I never thought I would get sucked into the “Toys-to-Life” craze of games like “Skylanders” or “Disney Infinity” but when I heard the new “Disney Infinity 3.0” was going to introduce “Star Wars” it caught my attention and made me incredibly excited, and made my inner hoarder very scared.

“Disney Infinity” isn’t just a line of plastic figures you put on your shelf, it’s a cool interactive toy box that lets you combine all of the best Disney properties into one game. Last year’s “Disney’s 2.0” introduced “Marvel” heroes but the gameplay left much to be desired.

“Disney Infinity 3.0” has introduced “Star Wars” and the whole game has been rebuilt from the ground up and it’s actually quite good. The creator, Avalanche Software, did one of the smartest things a game developer could do. Avalanche enlisted the help of top game companies in each genre to build different elements of the game. The fighting was done by Ninja Theory studio, responsible for some of the most stylish action games like “Devil May Cry.”

Racing and vehicle sections were made by Sumo Digital who made “Sonic Racing” and United Front games who made “Sleeping Dogs” and “Mod Nation Racers.”

The graphics are bright and colorful and the character models are charming. They are definitely “Star Wars” characters but they have a fun cartoony Disney feel and look great. All of the figures I saw have the same aesthetic. They look really cool and it makes me want to buy all of them.

The basic play set is called “Twilight of the Republic” and is set in the clone wars time period. It comes with the Anakin and Asoka figures, the pad to import them into the game, and, of course, the game.

This playset has a ton of content and things to do. There are several story missions that are varied and have things like lightsaber fights, pod racing and much more. I got the special edition set that came with the “Rise Against the Empire” set which is based on the original trilogy and came with Luke and Leia figures.

I loved the added content that came with the set because of the Hoth battle and the ability to fly the Millennium Falcon. The fighting was one of my favorite parts of the game thanks to the Ninja Theory fighting system, you can swing your sword and use force attacks against a large variety of enemies. Fighting earns you new abilities, moves and combos expanding the different ways you can fight keeping it fresh. Each character has a special ability and you’ll want to try them all but sometimes that means buying the figure which can get expensive. The base game comes with a good amount of content and things to do. I don’t feel like they are just milking me for more money.

The best part of “Disney Infinity 3.0” is the return of the toy box mode. The toy box is where you can mash together all of the Disney characters in one large play area. You can have Marvel characters hanging out with Mickey and your Star Wars characters. The Toy Box is exactly how it sounds; you can use any of the characters in the game and do pre built challenges and missions or play around and craft items, build your own levels, game modes and make your own adventures.

There is an option to play other people’s created content so you could play around in the toy box forever.

Overall I love “Disney Infinity 3.0” and I never thought I would say that about a Disney game, the graphics are super charming and the gameplay is top notch. If you are looking for a family friendly series where adults and kids can have fun together “Disney Infinity 3.0 is one of the best “Star Wars” games released.

It’s great fun for fans of all ages even if it’s not too friendly on the wallet.

System: PS3, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Wii U

Rated: E10+ for Cartoon Violence

Developers: Avalanche Software, Ninja Theory, Sumo Digital, United Front Games

Robbie Vanderveken is the digital operations specialist at The Times Leader. E-mail him at rvanderveken@timesleader.com.

By Robbie Vanderveken

For Weekender

Disney Infinity 3.o brings ‘Star Wars’ characters into the fold.
https://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_di3.0-1.jpgDisney Infinity 3.o brings ‘Star Wars’ characters into the fold.

Disney Infinity 3.o brings ‘Star Wars’ characters into the fold.
https://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_di3.0-2.jpgDisney Infinity 3.o brings ‘Star Wars’ characters into the fold.