Wizards of Mickey

There's something eternal about Mickey Mouse. It's the sort of etenity that demands you trot out a host of clichés about how his mere silhouette unites generations, about how how he's the pinnacle of a miraculous animated cast that characterises the real magic of the pre-CGI Disney canon. Yes, it's the sort of thing that makes people of taste and decency take leave of their senses as they bow at the velvet-and-gold throne of Mickey. Excuse us as we sigh despairingly into another crumpled Disney press release.

It's also the sort of power that means Mickey and friends are destined to be attached to all sorts of slightly unlikely projects in an attempt to quench (or perhaps exploit) the greater public's apparent never-ending lust for Mickey. Disney's Wizards sees Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy don their Gandalf gear as they spell-cast their way through a turn-based battler.

You get to take control of the band of three (or less in the earlier missions) in around 20 levels of action that see you face-off against both generic Disney-style foes and some more famous faces, including a displaced Minnie and the bloated Pete. To keep from straying too far from the Disney hymn sheet, attacking an enemy knocks off 'confidence' points rather than hit points. So, rather than collapsing in pool of blood and gibs, your enemies disappear in a lack-of-self-esteem and a puff of smoke.

The main Story mode makes an attempt at a plot, about recovering crystals and defeating Mickey's nemesis the Black Phantom. It even does so with some visual style, using a nifty comic book layout for some cut-scenes. However, the story train is derailed by the relatively poor writing. Occasionally coming across like a dodgy translation and certainly lacking that Mickey magic, it flattens the Story mode somewhat, outside the action itself.

As is typical of the genre, you and the enemy force take it in turns to move with a character. In each turn, you get to move and cast a spell with each character. To start with, you only have a half-handful of spells to play with, including the requisite fireball. However, as you make your way through the map screen that shows both the Disney's Wizards world and the rough outline of where you're headed in future missions, you'll gain a great many more spells and items.

Your characters can only cast spells – although some of the creatures you can summon fight hand-to-hand – so strategy lies more in the choice of spell than the choice of character. Sure, there are some slight differences in movement range between Donald, Goofy and Mickey, but it's nothing like differences in close and long range units in some other comparable turn-based games.

Thankfully, the number of spells available means this isn't a flaw as such, especially when your foes are often more varied than your own team. You can easily take down a powerful melee-fighting opponent by shackling him to the ground with some magic vines, for example, but such tactics won't be as useful against a rival wizard who may even be able to counter your spell, leaving you stuck on the spot.

Spells are introduced gradually, though, and the difficulty ramps up fairly smoothly, meaning that any younger gamers not put off instantly by the prospect of a turn-based game shouldn't have too many problems with Wizards of Mickey.

Outside Story mode, there's also Single Play, where you can re-play any completed level, Quick Play which dumps you in a randomly selected level, and Hot Seat, the co-op multiplayer mode. They all rely on the missions from the Story mode, but it's a comprehensive selection nevertheless. For a break from the battle, there's an additional Puzzle mode that offers a standard jigsaw-style sliding puzzle. There's also an Expert difficulty mode for those hardcore Disney fans among you.

Indeed, at first the pairing of Disney characters with what is essentially a turn-based swords and spells game, something usually associated with a reasonably hardcore gamer audience, seems a little odd. After you've bedded into the solid, accessible interface and the fact that the Disney character roster really does make for a good game cast in most situations, you forget the awkwardness and concentrate on how you're going to deal with that army of giant rat soldiers without getting blood on Mickey's robes.