Psykoboy2
06-13-2011, 07:18 AM
There are hidden gems at every E3. Something you never really expected to catch your attention or something you’d completely passed over, only to find out that it’s actually very good.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/5817418450_472bc3bf26_z.jpg
The gem this year for me was Skylanders from Activision. I know, I know…just be patient and stick with me for a minute. Skylanders takes place in the Spyro The Dragon universe. I don’t know the story of the game, and that’s mainly because I was too distracted in what it was doing and what it could do.
You see…this game is played unlike any other game I can think of. You have a portal base. I don’t think that’s the technical term, but whatever. You have this portal base and you have what are called Champions. They are the characters you control in the game. Except, they aren’t in the game. They are these little figurines. You place the figurine on the portal base and he’s then created in the game. From there, you can play as that champion and level him up and outfit him with new gear and all sorts of stuff. But maybe you’re bored playing as that champion, just take him off the portal base right in the middle of play and put a new character on it. Moments later, there’s your character, right there in the game.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3662/5816853841_0c753c39ce_z.jpg
It doesn’t stop there. That one character you leveled up and customized? Yeah, you can then take him over to a friends place and if he has the full game with the portal base, you just put him on it and there he is in the game. Just as you left him. Same level experience (not the same stage you left him on, mind you), same customizations. Not only that, it doesn’t matter what version of the game your friend has. The character figurines are universal. They can be played on any platform the game releases on.
You don’t even need the full game. You can by these figurines separately ($7.99 each) and just take them over to a friends place and play using their full version. Everything you do with that character is saved to the figurine. No memory cards. No save menus. It’s just there.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/5817419940_b2e205d8c6_z.jpg
But wait, there’s more! While playing the game should one of your champions die, you just pick up another champion and place them on the portal base and you’re off again. The character that died will not be able to be played again until the level is finished. Every champion you own represents how many lives you have in the game.
And you may end up owning quite a few. Activison plans to have over 30 champions available. The starter pack will contain the game, the portal base, 3 champions, 3 trading cards and a poster for $69.99. There will be 20 levels in the game total with a run through expected to take 10-12 hours, although given you have 30 champions to play with through the game, the number of hours played could grow much larger. You can also play the main campaign co-op. Just put two champions on the portal base and there you go – two-player co-op.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5159/5817419476_d42b7654a1_z.jpg
You can expect to see Skylanders on store shelves this holiday season for the Wii, 360, PS3, and PC – and any figurine can play on any of those platforms.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/5817418450_472bc3bf26_z.jpg
The gem this year for me was Skylanders from Activision. I know, I know…just be patient and stick with me for a minute. Skylanders takes place in the Spyro The Dragon universe. I don’t know the story of the game, and that’s mainly because I was too distracted in what it was doing and what it could do.
You see…this game is played unlike any other game I can think of. You have a portal base. I don’t think that’s the technical term, but whatever. You have this portal base and you have what are called Champions. They are the characters you control in the game. Except, they aren’t in the game. They are these little figurines. You place the figurine on the portal base and he’s then created in the game. From there, you can play as that champion and level him up and outfit him with new gear and all sorts of stuff. But maybe you’re bored playing as that champion, just take him off the portal base right in the middle of play and put a new character on it. Moments later, there’s your character, right there in the game.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3662/5816853841_0c753c39ce_z.jpg
It doesn’t stop there. That one character you leveled up and customized? Yeah, you can then take him over to a friends place and if he has the full game with the portal base, you just put him on it and there he is in the game. Just as you left him. Same level experience (not the same stage you left him on, mind you), same customizations. Not only that, it doesn’t matter what version of the game your friend has. The character figurines are universal. They can be played on any platform the game releases on.
You don’t even need the full game. You can by these figurines separately ($7.99 each) and just take them over to a friends place and play using their full version. Everything you do with that character is saved to the figurine. No memory cards. No save menus. It’s just there.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/5817419940_b2e205d8c6_z.jpg
But wait, there’s more! While playing the game should one of your champions die, you just pick up another champion and place them on the portal base and you’re off again. The character that died will not be able to be played again until the level is finished. Every champion you own represents how many lives you have in the game.
And you may end up owning quite a few. Activison plans to have over 30 champions available. The starter pack will contain the game, the portal base, 3 champions, 3 trading cards and a poster for $69.99. There will be 20 levels in the game total with a run through expected to take 10-12 hours, although given you have 30 champions to play with through the game, the number of hours played could grow much larger. You can also play the main campaign co-op. Just put two champions on the portal base and there you go – two-player co-op.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5159/5817419476_d42b7654a1_z.jpg
You can expect to see Skylanders on store shelves this holiday season for the Wii, 360, PS3, and PC – and any figurine can play on any of those platforms.