Activision has today revealed a follow-up to last year's surprisingly enjoyable Skylanders, continuing the idea of toys that can be scanned into an active videogame world. Skylanders Giants is an all-new game that will introduce a new batch of "giant" Skylanders that are more than twice the size of the original figures.
There will be eight new figures, and some will feature new "light technology" that will see them light up when placed near the "Portal of Power" peripheral. Eight new regular sized Skylanders will also be introduced, and Giants will be compatible with all the toys already released for last year's title.
In terms of the game itself, Giants promises wider worlds, with new challenges and battle modes. The titular giants will also have gameplay and abilities that reflect their large size.
I really liked Skylanders, so I'm eager to see how this one fares. Hopefully the gimmick hasn't worn thin already!
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Skylanders made Activision a fuckton of money so of naturally their going to make a sequel. They actually had to raise their quarterly estimates because it was so successful.
I'm waiting for them to apply this tech to a property I care about. Imagine it with Marvel Superheroes. I'd buy the shit out of that.
I would been on this shit like kittens when I was a kid. Activation are some manipulative fucks though, can you think of a more exploitative thing to do with video games, beyond something like farmville?
I'm surprised how well Skylanders did. Seems reasonable that Activision would make a sequel to it. Especially with how much the game costs you if you get everything to play it. Shit though, I'm shocked that something that used toys to play the game worked out. Most technology-based gimmicks like that don't soar (motion controls notwithstanding).
I'm all for a new game and new characters but the part where they want us to buy a new portal is where I get a little pissed. It's a pricey enough series without that or the recent price hike retailers are giving to existing figures.
As much as I want to hate on the wallet-raping... I love the concept and my grilfriend and I love to play together. I don't have to buy every figure, and neither do you. Buy what you want, you're supposed to be an 'intelligent consumer', if you don't want to shell out for cool little toys then don't buy the damn things... really, you buy one for the same price as a six-pack of beer... and the beer never survives a weekend. You should know what you're getting into here.
And Chop-Chop is awesome. I'm looking forward to new characters.
I looked at some other comments on this video on YouTube. Some of the people there are bitching that Activision is charging $10 for characters that should be be unlockable in the game for free. It's kinda ridiculous to me. I mean, lots of people (myself included) buy songs for Rock Band, yet I don't hear as many people complaining about that. >.>
Skylanders is cool, but I'm having a hard time not calling BS on the fact that this is coming out only about a year after the first. Not getting all doom and gloom about it, but if they're going to make people pay another hefty price for a game and some figures, I'm going to take a stab that people are going to start to get rubbed the wrong way.
If it was simply just more figures I don't think it'd be an issue, but a whole new, updated, game is pushing the COD line a little bit.
I don't remember being this stupid as a child. I played Pokemon. A game that on the surface seemed incredibly shallow, but was actually very deep. I played Crash Bandicoot, an interesting platformer that managed to strike a balance between classic 2D Mario and (at the time) modern 3D Mario in a way that was really engaging.
And I played Spyro the Fucking Dragon. A game with an interesting art style, dialogue that was ACTUALLY FUNNY, and a collection system that was just a tedious and addictive as any platform before it. What the fuck is shit this?
Sold me once it said that this would be compatible with the old toys.
What I've played of Skylanders so far is very solid and a fun little gimmick. Hopefully they've improved the gameplay some instead of just making bigger toys and giving us more of the same.
"Sold me once it said that this would be compatible with the old toys. "
this. the idea of big toys is kinda ehh to me, but backwards compatibility plus new regular Skylanders is awesome. if the game itself is as good as the last one, I'll get it.
I'm not surprised in the least. Have you tried buying these things since Christmas? Several times now I've witnessed disappointed kids bemoaning the empty shelves to desperate parents. The little beggars are money machines right now.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to gloat about my Legendary Chop Chop to some eight year olds.
I'm a dad who has kids into this... I'm quite happy that there will be more games. The price tag seems high, but the more games that you can use the characters in, the better the value. And FYI, when I do play with my kids, I play Trigger Happy... Love that lil' psycho.
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Contest:
10:15 AM on 02.07.2012 | 
I'm waiting for them to apply this tech to a property I care about. Imagine it with Marvel Superheroes. I'd buy the shit out of that.
And Chop-Chop is awesome. I'm looking forward to new characters.
If it was simply just more figures I don't think it'd be an issue, but a whole new, updated, game is pushing the COD line a little bit.
"Awesome! I still need to get skylanders, but it's always nice to see a new IP be successful."
Well.. Its a new concept, but not entirely a new IP when its piggybacking off of Spyro The Dragon
And I played Spyro the Fucking Dragon. A game with an interesting art style, dialogue that was ACTUALLY FUNNY, and a collection system that was just a tedious and addictive as any platform before it. What the fuck is shit this?
What I've played of Skylanders so far is very solid and a fun little gimmick. Hopefully they've improved the gameplay some instead of just making bigger toys and giving us more of the same.
this. the idea of big toys is kinda ehh to me, but backwards compatibility plus new regular Skylanders is awesome. if the game itself is as good as the last one, I'll get it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to gloat about my Legendary Chop Chop to some eight year olds.
Mine mine mine!