Had a lot of potential, but gameplay took a back seat :(
Story: If there is one thing Disney can always do right, it's create an interesting and imaginative story. In Epic Mickey you play as (you'll never guess this one) Mickey Mouse, who enters through a mirror and ruins a world of old forgotten Disney character by unleashing the dreaded Blot. Mickey is pulled into the Wasteland, but not before grabbing a magical brush that can create or destroy the world around him in order to save Wasteland and escape from it. This Wasteland is ruled by Oswald (whom is Mickey's Spiritual Older Brother). Oswald begins the story being sour that he and all the other Wasteland characters have been forgotten while Mickey remains in the Spotlight. The two eventually become friends and team up to destroy the Blot Mickey has unleashed. The Story will be one of the main things keeping you coming back to play the game with its plot twists and multiple endings depending on how you handle situations.
4/5
Graphics: The environments in this game are beautiful and will also want you to keep going (especially if you were a Disney fan as a child). There are some incredibly insane areas in this game that I just had to stop and stare at in awe, such as Mickey Junk Mountain; where retro gamers might even appreciate a bunch of past Mickey Nes and Snes games in a particular corner of the mountain. Epic Mickey's graphics aren't most extravagant on the Wii, but the presentation alone makes the game look really good. The 2D portions of the game also look excellent, however they do lack variety. There were far too many old Mickey Mouse Cartoons for then to even think about recycling the same ones (Steamboat Willie was nice, but did it really have to be used multiple times?).
4/5
Gameplay/Control: This is pretty much where all the games short comings are... the controls aren't up to today's standards. The gameplay can be divided into the use of the Brush, 3D platforming, and 2D platforming. Using the Brush to create or destroy the environment would have been an excellent idea, but the developers didn't take the time to polish everything. The Brush isn't the worst part however (in fact it did respond fairly well), it was the camera and the way Mickey handled while jumping and platforming that does this game in. I found that I died fiddling with the camera, or because I couldn't judge my distance properly while jumping. These are problems that I thought had been lost with the N64 (not bashing the N64 at all, it's still an amazing system today); but honestly platforming wise, this game is to Super Mario Galaxy as Castlevania 64 was to Super Mario 64 (It's just not all there). Had they taken the time to fix this alone the game could have been great. Keep in mind this only applies to the 3D sections, the 2D sections are perfect (at least control wise).
3/5
Sound: The game's Music is good and fairly original. The most memorable track being a re-arrangement of Sleeping Beauty's "Once upon a Dream" which goes incredibly well with the decaying castle. There is no time where I felt the music didn't add to the games overall experience and it was a joy to listen to.
5/5
Content/re-playability: The multiple endings are not the thing that would bring you back to this game, even if they do peak your interest. This game is a dream for people who enjoy collecting and unlocking content. There are hundreds of different achievements in this game, and it would be nearly impossible to get everything with one, or maybe even 2 playthroughs. On top of that, there are two unlockable cartoons featured in the game; these left me wanting more at first, but later just appreciating the developers even put them in. If you want to play the main story it might take you a little over 10 hours, but trying to find everything this game has to offer could keep you playing much longer.
5/5
Verdict: Overall, Epic Mickey isn't a terrible game but it isn't going to be on the Wii's top ten list either. Epic Mickey's faults all stem from its gameplay, and had they not used Castlevania 64 as inspiration :P it may have been much better. I would still give this a decent recommendation, but the game should be approached with caution and some thought before buying.
Recommendation: 3/5 If you're a Disney fan you will get much more enjoyment out of the game, but people who aren't will probably be disappointed in their purchase.