* Different to version featured here

My Thoughts

feel really sorry for skylanders. It got (or is getting?) a lot of negative criticism off the fan base, because they shoved Spyro into a game that isn't Spyro. Although that may be partly true, let's put that aside shall we, and focus on the game itself. This game is excellent in the game itself, along with the new concepts behind it. So that's why I'm going to spilt my thoughts into two sections.

The Game You can certainly tell that Toys for Bob have spent about 2 years developing this game. The game has 21 chapters, which may not sound like much, but each chapter does take a while to complete, with some longer levels thrown in there. Although the official genre of this game is a platformer, its not necessarily true, as your character cannot jump. Yes, I said your character cannot jump. Woooo, calm down Sam, it's not as bad as you think!

Yes, your character cannot jump, but the game's designers have been able to harness this and create levels that they want to create, rather than what they can create because of the jumping. If you didn't get that, more to the point, after my playthrough of the game, I didn't miss jumping after the 2nd chapter, so no worries!

I would really really recommend playing this game on a HD TV. The designers have done a great job of getting the best out of the graphics department, with each of the environments of the game looking stunning. Rather your in the fields, underground, lava caves or any other of the environments, they sure look good!

Most of the game is solving puzzles (which do get a little tricky later on in the game) and combat. Using all of the skylanders, all with varying different abilities (even within the 8 elements), you will soon find your favourite skylander, and which skylanders work with different situations. The game comes with 3 figures to get you started, with Spyro, Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt.

At this point, you may be wondering: But I'm not buying all 32 Skylanders to complete the game! What a rip off! Well slow down sonny. This siltation is not as bad as everyone initially thought. You can complete the game without buying any other skylanders, just the three the game comes with. However, to fully complete the game, you need a skylander from all 8 of the elements, to unlock special element gates and areas. So that's 8 elements, minus 3 (because you get three with the starter pack) that's 5. 5 times £7 is £35. So roughly that's how much you need to spend to fully complete the game. (On top of the £50 for the starter pack)

And if the ending of the game is anything to go by, it looks they are planning a sequel. And it hints towards that you will be using the skylanders you have already bought. That's just a theory, but hopefully its true!

The Concept The actual game is only part of the game, the concept is also very interesting. Now if you are young, or young at heart, you will love this. This game is a whole world to explore, let me explain below.

Firstly, you have the toys. Well, it's more accurate to call them figures, as they don't come off the little bases. These figures act as characters. With the starter pack, you get a round base called the portal of power. During the game, you can place a character onto this portal, and the character will come to life. Best of all, you can switch characters at any time during the game, so you can always have the right skylander for the job. The best thing? When you unlock upgrades and level up your skylander, it is stored in the figure, not the game. So you can use the figure on a different version of the game you own, or round a friend's house, and the stats will remain in tact. Portability and convenience my friend!

The second way is the use of the skylanders website. On the official website, you will find a section named Skylanders: Spyro's Universe. Here, you can play mini-games and your skylander online by importing your skylanders using a code you get with the box. This adds another depth to the concept and the game, as once you have finished the main quest on the console, then you can hop online and play their too!

The third is the soundtrack. Now instead of getting a normal video game composer to compose and create your normal kind of video game music, Activision was smart enough to hire Hans Zimmer to compose the excellent theme, and Lorne Balfe to compose the soundtrack. The soundtrack has a movie style feel to it, and has a lot more depth and budget to it than normal video game soundtracks. And the clever bit you may ask? The soundtrack has been released officially in online music stores, so you can purchase the music if you wish.

The forth is the skylanders all come with a playing card, with top trump style stats. So if you have enough of the cards, you can event games to play using the cards.

So the concept is unique. No other game has this level of connectivity between figures, console and online. It is a truly unique concept which I hope does well.

Does it feature a truly big and excellent game? Check. Does it feature lots of playable characters? Check. Does it feature a high quality score? Check. Does it have a online world to increase the length of the game? Check. You see, it does everything well. And that means that Activision will get more money to add to their wallets to develop future skylanders games.

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