It plays like a platform adventure, offers same-screen co-op and player battle modes. Giants brings some new things to the party though. Firstly there are eight new Giant Skylander characters that are physically larger toys, light-up when on the Portal and offer new gameplay mechanics. There are eight new normal Skylanders that have a Wow-Pow and switchable upgrade paths. There are eight light-up Skylanders that glow like the Giants when on the portal and have a special Smart Bomb attack when brought into the game.
Finally, there are 24 returning characters from the first game that also have a Wow-Pow and switchable upgrade paths. Still with us? Lets' get into the review proper. As soon as you start the game up it is clear that there is an awful lot to do here.
The main gameplay revolves around a beat-'em-up, treasure collecting play mechanic that isn't a million miles away from the LEGO games. You charge around the different levels fighting enemies, finding money and solving push-block, trigger and mini-game puzzles.
The characters are hugely creative and each creates a very different experience in the game. This comes from the approach of Toys for Bob, the studio behind the game, which has developed a team of individuals and granted them permission to run wild with their imaginations. Front and center in this set-up is I-Wei Huang who is the driving force behind the physical figure design. His clay sculpting skills perfectly placed him to prototype and fastidiously refine each character.
Speaking to him it's clear that each has Skylander had care and attention lavished on it. View Iframe URL. That much you can tell from picking up and holding a Skylanders Giant figurine. Not only does each have a satisfying mass to it, but it's clear there are more materials and paint effects used here than in other toy lines of a similar price.
But of course there is more to the figures than real-world imaginative play. The real genius is the moment you place the figure on the portal peripheral that comes with the game. Watching my kids as they placed each of the three characters in the Starter Pack characters Treerex, series 2 Cynder and newcomer Jet-Vac on the portal I could see the connection between the toy and the videogame was a real success.
This is what kids love about the game — that the toy figure represents and remembers their time in the game, and can be carried around with them on weekends and school days. A big part of the success of the portal's "Magic Moment" — when the figures enter the game — is the sound work from Dan Neil.
Along with a full orchestral score from the Hans Zimmer stable, he has created treatments and voice work that really bring the game to life. In fact playing the game with a certain figure on the portal entirely changes not only how it sounds but the voice work and dialogue.
You see, each figure now has its own voice actor that grants each one more personality. Some players of Skylanders may complain that in the transition from the "Skylish" gobbledygook of the original to the full voices of Giants some of the actors have changed, but this seems to be a small price to pay for the level of audio characterization that is going on here. It wasn't sold in stores, and was only handed out to Activision employees and people associated with the product.
Next up The Value of Gold and Purple. It was released at the same time. Turns out people collect flocked things. The first was a green version for Spyro's Adventure. Stones and glow-in-the-dark variants. Springtime fun and all red. Join Sign In. Skylanders Giants looks set to follow up the success of the first game by extending the range of toy figures and introducing new gameplay elements.
Just back from visiting Toys for Bob, the developer behind Skylanders , and the complexity of the new game has my head spinning. Not that it has become more difficult to play, but its attempts to be both forward and backwardly compatible have created a web of information that would make a military institution proud.
While it is true that you can finish Skylanders Giants on just the starter pack, you can only access particular in-game characters and areas when you have purchased the related toy figures.
Paul Reiche, studio head at Toys for Bob, explained their thinking here. Then there were the low stock levels that caused prices to soar. This led to shortages of the toys at retail with parents camping out at stores when stock was due to arrive — which in turn led to hugely inflated prices on eBay and other second hand retail sites.
The controversy for Giants may be its reissuing of existing figures in new poses. We decided to make the Series 2 toys to be all about upgrades.
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