Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a suprise hit. For collectors, casual gaming, and simple fun. Are you a Portal Master?
Skylanders in all it's formats has an interesting appeal. You are the Skyland's Portal Master. Summoning Skylanders to rid the skylands of the foulest of foul. Cool right?!
Collecting the various toys is addictive, even as difficult as it can be to stomach the cost of each new character or adventure pack, or the wait for each new wave of toys to be released, fighting off price gouging, etc. But that is the joy of collecting tangible items, and the fun especially shines for Skylanders when you share the experience with friends. The online point and click universe has potential too, however limited it is at this point.
The console (and 3DS) games are well designed. Why there is no online mutiplayer in these versions is beyond me. Maybe online MP will be the potential option to make the Skylanders sequel really pop.
While I have been playing the PS3 version regularly, I find the 3DS version to be that simple fix when there isn't time to spend on the console. There are big gameplay differences between the two versions.
The Console skylands are more fleshed out and characters do not have the ability to jump in the console versions like they are able to do in the 3DS. This inability to jump does not hurt gameplay at all. Unless you're used to playing the 3DS and shift over to the console, then you'll miss the jumping, but not feel lost or confused or upset without it.
Gameplay is simple and casual. So if you're looking for Ninja Gaiden difficulty then play Ninja Gaiden. Skylanders is a comfortable journey. While the game does challenge you in many ways, those challenges are cleverly done through the variations in each characters unique abilities. Having trouble with a certain area, switch to a different character.
There are two notable differences of character progression between 3DS and console is #1. Console's Real time versus 3DS' post game calculation of experience points. #2 Console's Jump in & jump out character usage versus 3DS's only take two at a time.
Be aware that you can use any Skylander toy with any format of the game (even the point and click version online).
Music in Skylanders is brilliant. Awesome jobs there. Really ties the whole world together and makes exploring the level amazing fun, even after the tenth time just for character leveling purposes.
The Skylanders toys are awesome to collect, to look at, and share with friends. The progress each toy makes in the games stays with the toy's internal memory unit. Take the toys from Console to 3DS to Online point and click and their experience comes too. Great job by Toys for Bob. Really nailed the look and quality of these characters. Looking forward to what these guys do next.
I have been having a blast with collecting and leveling my Skylanders between each format. I have fun visiting the online universe of point and click Skylanders, and I there is easily a hundred hours of gameplay available if you pick up all the characters play each level with each Skylander to unlock all the secrets and then should you decide to max out all their attributes. There is so much to do. The fun is what you the portal master make of it.
Please make a PS Vita version.