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The 'Skylanders Giants' |OT|

L

Lan_97

Member
Syriel said:
I suspect the reposes were there to placate parents.

As in, parents who have invested a shitload in SA (aka bought them all) only really need to buy 16 new figs to have a "complete" Giants collection. They can safely ignore all the Series 2 and LC reposes if they like.
Click to expand...

I think it's more of only having one year to iterate on the game.

It's also not all that easy/economical to only buy new figures either (in the sense of $/fig). S2 figures are included in every type of bundle (game or 3 pack). They have also bundled and released new figures that will later on have a lightcore version, so you can't even go in with the 'I will only buy the lightcore version' mentality. I really enjoy Skylanders, but what they are doing is pretty clear.
 
R

Randdalf

Member
One question I need to ask... is Skylanders actually a good game? If it didn't have the collectable figure metagame surrounding it, would you actually play it? It looks to me like a very average Activision game in the vein of their film tie ins over the years, but with high production values.

I can imagine if I was in junior school again, I would be all over this game like I was with Pokemon cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, Crazy Bones, etc. is there a showing off in the playground element to this game as well?
 
K

Katzii

Member
Sora_N said:
Yeah, thanks. I think someone at DarkSpyro might try to help me out.

EDIT: Sweet, got hooked up on my Crushers. :) My gf will be pleased!
Click to expand...

Oh sweet, you're over there, too?

Who, might I ask, is hooking you up? I might look into it myself.
 
S

Syriel

Member
Lan_97 said:
I think it's more of only having one year to iterate on the game.

It's also not all that easy/economical to only buy new figures either (in the sense of $/fig). S2 figures are included in every type of bundle (game or 3 pack). They have also bundled and released new figures that will later on have a lightcore version, so you can't even go in with the 'I will only buy the lightcore version' mentality. I really enjoy Skylanders, but what they are doing is pretty clear.
Click to expand...

True about the LC bit. I have standard Chill, but am tempted to snag a LC Chill when she comes out.

Randdalf said:
One question I need to ask... is Skylanders actually a good game? If it didn't have the collectable figure metagame surrounding it, would you actually play it? It looks to me like a very average Activision game in the vein of their film tie ins over the years, but with high production values.
Click to expand...

Yes. That's the key part of what makes Giants work.

As a long time gamer with a collection in the thousands, I can say Giants is genuinely fun to play. I describe is as a kind of "cute-ified" cross of Diablo and Gauntlet.

It's also easy to get into for casual gamers.

I don't have kids, but my casual gamer SO has taken to Giants. She enjoys wandering around, solving the puzzles and the like. She plays on easy, I play on hard, we both have fun.
 
S

Sora_N

Member
Katzii said:
Oh sweet, you're over there, too?

Who, might I ask, is hooking you up? I might look into it myself.
Click to expand...

I actually made a thread on the forums, so you can PM him (AchillesPDX)?

"Help out a Canadian - Granite Crusher"

darkjedi187 said:
the LC Jet Vac is out now I got one yesterday at TRU. Looks really nice.
Click to expand...

Nice, I hope LC Jet Vac is not hard to find when it's out here. I almost bought one on eBay but it's way too much and it's also not exclusive. I can wait.
 
L

Lan_97

Member
Randdalf said:
One question I need to ask... is Skylanders actually a good game? If it didn't have the collectable figure metagame surrounding it, would you actually play it? It looks to me like a very average Activision game in the vein of their film tie ins over the years, but with high production values.
Click to expand...

I thought last year's games were really fun. The console game was a great action adventure, and the handheld game was a fun platformer. Both were incredibly refreshing to play, and by the end (platinum trophy ps3, all crystals on 3ds) I was wishing there was even more content to dive into.

That said, I think the games fall short of their potential. So much more could be done with online co-op (campaign, horde) and competitive modes (deathmatch, ctf, moba). Giants takes a step in the right direction with the new difficulty modes, hopefully we see more in the future.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
This is the sort of collecting I would love to get into, and that's the reason I never will. I would be broke in a week.
 
R

rcl66

Member
When I go into the Collections tab on the menu none of my series 1 Skylanders are showing up as part of the collection after I use them in giants. Anyone else having this issue? They work in game but don't count toward the collection count or show up as owned. Watching Giantbomb first look hiss figures from the first game would show up in the collection screen after he put them on the portal.
 
