Disney Infinity 3.0: Star Wars – Twilight of the Republic
Developer: Avalanche Software, Ninja Theory
Publisher: Disney
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4 (Reviewed), PS3, Wii U, PC
Release Date: September 3rd (AU) | August 30th (US)
Price: AU$39.95 – Available Here | US$39.99 – Available Here
Overview
Those who purchase the physical edition of the Disney Infinity 3.0 Starter Set will get this Play Set and its two included figures; Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano as part of the bundle. It can also be purchased individually for those who opted for the digital edition of the game. With its combination of ground based action/adventure/brawler combat and spaceship dogfighting, Twilight of the Republic is easily the best Play Set of the entire Disney Infinity franchise.
Story
When a droid production factory on Geonosis is mysteriously switched back online, the Jedi forces make their way to the desert planet to see what the Separatists are up to. There they discover that the Separatists were not the ones responsible for the factory being reestablished, and the true plot is much more sinister.
One great thing about the Clone Wars era of Star Wars is that there is so much that they still haven’t shown us. We haven’t seen every battle, every encounter, every major player in the war and that leaves writers a lot of breathing room when it comes to crafting stories set in this time period. With that in mind, Avalanche have created a story that fits cohesively with the rest of the Clone Wars animated series and in fact feels like it could just as easily be a “lost episode” to accompany it. The tone of the campaign, as well as the delivery of the voice cast are spot on and players will be able to find themselves just enjoying the experience for that factor alone.
Gameplay
Twilight of the Republic is at its core an action/adventure game. You take control of one of four Jedi characters; Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi or Yoda, and battle through waves of enemies as you make your way through the Play Sets several distinct locations.
With Disney Infinity 3.0’s updated combat engine, Twilight of the Republic feels like an honest-to-goodness action title. The way your characters can string combos together is a thing of absolute beauty and it makes facing hordes of Battle Droids no big deal. Juggling an enemy into the air, following up with a combo and then blasting them away with the force all before landing back on the ground and using a finisher on the rest of the droids around you just makes you feel powerful. This sense of power is something that I believe was missing from previous Disney Infinity games and it is a great feeling now that it is included.
While there is a certain focus on the ground-based combat and exploration, it isn’t the only focus of the Play Set. Since this is a Star Wars game, space-based combat is an important component and when you jump into your star ship and blast into space, you will encounter enemies in an almost Star Fox/Lylat Wars style space shooter. With the mixture of ground-based action/adventure gameplay and aerial battles as you travel from one location to another; I am reminded strongly of the Star Fox Adventures game for GameCube, which although it copped its fair share of flack, I personally liked and being able to revisit that style of gameplay but with Star Wars characters is incredibly awesome.
Taking a cue from Disney Infinity 2.0, the Play Set is also littered with Champion Coins (formerly known as Crossover Tokens). These collectibles, once found will allow their corresponding Star Wars character to be used in the Play Set. Unlike 2.0, there is only one token for each character and most of them are pretty easy to find along your journey.
Visuals & Audio
Right off the bat I will say that it is phenomenal to hear the cast of Clone Wars back together again. For many people, the Clone Wars animated series versions of the characters are the definitive versions, so seeing Avalanche put so much effort into keeping it as close in feel to the show is outstanding and should be applauded.
Overall
For those who feel that the Clone Wars was cut short before its time, you now have one final storyline to enjoy! Twilight of the Republic manages to capture everything about that show and brings it to life in Disney Infinity. When looking back at all of the Play Sets for the DI series (Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Pirates of the Caribbean, Avengers, Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy) I honestly think that the gameplay and story of Twilight of the Republic make it the best of the bunch.
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