Disney Announce Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

After much speculation dating all the way back to last year, Disney have finally confirmed that a sequel is in the works to 2010's Epic Mickey. Originally released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii, the paintbrush wielding platformer had players controlling the iconic Mickey Mouse through a dark alternate Disneyland inhabited by forgotten characters. The upcoming sequel - titled Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two - will launch not only on the Wii, but also make its series debut on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Despite the fact that Epic Mickey was a charming experience - boasting a lavish art style and loving references to Disney's silent-era cartoons - it left many critics ranting over its erratic camera issues and unfocused mission structure. With the follow up, lead-designer Warren Spector has promised to have these issued fixed in the sequel. Speaking to Associated Press, Spector claimed "We've had a team working on the camera from literally the day we finished the first game. "They'll be working on it until the day we ship the second game. (There have been) over 1,000 specific changes made to the camera. Our goal is that you will not have to touch the manual camera controls even once to play through the main story path of this game". As well as an improved camera, Spector has teased drop-in drop-out multiplayer featuring Oswald the lucky Rabbit as a playable character. "You can sit down at any time with a friend who is playing as Mickey, and you can take control of Oswald. If you're playing as a single player, Oswald will be there every second of the game. He's not just a multiplayer character. He's a helper, whether you're playing alone or with a friend or family member." says Spector. As well as the new emphasis on co-op, Epic Mickey 2 scraps the silent approach of the first game by bringing in voice actors to portray the characters and even break into song. Composed by Jim Dooley and Mike Himelstein, Epic Mickey 2 will boast fully fledged musical numbers which will be weaved into the storyline. For Spector, this is the really interesting part of the sequel, stating that "I love the co-op and next-gen stuff, but for me, when a character breaks into song, which they do on a regular basis in this game, it's magic." Rumors of a companion game for the 3DS titled Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion have yet to be confirmed by Disney, but we'll have more for you on Epic Mickey 2 and its 3DS spin-off in the near future.