M

Mikor

Member
Well, I've jumped into this, and my wallet hates me for it. Currently have:

Series 1:
  • Dark Spyro
  • Double Trouble
  • Stealth Elf
  • Drobot
  • Drill Sergeant
  • Hex
  • Terrafin (Pirate Adventure Pack)
  • Ignitor
  • Whirlwind
  • Slam Bam (Empire of Ice Adventure Pack)

Series 2:
  • Punch Pop Fizz
  • Tree Rex
  • Bouncer
  • Trigger Happy
  • Glow in the Dark Cynder
  • Fright Rider
  • Lightcore Prism Break
  • Crusher
  • Lightcore Eruptor
  • Swarm
  • Chill

This is pretty much what I've found in my local Target and Wal-Mart. No Toys 'R Us locations nearby where I'm at, so get to wait on Wave 2 stuff it seems. Ultimately looking to have a complete set of characters, pretty indifferent as to which Series I get them from though - Giants has been a huge step up in gameplay in both the handheld and console versions, and I'm finding it hard to go back to finish Spyro's Adventure as a result. It's unfortunate for newcomers like me that they've chosen one of each of the Series 1 characters to withold from re-release (particularly Wham-Shell, I hear he's difficult to find), but I'm sure we'll see a Series 3 version of them next year.

rcl66 said:
When I go into the Collections tab on the menu none of my series 1 Skylanders are showing up as part of the collection after I use them in giants. Anyone else having this issue? They work in game but don't count toward the collection count or show up as owned. Watching Giantbomb first look hiss figures from the first game would show up in the collection screen after he put them on the portal.
Click to expand...

Make sure you push select/back/- button and take Ownership of the toy in-game. At least, that's what I had to do for my Series 1 figs.
 
Z

Zing

Banned
EvilMario said:
This is the sort of collecting I would love to get into, and that's the reason I never will. I would be broke in a week.
Click to expand...
It's not that expensive unless you are extremely poor. Even at full retail price, you could have bought the entire set for Spyro's Adventure for less than $300.
 
R

rcl66

Member
Mikor said:
I get them from though - Giants has been a huge step up in gameplay in both the handheld and console versions, and I'm finding it hard to go back to finish Spyro's Adventure as a result. It's unfortunate for newcomers like me that they've chosen one of each of the Series 1 characters to withold from re-release (particularly Wham-Shell, I hear he's difficult to find), but I'm sure we'll see a Series 3 version of them next year.



Make sure you push select/back/- button and take Ownership of the toy in-game. At least, that's what I had to do for my Series 1 figs.
Click to expand...

Thanks - taking ownership did the trick and they show up (and I got an achievement to boot).

Have you played the 3dS version of giants? you mention the handheld versions being better. I am curious how the 3ds game is, been thinking of playing that one also.

Craig
 
C

Captain N

Junior Member
Zing said:
Nope. We only know up through wave 2, which made a surprise appearance a few weeks early. Hopefully, Hot Dog isn't this year's Wham Shell, and it shows up in stores sometime before May.
Click to expand...

They have hot dog in the banners of the stores. So I was thinking before Christmas. Fingers crossed.
 
Z

Zing

Banned
Randdalf said:
One question I need to ask... is Skylanders actually a good game? If it didn't have the collectable figure metagame surrounding it, would you actually play it? It looks to me like a very average Activision game in the vein of their film tie ins over the years, but with high production values.
Click to expand...
I feel it is one of the best co-op games ever made, even if it didn't have the physical aspect. This is not a "very average" game by any means. Maybe I am biased because I have seen how much my daughter enjoys it and how many great memories and quality times we have had with it.
 
E

emb

Member
Man, I went into Best Buy earlier and made the mistake of looking through all these figures. I'm so tempted to dive in, but I know I don't have the money right now to get into this. Eventually though...
 
C

CrashPrime

Member
So y'all know TRU has a B1G1 40% off on all Skylanders guys right? (including the new Giants)

Will save you TONS if you're buying up big collections and they have what you want in stock.
 
C

CrashPrime

Member
sandrockgundam04 said:
The TRU Exclusive Castle carrying case (which is really just a sturdy cardboard box with a shelf) is available on TRU's site...and it comes with a WhamShell packed inside.

$30 for a WhamShell with no scalpers involved, not bad, if you need him still here's a good opportunity:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16405566
Click to expand...

Also you get 40% off your 2nd skylanders item, so you could snatch up something like the legendary 3 pack exclusive for a lot less.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13084864
 
F

FACE

Banned
GameMaster78 said:
So, here we go. Round 2 of Skylanders collecting. I hope the hunt has been good for everyone.

What I did, is I decided to just throw in new pics with my old pics, that way everyone can get a glimpse of the collection as a whole, instead of focusing on one wall, despite having two walls for Skylanders.

With wave 2 out in the US and out of the way, it was the best time to go ahead and make a new update - a new beginning.

Here is a pic of my entire "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure" wall -

Main Skylanders display -
*pics*
Click to expand...

icyeVZlEuV74q.gif


GameMaster78 said:
Thanks to everyone who posted about my collection.

