Livin' La Vida Loca

I'm channeling Ricky Martin when I play Disney Universe.  Sounds like a jump, right?  Spend 5 minutes in the Universe and you will see why.

The video gives you a little indication of what it's like.  I just watched the trailers and they don't indicate the extreme madness that this game offers, so I had to link the actual gameplay to show you what you're going to get.  There is always 800 billion things happening on screen.  There are puzzles which are usually extremely simple to complete, especially with the assistance of the blue helper arrows (they guide you exactly where you need to go) but trying to solve the puzzle with A) thirty spastic bad guys stomping all over you and B) the "assistance" of a 4-yr-old player two is not easy.  When the kid and I play this there is a lot of this happening:

     "K, go over there."
     "Where?"
     "Over to the arrow.  Step on that button.  DO NOT MOVE."  (I go to required location activated by button, she moves, I die.)  "AGgggghhhhh I said don't move."
     "Well can I go there?"
     "Umm..not yet."  (Because it is a step in the required puzzle to move forward in the level and if she tries to complete it it'll take 10489208 hours longer than I am eager to spend for her to drag a wheel to its location etcetc...)   "Now, step on the button.  Don't move."
     I complete the step.  Bad guys spawn.  She jumps off a cliff 12 times.  

It is maddening to say the least.  I have yet to play this single player, but I'm hoping that I can get through some of the levels easier and get the achievements I so desire by playing alone.  But it is a blast to play with the kid, since dying has little to no consequence (you just lose some of your gold) and she thinks it's a really fun game.  I don't know if she could play this one on her own just yet... I think it's a little too advanced as far as the puzzle solving requirements go.

The graphics, sound, and levels are all fun and cute, but they do add in to the general chaos.  For example, we played the Lion King levels earlier today and there is all the crazy stuff going on already, plus the level around you is on fire and everything got kind of wavery looking.  For a minute I thought my Xbox was trying to give me 3D graphics.  I was very confused and got a little nauseous, but luckily that has only happened in the one section of the one level.  And I seem to be extra sensitive to video-game-induced motion sickness so it might not even be a problem for the general public.

There are tons of items to find and unlock in each level, and each suit can be leveled up by finding and collecting stars in the levels.  It definitely has replayability based on just having to level up all the suits.  And kids would totally find a favorite level and play it to death, because that is how they roll.  If you have young'ens who love Disney, make sure you have this one wrapped up under the tree.