Product Description:
As a teaser for some more detailed Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure news that we will be bringing you next week during E3, Activision has released some character vignettes, which tell us a little more about the characters that are set to feature in the game’s starter pack. Skylanders Spyro’s adventure involves real life toys, which players will have to place on the Portal of Power to bring them into the game. The three toy characters that come in the starter pack are: Spyro, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy. We have some information and some short clips where players can see all three characters in action.
Product Details:
- The figurines of your collection synch with the game via the peripheral to battle KAOS and his minions
- Starter pack includes: a game copy, 3 Skylanders(Starter Pack includes Spyro, Trigger Happy, and Gill Grunt ), 'Portal of Power' peripheral, character poster, trading cards, sticker sheet, web codes and batteries
- Multiplayer support as you battle with your friend as a team or pick a Battle Arena and go head-to-head
- Different challenges and mini-games hidden throughout Skylands
- Expand the game with optional Adventure Packs (sold separately), each including an exclusive Skylander, 1 location piece and 2 magic items
Customer Reviews:
A Mom's Review of Skylanders By Denise Patterson
I'm sure I'm not the only mom who looked at this and thought, hmmm, collectible video game, my kids are SOOOO gonna beg for this! Especially since my son already loves Spyro! But, I wasn't sure whether this would be appropriate, especially for my son, who is not quite six and therefore a little bit below the target audience. Well, since I got a chance to get it through the Vine program, I thought I'd try it and see.
Now obviously I have not played through the entire game. I'm a MOM, I don't have the spare time to play these things all the way through! But I have played it for about an hour at this point, so for you moms out there who are trying to decide whether you should hit the 'Add to Cart' button, this is what I found out.
THE BASICS
The video game comes with little toy accessories. To play the game, you put one of the little figures on a little 'portal' that comes with the game. Make sure you put the portal where it won't get knocked over mid-game, as this will disconnect the character! Fortunately it is wireless, so it's not hard to find a safe place to put it. But, do keep it accessible, because you have to put figures on the portal as you play. The figure you put on the portal controls which character you play in the game, and different characters have different powers, and are able to use different items and get to different areas in the game. You can also change figures mid-game if you decide you want a different power for a certain area - the game is actually designed for you to do this quite a lot. Also, a second child can join in by putting a second figure on the portal for co-op play.
As for gameplay, it's pretty basic. The bad guy, Kaos, is trying to destroy everything, and you are a Portal Master who controls the Skylanders (the figures) who are going to fight Kaos. There are lots of mildly threatening monsters to fight, lots of simple but interesting puzzles to solve, and lots and LOTS of things to collect - money, hats, places, and even something called Legendary Treasures that I can't tell you about because I haven't found any yet! If your kids have played other Spyro games, this is like that, but with more puzzles.
COLLECTIBLE
Yes, it's collectible. This has good points and bad points, and it really depends on your kids. If you have the kind of kid who just HAS to have ALL the figures, but more for the collecting than for the play, this game will make you nuts. Because not only are there 30+ figures for the game, but there are actually LOTS of points in the game where the game flat out TELLS you that certain things can only be done with certain characters, and THEN it offers to show you a preview of that character! Yeah, they know how to make the kids drool all right!
But there's a good side to this too. The game IS winnable with just the starter pack, you don't HAVE to buy anything else. (Well, supposedly, like I said, I have not finished the game yet. But, if you have the kind of kid who will actually play it through more than once, the extra figures (which are $8 each, or a 3 pack for $20) will add a LOT of replayability - basically, for $8 you can play the whole game over again, with different abilities and areas that open up. Let's face it - kids have a lot of collectible stuff marketed to them these days. I'd rather spend $8 for something the kids can actually PLAY with than $5 for a pack of collectible game cards, most of which they already have. It's a better value for the money. And, with the in-game advertising, it's a good opportunity for you to encourage the kids to think about exactly which character they want next and why, because they'll already have a pretty good idea what that character will bring to the game.
PROS
- It's CUTE. It's really well done - the art is gorgeous, the music is pleasant, the characters distinct, the story engaging. From the appearance of the figures, I had been expecting something a little less cuddly (they DO look pretty fierce as figures!), and a little more violent. I'm pleased to be able to report to the moms out there that this is a pretty adorable game!