To those who are now getting curious about the game, due to seeing these pics, let me explain why this game has me by the horns.

I appreciate gaming, I really do. While I am a screenwriter, I am also a gamer. In gaming, there are certain games that come along that will be remembered forever. I see Skylanders being one of those games.

In a day and age, where 95% of games out there are walk and shoot, drive and crash, and everything has to look realistic and gritty, you will get games that are truly worth owning. Now, I do own some of those gritty and lifelike games, but I grew up in the arcades, as well as Nintendo. Back in the simple days, games were more about fun than graphics and hour long cutscenes rendered in 1080p, thus it makes that game nothing more than a hallway for a world (ie Final Fantasy XIII).

This game reminds me of arcade games, but with a little more depth. This game reminds me of games I would play on the NES, SNES, PS1, Dreamcast, or the Wii. In other words, those systems allowed for some truly fun games to come out, in a time when gameplay ruled all. This is why I don't mention PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, and even the Gamecube.

See, sometimes it's good to diversify a collection, by just having simple games in it. This is a game that you can pick up and play, but be done just as quick.

To put it bluntly, when I first played this game, it reminded me of Gauntlet Legends on crack. Instead of running around with 4 characters, you can now have up 48 UNIQUE (not counting recolors, series 2, or lightcore) characters, that all play differently.

Other games I would call this or compare it to, is Diablo, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Champions of Norrath.

I could go on and on - and I have which has resulted in the sale of many copies of this game to locals in my area when they came across me at Toys R Us - but I'm sure there is a limit to words I can put in one post. I have truly thought about asking Activision to hire me to help promote and sell this game to others, because I have convinced so many people this game is awesome. After running into said people again - which were now looking for characters - they said they didn't regret it a bit.

It's just one of those games this generation of gaming needs, to diversify gaming as a whole, which are usually infected with gritty - focus more on graphics - dull and lack imagination.

I would compare this game to Gauntlet: Legends/Dark Legacy before all else, but it has a lot more to do. The figure collecting aspect just makes this even better, because you can take them to any friend's house that has Skylanders and use your figure there. Plus, it beats what could have happened, which could have been each figure being a digital DLC for 5-8 bucks each. I hate digital DLC, because I never feel like the stuff I download is mine. These figures I buy, I will have until they are lost in a fire, I die, a tornado sweeps them away, or lightning strikes my house.

The only bad thing about owning these, is one day I will die, and I won't be able to experience this cool game again - or life itself.
Click to expand...

i6ebggCJk5UOK.gif
 
M

Mikor

Member
FACE said:
icyeVZlEuV74q.gif




i6ebggCJk5UOK.gif
Click to expand...

Great post, way to shit all over the guy.

As for how the handheld games are, they play similarly to the first Crash Bandicoot games. Lots of platforming, branching level paths, etc. The first game had an annoying time limit system in place that activated once you'd complete one of the objectives in a stage. The bundled portal is a good bit smaller though, making it hard to use on the consoles for two-player mode.

I'd say from best to worst,

Giants Console > Giants Handheld > Spyro Handheld > Spyro Console
 
Z

Zing

Banned
I'm not going to quote that gif, but I sincerely believe that someone with that reaction to GM78's post has serious emotional issues. That, or they haven't yet hit puberty.
 
T

ThingontheFloor

Member
The Toys R Us sale is nice, but it ended up just making me buy every character available now, otherwise I probably would have waited and spread my purchases out over a few months rather than buy 30+ in a span of 2 days. Oh well, I can't buy anymore so the Giant inside me has been calmed.
 
S

ShironRedshift

Member
Okay, I want to make sure I don't mess up and get the wrong pack, so I'm just looking for some clarification here: I got the 3DS version of the game last year, but I'm thinking about picking up the Wii U version of this one. If I do so, would I be able to use that portal with this just fine or would I need to get the Wii U starter pack? The first post says the portals are all wired/USB now and the 3DS version of Spyro's adventure came with a USB cable, so I figure it might be fine, but I want to make sure I don't end up screwing myself if I get the Portal Owners pack.
 
F

fernoca

Member
Stealing Taking this form the other thread...

New Wii bundle in the US, starting November 4; for $149.99

iq1wd3aLfAhcK.png
Click to expand...
-Blue Wii/Remote/Nunhuck
-Game
-Cards/poster/stickers
-Portal/batteries
-Cynder/Jet-Vac/Exclusive-blue Tree Rex


ShironRedshift said:
Okay, I want to make sure I don't mess up and get the wrong pack, so I'm just looking for some clarification here: I got the 3DS version of the game last year, but I'm thinking about picking up the Wii U version of this one. If I do so, would I be able to use that portal with this just fine or would I need to get the Wii U starter pack? The first post says the portals are all wired/USB now and the 3DS version of Spyro's adventure came with a USB cable, so I figure it might be fine, but I want to make sure I don't end up screwing myself if I get the Portal Owners pack.
Click to expand...
At the moment there's no way of knowing as the Wii U is not out yet. 3DS portal worked on last year's game across other versions, haven't seen/read if it still does in this year's.

