If you’re already a Disney Infinity fan, this is pretty exciting. If you’re not, well, maybe this will sway you. Maybe not. The new Disney Infinity: Toy Box app (iPad) is available in the App Store and it’s free until October 15. I took some time to play with it and I’m impressed so far.
The Toy Box app allows you to design and play in Toy Boxes, just like you can on the console. For the uninitiated, Toy Box mode is a free-play space where you can build and design all sorts of play environments, including games. What makes this so amazing is that you can save your iPad Toy Box and play it on your console, and vice versa. And, when you unlock things on the console, they become available for your iPad creations. It starts with Mr. Incredible and additional characters can be unlocked through the codes in the physical toy packages, or via in-app purchase. Note that in-app purchases are only for iOS and do not transfer to the console or PC game (not yet available).
What’s to love:
- Use the iPad on-screen controls to build –you may find that these are more intuitive and have better fine control than the controller.
- Access all of the same content between the console and the app and then share Toy Boxes between the two.
- More Disney Infinity to go around – while one family member designs a Toy Box on the iPad, others can be creating other Toy Boxes or playing in Play Sets on the console.
- You can log out of one Disney account and log into another via the Options menu.
What’s less loveable:
- The app is over 1GB, so it’s pretty hefty.
- Switching between Disney accounts is a bit of a pain.
- Once you use the online code for a character, it’s done. Families will have to choose who gets which characters on their accounts. Characters can be unlocked via in-app purchase for $0.99.
What you should know:
- Those who don’t have the console version only have access to the 50 toys everyone starts with. You can’t use most of the interactive building blocks that make Toy Box mode so much fun. Disney does have a bunch of pre-built Toy Boxes you can download and play in, though. I highly recommend checking them out!
- Don’t forget to restart your iPad after installing the app, especially if you’re using iOS 7.
- Disney Infinity requires iOS 6 or later.
To connect your console Disney Infinity to your app:
- Register for a Disney.com account
- Register for an account with your console (i.e. PlayStation Network, XBox Live, etc.)
- Pair the Disney.com account with your console account (you can do that via Disney Infintiy)
- Log into your Disney account in the app.
Overall, the Disney Infinity: Toy Box app brings a lot of extra value for those of us who purchased the game. You can take your game on-the-go and build while you’re waiting in the doctor’s office or on rainy vacation days. It’s still a fun app (especially free) for those who don’t have the console game, but it will be missing a lot of the Wow factor.
Disclosure: We received a Disney Infinity Starter set for review purposes. There was no additional compensation and the opinions contained in this post are my own.
Related posts:
Disney Infinity 3.0 Calls Star Wars Out to Play
A Family-Friendly Review of Disney Infinity
What is Disney Infinity? An Interview with Producer John Day
Disney Originals and the Disney Infinity: Toy Box Starter Pack (2.0 Edition)
Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition) (review)
Merida and Maleficent to Join Marvel Heroes in Disney Infinity 2.0
We’re Going to Disney World for Disney Social Media Moms
Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012 Family Highlights