Disney Infinity 3.0 came out at the end of August and one of my first impressions was how they had greatly improved the way vehicles handled compared to the first two games. If you had told me after 1.0 that Disney Interactive was planning to release a racing game set within Disney Infinity, I would have advised friends to sell their stock in the company. But now that vehicles handle reasonably well, it makes complete sense.
Toy Box Speedway is the second Toy Box Expansion Game for Disney Infinity 3.0, following the successful launch of Toy Box Takeover. This one is less expansive in scope with no real story to speak of. After putting the disc on your base, there is a training course that contains two race cars, one blue and the other green. Characters can hop in these cars to play the games, or you can use power disc vehicles if you prefer. And unlike Toy Box Takeover, your Cars characters from 1.0 are welcome to join in the fun here.
Disney has created 9 themed race tracks which are available in multiple ways. The entire game feels modeled after Nintendo’s Mario Kart series, and the play options are similar. First there’s standard racing where you can compete against friends or computer players on individual tracks. Then there’s three Grand Prix courses, each collects 3 of the 9 tracks and you play them successively to win the cup. And in all of these options, you can select 50, 100 or 150cc which makes your vehicles progressively faster and therefore the races become more challenging.
To make the game more like Mario Kart, the second play option is called “Battle Race.” What this means is that during the same races from before, you can now drive into boxes placed on the track to receive weapon items. Items include bombs you can throw, electricity that can shock drivers you bump into, an oil slick, and a gun to shoot other cars. The final option allows you to race against the clock to beat the best times, also available in 50, 100 or 150cc. A transparent racer makes it easy to determine if you’re winning or losing.
The 9 tracks are themed to Aladdin, Frozen, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Monster’s Inc., and Gravity Falls. Within each track are three star coins that you have to collect in order to unlock pieces for your Toy Box. Some of them are easy, others are extremely well hidden. You will need to race through each track several times in order to find them all and be on the lookout for secret paths as each track has a few and this is typically the best place to find star coins.
Part of the appeal of Toy Box Speedway is unlocking some of the final Disney items in the Toy Box. Elsa’s Ice Palace was a much-hyped toy that sadly wasn’t available with the game at launch. The only way to get it is through this game and in order to unlock it, you need to get the first place trophy in all three Grand Prix races. Another highly appealing item is Jack’s rolling hill from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I greatly enjoyed Toy Box Speedway and hope that Disney continues to make racing games for future Disney Infinity games. It’s a lot of fun and offers some replay-ability to get all the items. The tracks were well done and my personal favorite was Sugar Rush from Wreck-It-Ralph.
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