Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds: Local Multiplayer Only & Thoughts

     For as excited as I was for more Disney Infinity 3.0 stuff, this week has been an enormous letdown for news concerning the upcoming Marvel Battlegrounds playset.  First it was announced that the set would only come with a singular figure, Captain America (The First Avenger), and we know there are only currently 3 other figures slated (Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Vision- with no female figures at all) with mere rumor that more are on the way, and now we get the news that the set will be LOCAL MULTIPLAYER ONLY.

     The official site lists:

"Battle up to 3 opponents in the arena with 4-person local multiplayer"

   Honestly, if Marvel Battlegrounds is supposed to be a "game changer" for the Infinity brand, they really need to up their game- opening up online multiplayer is an absolute must.  To me this feels like they are currently selling us merely the face of a game.  Essentially we are getting a fancy box and no real content or true expansion to the brand.  Infinity is on the 3rd generation and there still isn't multiplayer offerings.  The story modes are meager at best in the playsets, the minigames are mundane, and they really aren't giving players anything new.  Battlegrounds may provide us with a fighting arena, but how many players don't have the option of playing in groups locally?

     Supporters have asked consistently for online play, and we got a broken, or at least rarely functioning, online play with "Flynn's Arcade"- leaving the bitter taste of horrible disappointment in our mouths.  What makes this even more questionable is the lack of a confirmation that their will even be AI opponents to play against.  It's generally assumed that will be the case, but it isn't stated anywhere.  Sadly, this might be the first time I am disgusted with how lacking a new playset appears to be.  Barely any new characters, no online support, and it was mentioned previously there will be no story mode.
     Disney is one of the biggest companies in the world, there is no reason they can't compete with other game companies in the video game arena.  This should be an area where they make the Lego Dimensions and Skylanders toys-to-life games look infantile.  They have the reasources to make something staggeringly big- I'm thinking toys-to-life in an Elder Scrolls sized game world.  instead we've been getting sparse gameplay and some mediocre extras.  Stuff I'd expect for mobile games, but nothing really console sized.
     Disney Infinity, coming from an avid supporter, the game needs a huge overhaul and it needs one quick.  This is a case where just the addition of online multiplayer would do wonders.  I recall Disney being all about imagination, so show us that creativity is truly valued, and give us a game worthy of our investment.

     Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds will be available March 15th.

     Source [ Infinity Inquirer ]