Friday 23 August 2013

A Parent's Guide to Disney Infinity - The Disney Infinity Website and Web Codes


Each Disney Infinity character comes with a unique online code you can register. The Disney Infinity website also offers ways to track your in game statistics. It only works if you've already linked your Disney Infinity account on you game console with your profile. After logging into your account at https://infinity.disney.com choose My Profile by clicking your username on the top left.

Game Stats
Here you can see a variety of stats about your Disney Infinity experience including challenges completed, enemies defeated, and stars collected. The more you play and add to your profile the higher the player level will grow.

My Characters
Clicking on the characters you have linked to your profile provides you with all kinds of stats about that character including level, Sparks, enemies defeated, and races won.

Registering Codes
All new characters and play sets come with a 12 character online code. Enter these into the box on the hompage (click Home). Registering these will allow you to play with these characters in the upcoming iPad and PC versions of Disney Infinity.

Community
Participate in different polls

Thursday 22 August 2013

A Parent's Guide to Disney Infinity - Toy Box Downloads


If you have and of the HD versions of Disney Infinity (Not Wii or 3DS) you can download extra pre-built Toy Boxes from the Internet. There are currently 5 additional Disney made packs to download. Just follow these steps:
  1. Connect your game console to the Internet and set up your Disney account. If you are already a member of another Disney service, such as Disney Movie Rewards, use that login.
  2. From the title screen choose "The Toy Box".
  3. Choose "Toy Box Share".
  4. Choose "Disney's Toy Boxes".
  5. Download each of the 5 levels. Once they're downloaded you can play them from this screen, which can also be accessed through the start menu at any time.
Each of the 5 levels offer different gameplay experiences. These were created in Toy Box, which means nothing you see here is something that you could do and all items will eventually be unlocked. The current Toy Boxes are:

WonderlandMaze
This Toy Box is more of a level. Go through the Wonderland themed obstacle course and hedge maze. This stage has a pretty satisfyingly ending too.

Floating Castle
Visit a floating castle in the sky and grind some rails or fly around in a helicopter to see the view.

Medieval Arena
Make your own fun in this pre-built arena. There isn't much to do here but it's a great showcase of the variety of Toy Box.

Tron Sugar Rush
In this small Toy Box explore the elements of Tron or Sugar Rush from Wreck it Ralph. You can also drive a light car (with no trails).

Disneyland
Explore a Toy Box version of e Disneyland park. All the major attractions are there!

Have fun exploring these extra Toy Boxes or use them as inspiration for your own levels! Hopefully Disney releases more soon.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Too bad Perry hasn't been released yet


A Parent's Guide to Disney Infinity - Should I Buy This Game For...?

The game is rated E 10+ by the ESRB for Cartoon Violence. If you are willing to let your child watch the movies the game is featuring then the game should be fine for you. If you're uncomfortable with violence of any kind, including cartoon, I would stay clear.

My Under 4 Year Old
Not unless you're OK with spending a lot of money to let your kid run around or you plan on playing the game yourself. You could play co-op together pretty easily, since only one player needs to complete each mission. It would also be good if your kid was really into the characters featured in Disney Infinity. Young children have a hard time mastering controls in a 3D environment and an even harder time with the camera. The challenges also get too tough for the very young.

My 4-8 Year Old
This is the perfect age for Disney Infinity. These kids will have a blast collecting all the figures and Power Discs. With a little patience they should be able to complete the game on their own and learn how to create simple things in Toy Box mode. They also can play with their friends. If your child is pre-reading they may need a little help.

My 9+ Year Old
This is a tricky age group. If your child hasn't decided Disney is uncool then go for it. This age group is the same crowd that took to Minecraft and should be able to create some pretty spectacular things in Toy Box mode. The single player campaign would still be a bit of a challenge but still pretty simple. They may just want their favorite characters or collect everything themselves to complete the game 100%. With all the extra content to find and online creation sharing there are hours of fun to be had.

Myself
Do you love Disney and video games? Then pick this one up. Great fun for adults to co-op together or play online. The story is not challenging but collecting all the Toy Box unlocks will keep you coming back. Toy Box mode offers so many possibilities and so much more nostalgia!

5 Tips for Buying Power Disc Packs

1. Know your product.
In series 1 there are 20 Power Discs to collect and 3 of those are rare. Make sure you know which discs you already have and what you're looking for. Consult this list to keep track. Once series 2 and 3 come out, make sure you watch which you're getting by reading the package carefully.
https://infinity.disney.com/en-ca/power-discs#set1

2. Establish a trade circle
You're going to get doubles. Make sure you (or your children) have people to trade with. Keep it small for simplicity but large enough to find what you're looking for. You may have to expand farther if everyone's looking for something specific.

3. Feel the packs for the shapes
You may not be able to tell what's inside by feeling, you can tell if they're round or hexagonal. This can at least narrow it down a tiny bit, although there's only 4 round ones.

4. Don't buy two from the same box at the store!
Unless you're sure they're different (one being two hexagonal, another having a round one) do not purchase two packs from the same box on the shelf. I purchased 3 packs and they were all the same. They're not guaranteed to be the same from the same box or different from a different one, but it does increase the chances.

5. Ebay
Looking for just one or two power discs? Can't trade with anyone? Check Ebay, but be warned. Limited edition Power Discs will make there way onto online auctions and not being able to get them will just lead to disappointment. Unless you don't mind spending $20 on a single disc it's better to stick to the main series. (This goes for variations in figures too!) There will be people selling entire sets for a premium online too, which would be good for those who have money but no time to bother with collecting and trading.

Accessory Review - Power Disc Capsule

The Power Disc Capsule for Disney Infinity is available for $9.99 at most Disney Infinity Retailers.

This little tube holds 22 Disney Infinity Power Discs. It also includes two rubber Power Disc wrappers, one round and one hexagonal, so you can use two Power Discs simultaneously with ease. It has a flat bottom so it sits nicely and is sturdy. The red part that holds the Power Discs slides out for easy access, and locks in place for easy transportation and storage. It also keep them safe from dust and debris and small children.

Pros:
  • Doesn't take up much space
  • Looks nice displayed next to figures
  • Keeps Power Discs safe and clean
  • Locks closed and opens easy
  • Sturdy
  • Comes with rubber Power Disc wraps to use two at once
Cons:
  • Only holds 22 Power Discs so you'll have to buy multiple capsules to accommodate series 2 and 3
  • Could crack/break if dropped on to a hard surface
  • Power discs are side on and it's hard to find what you're looking for
Best used for:
  • Nice looking storage of less used discs

Monday 19 August 2013

A Parent's Guide to Disney Infinity - How Does Disney Infinity Work?

To children it's magic but how does Disney Infinity actually work? Why does adding a new figure to the base unlock a whole character or world?

Disney Infinity figures are embedded with an RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) chip. The base is an RFID reader, which transmits data to and from the figures and into your game console. Not only can these chips store information about who the character is, they also store very small bits of data such as the character's level and owner. This is why you can bring them to a friend's and keep the same level.

This same RFID chip tells the game which character, Power Disc, or world is on the base. All of the Disney Infinity characters and playsets that will be released are already on the disc. This means that you are just paying to unlock this content. It also means you don't need to download anything additional when you purchase a new figure our playset - you can jump right into the action.