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Warren Spector’s new game, the Nintento Wii-exclusive Epic Mickey, is out this week, and there is a predictably huge amount of buzz surrounding the release. And why not? By all appearances, Epic Mickey looks to be positioned to become the game by which the Wii platform will be defined in years to come.

Some of that buzz includes an interview on NPR, which I believe starts in about twenty minutes (from the time of this posting). There’s also a “virtual trading card” making the rounds featuring the former Ultima developer.

And not unsurprisingly, there are a bunch of Epic Mickey bundles and sales being offered by various retail chains.

The game seems to be getting decent (though not stellar) reviews; IGN praises its “Pixar-like adventure that not only amazes with spectacle and design but tugs at our hearts with its strong character development and remarkable love for Disney lore,” and sings the praises of the 2D cutscenes that serve to drive the plot along. At the same time, they lament the limitations (possibly due to the Wii platform itself) of the “paint and thinner” system and the lack of persistence in the world, and from a pair of major issues with the gameplay itself: “control and camera. It’s very likely you will die needlessly in this game because of these glitches,” they warn.

Anyhow, if you want to check out [amazonify]B002I0GEXM::text::::Epic Mickey[/amazonify], you can purchase it via Amazon (using the link just prior to this statement) and in so doing support Aiera a little bit (the [amazonify]B0040QAN0M::text::::Deluxe Edition[/amazonify] is also available). I’d recommend checking it out; I know that I intend to, even given my noted and perhaps even well-attested frustration with control difficulties. It’s Warren Spector doing Disney…I mean, c’mon!