It’s not often we post video game trailers, unless they are truly”epic.” But Disney’s “Epic Mickey” is just too awesome not to share. Disney has released the full seven minute opening cinematic sequence for their upcoming Mickey Mouse video game and it looks awesome.

There hasn’t really been a good Mickey Mouse game in awhile and certainly not one this dark looking. Disney has decided to take Micky back to his roots, you know before the super commercialized “HA-HA” Mickey, and from the looks of this sequence, it’s going to pay off. You can pre-order “Epic Mickey” now online or at your local retailers.

Plot:

A long time ago, the sorcerer Yen Sid created a Disney theme park themed pen-and-paper world called the Cartoon Wasteland for his forgotten and rejected creations, held in an intricate model on a table, and accessible through a mirror. Mickey, who steps through a mirror from his home and finds himself inside Yen Sid’s study, sees the model, and waits until Yen Sid is gone before going back to take another look at it. Fiddling with it, Mickey accidentally spills paint and paint thinner onto the model. Hearing Yen Sid approaching, Mickey quickly cleans up and flees back to his home. However, the spill of paint and paint thinner creates a being called the Phantom Blot, who attempts to take control of the Wasteland from its first resident and Mickey’s older half-brother – Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald and the other residents of the Cartoon Wasteland fight against the Phantom Blot, but he eventually overwhelms them and twists their world into a dark and sinister version of itself, forcing Oswald into hiding.

Years later, Mickey has forgotten his past transgression until the mirror in his home comes to life and pulls him into the Cartoon Wasteland. Oswald, his will lost and twisted by his jealousy of Mickey’s rise to fame, has formulated a plan to destroy Mickey. The Mad Doctor works closely with the Blot, creating robotic “Beetleworx”, which are strange creatures that consist of combinations of various Disney cartoon characters. He also creates animatronic “buddies” for Oswald, looking like decrepit robotic versions of Mickey’s friends, as Oswald wants Mickey’s life and popularity for himself. Armed with a magical paintbrush that he managed to pull into the world with him, Mickey must stop the Phantom Blot, gain Oswald’s trust and save the Cartoon Wasteland.

Gameplay:

The game is primarily a platform game with some RPG elements and allows players to use their own solutions for getting through the levels. Epic Mickey features a morality system similar to games like inFAMOUS andSpider-Man: Web of Shadows. The player’s actions can either have Mickey hailed as a Hero, or feared as a Scrapper, changing his appearance and opening up different alliances, side-quests and power-ups depending on the path taken. It is even possible to avoid a boss battle if specific actions are taken. Mickey uses a magic paintbrush that can be used on enemies and painted parts of the environment. He can either use paint to paint areas into the level, such as a bridge, or use paint thinner to destroy obstacles and enemies. Both have limited reserves and share a meter, letting players decide whether to use more of something to be safe, or save some and take a riskier approach. However, the meter recharges slowly over time and powerups that instantly restore portions of the meter can be found. Mickey is also able to create objects from sketches, which have various effects. Two confirmed sketches, the clock and the television, slow down time and distract enemies, respectively.

There are many varieties of enemies in the Cartoon Wasteland, such as Blotlings, the Phantom Blot’s henchmen, who come in various forms. The weakest form of Blotling, the Spatters, can be dealt with in many ways from destroying them to making them friendly. There are also the Mad Doctor’s Beetleworx, robots that are immune to paint and thinner and must be dealt with in other ways, and Oswald’s children, the bunny kids, who are not normally hostile and adore their “Uncle Mickey”, but impede his progress by doing things such as clinging onto him, which slows him down.

To travel between sections of the Cartoon Wasteland, Mickey must traverse 2D side-scrolling levels based on his classic cartoon shorts, such as Steamboat Willie and Clock Cleaners.