Star Wars in Disney Infinity: The Rise of the Empire Play Set
By Elaine Tveit
Disney is no longer flying casual on marketing for the Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire play set accompanying Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Darth Vader are all playable characters in the new set covering the events of Star Wars Episodes IV-VI.
FamilyGamerTV has a YouTube video of the game play you can expect.
The Rise of the Empire focuses more on vehicular gameplay than Twilight of the Republic, the play set that takes you through the era of the prequels and the Clone Wars. A game developer called Ninja Theory was called upon to develop Twilight of the Republic because of the play set’s heavy lightsaber use. But for The Rise of the Empire, Disney’s Avalanche Software (maker of the Infinity series) decided to go with a company called Studio Gobo, which has made a name for itself in creating vehicular-style game.
John Blackburn, head of Avalanche Software, discussed the change with Venture Beat.
"We ended up talking to everyone and realized that it didn’t make sense to have Ninja Theory on Episode IV through VI, because all the Jedi lightsaber stuff happens in I through III. Then all the vehicle stuff – a lot of the vehicles that are really iconic, that people know — is in IV through VI. So we ended up swapping [developers on] play sets."
Options for vehicles include live mounts, such as banthas and wampas, as well as more iconic modes of transportation like the Millennium Falcon, the X-Wing, and Luke’s landspeeder. The locations will be familiar as well, ranging from Tatooine to Hoth to Endor, and even to the Death Star (there’s also a space-set level featuring the trench run).
Image from Disney, courtesy of Venture Beat
Disney is trying to make sure that both kids and parents feel comfortable playing Disney Infinity. Venture Beat reported that, according to John Vignocchi, vice president of production at Disney Interactive, eight major game studios helped in the making of Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition.
Blackburn adds, “Often, you would not see these developers in the kids and family space. But parents want to play with their kids, and that is primarily why we have done this.”
It looks like they’ve succeeded in their efforts; the variety of characters, locations, and game play will surely draw in fans of all ages. Not only that, but the Star Wars fandom is multi-generational, making any game associated with it have the same quality. Older fans may even use this as an opportunity to get their younglings interested in the franchise.
Image from Disney, courtesy of Venture Beat
The Rise of the Empire play set comes with figures of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. You’ll be able to go on guided adventures in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi settings, or explore other universes included in the Disney Infinity open world. It will be available sometime in the fall or winter of this year.