- It's 'little kid' friendly. All the story dialogue in the game is both spoken aloud and written on the screen, great for beginning readers. A lot, but not all, of the in-game directions are also spoken aloud. You DO have to fight a lot of monsters, but there is no blood or anything gross, they just disappear. None of the main puzzles that I've encountered (in the admittedly short time I've played it) are so complicated that a kid couldn't figure them out eventually.
- it's 'big kid' friendly. While a smaller child could play this and do just fine, bigger kids will get more out of it. There are a lot of side areas, collections to complete, quests to follow that are not necessarily needed to win the game, but will add complexity and interest for the bigger kids. My 11 year old daughter previewed the game with me, and after I had played for about 15 minutes, she was BEGGING for a turn!
CONS
- The figures looks kinda mean, and the characters sometimes talk a little snarky. It's not extreme - this is actually how the Spyro games have been for awhile, so if your kids already play those, or watch Nickelodeon, this will be fine. But if you have a younger or more innocent child, you should preview first.
- The collectible aspect of it may make some kids get AWFULLY whiny. And that could get expensive. I'd really think hard about this if you have a kid who has a hard time making good decisions about advertising - remember, they are basically advertising the expansions within the game, it's not avoidable.
In short, this is a cute game, very appropriate for about the 5-12 age range. My son will be happy to find it under the tree!Great fun for the kids By D. Bowman
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R6X8YKTT7J1V0 Please note, I showed the Xbox USB connector.
The Wii is wireless.Fantastic Game ... BUT ... By Steffan Piper
Clearly, this game is the Dungeons & Dragons of this generation, with game play centering on buying little figurines, just like D&D and also buying upgrade missions (obviously many more to come in the months ahead), just like D&D. A lot of people reading this may not understand this point, but those old enough that played Dungeons & Dragons know full well the truth of it. This was a brilliant and long-awaited brain storm by Activision.
First, this is a game for kids to play as young as 4 and as old as 80. Yet another strong marketing move by Activision to create such an incredibly imaginative game for the 4-15 age range. Also this game isn't ridiculously hard at any time and it never gets violent or bloody.
Characters:
Part of the fun, and downfall, is collecting the little characters which there are currently 32 of. Lots of retailers, including Amazon sell them, but as of right now -- everyone is sold out - everywhere.
Everyone is clamoring for these things and people are sadly taking advantage of that and reselling them for almost a hundred bucks on Ebay. It makes no sense that they have lots of the same characters that are available in the combination packages, which are the only ones left. I think you can still buy Trigger Happy and Boomer just about everywhere.
Finding Air Characters - as well as the Legendary Versions? Good luck, we've searched all over Southern California and have come up empty. Activision should've really bulked up before the season. Perhaps they were wondering if this game was going to be a success or fall flat. I think they have an answer.
Glitches & Bugs:
The biggest problem with the game itself, and the reason why I only give the game three stars, is primarily for the reason that there are LOTS and LOTS of glitches and bugs in this game. It's almost as if someone at Activision said:
"Hey, Christmas is coming quick and the testing isn't quite finished and all the bugs aren't worked out yet, but let's go ahead and go to market with it so we don't miss the big retail season."
That scenario seems completely plausible after you play this game for only a few levels. The biggest glitch is the problem that occurs at Level 20, where the 'Weapons Master' is asleep, and shouldn't be and cannot be re-awoken to complete the final stage of the game and beat Kaos.
Just a quick Google of the term 'Weapons Master Asleep' brings up everything and no fixes. Sadly, there is no fix. You can play this game for days only to get to the end and not be able to finish it, which is a big stickler for serious gamers. Nothing like dangling a carrot.
I emailed Activision and they gave their canned response that they've given everyone and the suggestions just don't work at all and you're forced to restart a new game on 'File 2' and start all over. Sad but true.
I've also encountered a lot of bugs and areas where you just can't get out of in the Dark Light Crypt Mission.
Positive thoughts:
I honestly love this game and I play this with my four year old son every weekend and it's all he talks about. You build up each character, making them stronger and collecting stuff which you can then take to a friends house and play and they have the same strengths, which are completely portable.
None of the figures are really scary, none are sexualized and all of them say silly little things that makes kids laugh.
Extras & Missions:
There are currently two upgrade mission packs for sale, each one comes with a character and a magical item or two. We *always* play with the Hidden Treasure item on the platform in order to find the hidden chest on every level.
A healing Vase comes with the other upgrade pack which is also good for restoring your character during battles.
The hourglass slows down enemies so you can wipe them out if you're outnumbered.
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