So even if it works across PS3/360/Wii, doesn't mean it will work on Wii U. We'll see.
 
L

Lan_97

Member
This game really needs an option to disable intro animations. It's annoying to watch the animations over and over while switching out skylanders and items. It's more pronounced in this game since I feel the need to swap in a giant every time I see a rock to flip over.

EDIT: I was kind of disappointed to see that the portal wasn't a wireless/wired combo. I'll just stick to my wireless portal from the first game.
 
M

Mikor

Member
fernoca said:
3DS portal worked on last year's game across other versions, haven't seen/read if it still does in this year's.
Click to expand...

I can confirm the 3ds portal from Giants works on the Wii version of Giants via usb. Still only lights up blue, though...
 
S

Sora_N

Member
fernoca said:
Stealing Taking this form the other thread...

New Wii bundle in the US, starting November 4; for $149.99


-Blue Wii/Remote/Nunhuck
-Game
-Cards/poster/stickers
-Portal/batteries
-Cynder/Jet-Vac/Exclusive-blue Tree Rex



At the moment there's no way of knowing as the Wii U is not out yet. 3DS portal worked on last year's game across other versions, haven't seen/read if it still does in this year's.

So even if it works across PS3/360/Wii, doesn't mean it will work on Wii U. We'll see.
Click to expand...

That's tempting...for the Tree Rex.
 
T

TheChits

Member
So is this anything at like previous Spyro games, or is it more its own thing? I've heard a lot about skylanders, but I really don't know anything about it
 
T

truth-lasers

Member
So is anyone actually playing it? :)

My son hasn't gone back to it after we completed it on sunday and I feel pretty much the same way.

Happy news for my wallet, if nothing else.
 
C

CrashPrime

Member
fernoca said:
Stealing Taking this form the other thread...

New Wii bundle in the US, starting November 4; for $149.99


-Blue Wii/Remote/Nunhuck
-Game
-Cards/poster/stickers
-Portal/batteries
-Cynder/Jet-Vac/Exclusive-blue Tree Rex



At the moment there's no way of knowing as the Wii U is not out yet. 3DS portal worked on last year's game across other versions, haven't seen/read if it still does in this year's.

So even if it works across PS3/360/Wii, doesn't mean it will work on Wii U. We'll see.
Click to expand...

So, $149.99...

Skylanders Giants = $74.99

That basically makes the Wii (in exclusive color) $75. Price drop immanent for the Wii upon Wii U's release? That's a damn fine deal right there.

Not to mention the exclusive blue Tree Rex will eBay for $50 bare minimum if it really is the only way to get it.

Wiimotes /w built-in Plus retail for $40, nunchucks for $20. That's $60 of the $75 for the Wii right there.

This just doesn't even seem to make sense at this price. Too cheap.

THACHITS said:
So is this anything at like previous Spyro games, or is it more its own thing? I've heard a lot about skylanders, but I really don't know anything about it
Click to expand...

Hide your wallet.
Seriously.

Think Gauntlet with bright colored art style, and moderate to low difficulty. The kicker? Each character you want to play requires a $10 action figure. Some figures are rare. Remember beanie babies?
 
G

GameMaster78

Neo Member
Rafa=FedKilla said:
You sold me on this game GameMaster.
Click to expand...

Good man/woman. You won't regret it. The first game is good as well. It's more simple than playing Giants on Heavy Hitter (ie hard mode), but it's still worth having because the 26 chapters of that game are different than the 16 chapters in this one.

This game improves on everything the first did, including tailoring to us adults (I'm actually dying in this game), but don't let that stop you from experiencing the first game, so you can see the story and catch up on the lore they've created for Skylands.
 
R

Rootbeer

Banned
Is there a way to buy only the game disc if you already have a portal + plenty of giants and other figures? >.< i'm assuming no... bleh

I want the Wii U version but I hate having to buy doubles of that tree giant.

and since every version of the game comes with him he is pretty much useless for selling/trading
 
Berek Halfhand

Berek Halfhand

Member
Damn guys. You made me spend $60 more on Skylanders this morning at TRU. That 40% sale is getting the best of me.

I can also confirm that lightcore Drobot is at TRU as well. Bought one.


Still want Thumpback.
 
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