My wife and I were walking through the mall the other day, when we came across a Disney store. As we were pushing our three-month-old daughter through the crowded shop she said to me, “It’s sad that our kids won’t have the same relationship with Mickey Mouse that we did. He’s just a mascot now; hardly much more than a character on a letterhead.”
So where has he been? Turns out that Disney feels that the character still has some kick left in him, and it shows in their latest game, Where’s My Mickey? Although it’s a Mickey-fied take on another game (a Disney one, granted), it provides a good amount of fun for a reasonable price. Are you down to see what the mouse has in store for us? Then head on in.
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Photocopied and Improved
Where’s My Mickey is Where’s My Water?, but with Mickey Mouse instead of an alligator. In the latter, the goal was to get water to your alligator so that he could take a bath. Here, the goal is to get Mickey water for a variety of reasons. At first, it’s to fill up his lemonade bucket for his lemonade stand on the beach. In the next round it’s to fill up a bucket so he can put out a fire. Then it’s for feeding his plants so he can win a county fair. The plot isn’t important here, it’s just that the mouse needs his water fix, and you’re the supplier.
It’s Mickey, but with a different visual twist.
To direct the water, you have to run your finger through the dirt on the screen to let it flow downwards in the path you need it to take, filling up stars and triggering actions along the way. The goal is to get the water into a siphon at the bottom of the level, which will then deliver the water to Mickey. You don’t have to get all of the water, just enough so that he’s satisfied. Sounds easy, right?
It’s Not That Easy
Truth is, Where’s My Mickey isn’t a game made for toddlers. This is a game for older kids (or adults) who liked the challenge from Where’s My Water, but want it with that Mickey flavor. There are levels that will absolutely test your resolve, and others where it’s so simple you breeze right through. At the end of the day, the challenge is balanced nicely, and that’s the important part.
There’s a lot going on, obviously.
As you progress through the game, there are more and more obstacles that you have to get past. There are clouds that fill with water; acid that kills stars and/or anything in its path; mechanical gates; spigots — a wide variety of objects. This makes the game tougher and tougher as you go. That said, I did get through the game entirely in a few hours. That’s not to say that it’s a short game, because it’s not; I just wanted to make sure I did a thorough review (and I couldn’t put it down).
A Different Look
Although Where’s My Mickey is a Disney game based on characters we’ve known for years, it still has a different look that’s hard to put into words. I’m no art major (I bailed from that my freshman year), but it seems to be a bit more 1950′s hipster, and a part modern art. Whatever you call it, the game looks fresh and new, and that’s appreciated.
Your favorite Disney characters, but different.
Goofy IAP
In-App Purchases. We all hate them, right? Where’s My Mickey has only one IAP option, and that’s two additional levels featuring Goofy. In the first, Goofy is a painter who needs paint for his work. In the second, he’s stranded on a desert island and needs to find food. But this isn’t just a photocopy of a Mickey level with Goofy injected in. No, this time you want the red liquid — the acid from the Mickey levels — as opposed to water. Now the water still triggers the same actions, but it also kills any stars it touches.
Even Goofy sees the humor in this one.
For $0.99, you won’t find a better use of IAP. Not only do the Goofy levels add another hour or two of gaming, but they’re fun. Really fun. That alone makes it worth it to me.
Final Thoughts
The best games are the ones that make me think, “Just one more game.” You know, the kind that you can’t put down because they’re just so addictive. There have been a lot of those games for me — Dots comes to mind — and those are my favorites because of that. Where’s My Mickey falls into that category. If anything, my only complaint is that it’s not longer.
It’s cheap, it’s based on a proven and tested formula, and it’s fun to play. What else do you need to know?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have water to go deliver.