Skylanders: Giants Review, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure is one of the most audacious video game releases of this generation. It didn’t push any boundaries of content, style, or thematics–no, the path it blazed was of a very different sort. Activision and Toys for Bob took Spyro the Dragon, a beloved character dear to the heart of many a gamer, and used him to launch a merchandising franchise. What resulted was a truly cunning multi-media event which combined a fully-priced software release with a line of expensive action figures. The worst part? It was great.

Skylanders: Giants is a sequel to Spyro’s Adventure, but notably drops the dragon from its title. The Skylander name has outgrown its original branding and is now a legitimate force unto itself. The sequel starts where the first ended, as the evil Kaos (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz of Angry Beavers fame) makes another bid to conquer the eponymous floating islands. This time, however, he has an army of giant robots, which means Spyro and friends are going to need some help… some giant help.

The above video is a great demonstration of the series’ charm. The world of Skyland is colorful, humorous, and full of awesome monsters. It’s kid’s entertainment, sure, but it’s the kind of product that parents can enjoy with their children without it feeling like a chore. Almost everyone grows up with some “dumb” entertainment–I went through a pretty serious Power Rangers phase myself–and I can definitely see this franchise defining more than a few childhoods. Given the state of most video games aimed at this demographic, Skylanders is top tier.

For the uninitiated, here’s how the experience breaks down. A Skylanders: Giants “Starter Pack” comes with the game, a “Portal of Power,” and three action figures (including one Giant). Upon booting up the program you are asked to place one of the toys on the peripheral, which instantly digitizes the character into the game and allows you to play as the creature. With dozens of other Skylanders to collect, the core business model is clear: Buy more toys, get more playable characters.

Eye Brawl is my favorite.

Let’s talk about those lucrative little figures for a minute. When I first opened the box containing the toys a feeling of dread washed over me. I just knew I was going to break the poor fragile things with my big, dumb, nerd hands. To my surprise, not only did they survive, but they did so marvelously. I’m no expert on action figure design, but the Skylander toys are easily some of the most impressive things I’ve seen marketed to kids in some time. In addition to being quite durable, they are remarkably detailed and full of personality. Looking over the various Skylanders was like discovering Pokemon all over again.

Once you place the figure on the portal it’s game time. There’s almost no loading involved, as the character instantly springs to life onscreen with a catch phrase and a flourish. It’s actually quite funny to me that something called the Portal of Power has more reliable core functionality than the Kinect. That aside, the gameplay is pretty standard action-RPG fare. Isometric combat, some simple puzzles, and plenty of set-pieces across 15 missions leads to a satisfying combination of Gauntlet and Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO titles.

Look at them!

Beating up enemies earns each Skylander experience, just as breaking items nets it money. The upgrade system is simple, but separate for each character, giving you plenty of things to manage without feeling overwhelming. The game nails the sweet spot between accessibility and depth, making it fun for kids and tolerable for adults. Even better, the microchips inside each of the action figures remember the stats of their associated Skylander, so you can trade them with friends or just use them with another game. Back in my day, we needed two Game Boys and a Link Cable to have that much fun.

There are a few wrinkles in the formula that add a bit of complexity. First, certain areas can only be accessed by specific kinds of Skylanders, so you may have to pick up a few extra toys to see everything the game has to offer. No main campaign progression is locked though, and the Starter Pack contains a giant, so you’ll never miss out on any of these new sections. Additionally, certain terrain favors different elements, so switching your characters in and out will make for more efficient leveling, although the game is never too much of a challenge, even on the highest difficulty. Finally, there are “Heroic Challenges” associated with each figure, which any character can attempt once said Skylander has been scanned into the game. These challenges are some of the toughest parts of the whole experience, usually manifesting as timed search-and-destroy missions in labyrinthine areas.

How can you not love that face?

Unfortunately, the Heroic Challenges expose my one nagging issue with Giants: the fixed camera. Now, during the majority of the adventure there won’t be much of an problem. But once you’re thrust into a maze and given a limited amount of time to find and kill some baddies, you’ll quickly become frustrated by the restrictive angles. This means that you will have to use trial and error to memorize the layouts for some of the more complicated challenges if you want to beat them all.

With that said, almost everything else about Skylanders: Giants is lovable. Whether it’s Patrick Warburton delivering corny puns, playing some local multiplayer with a younger sibling, or just succumbing to the dark forces of commercialism and buying every single figure, the amount of content is staggering. You’ll have to pay for it–that’s a given–but there are worse vices for a kid to have, believe me. I just wish Skylanders had been around when I was a kid. I could have saved a fortune in Pokemon cards alone.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and completed in about 8 hours, although many more were spent in various other modes and challenges. This title was played on Xbox 360, but is also available for PS3, Wii, and 3DS.

Skylanders: Giants Review

By Austin Yorski

Austin is shocked by the quality of a toy-driven children's game.