes some of the user-friendly additions introduced in the previous game and amplifies them, making for a Toy Box experience that is easier to get into than ever.

It’s an experience with considerable polish that will introduce many young players to Star Wars franchise for the first time. Equally it will re-connect many parents who remember the original trilogy to the more recent joys of Rebels, Clone Wars and Episodes I, II and III.

The biggest and best Disney Infinity yet, with more activities to get you started in the Toybox mode, and stronger playset campaigns when you just want to play a game.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is a solid update to last year's edition, and fans will have a lot to like. It seems more focused on addressing complaints and shoring up weak points than it does in reinventing the wheel.

Even more in-depth than last time, the 3.0 Toy Box is a huge slice of wall-to-wall fun. There are agility challenges, combat challenges, a horde mode arena, air and ground races and an arcade. As before, you can hop into several pre-sets or the hub itself, or you can create your own Toy Box from scratch and share it online.

Even more in-depth than last time, the 3.0 Toy Box is a huge slice of wall-to-wall fun. There are agility challenges, combat challenges, a horde mode arena, air and ground races and an arcade. As before, you can hop into several pre-sets or the hub itself, or you can create your own Toy Box from scratch and share it online.

I'm certain that some aspect of the scene-hopping introduction was to market more things for players to buy, but it's done so well it didn't really bother me. This introduction is also, by far, the best intro the franchise has ever had, pushing players through a number of unique short missions while both training and entertaining them.

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.

I was slightly disappointed by the combat. Even with the guiding hand of Ninja Theory, the motions still feel stiff and disconnected. Animations don't flow into each other smoothly. You can feel Ninja Theory's influence with some of the combos, but otherwise it's very similar and flawed in the same ways as the previous game.

Three years in, we'd have hoped to see something a bit more progressive or imaginative from Disney Infinity, as it matured. As it stands, we have another strong entry with enjoyable character expansions and a spectacular user content creation suite in the form of the Toy Box, but if feels like the series is entering a holding pattern of simply adding new characters each year.