Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure review: Gotta buy 'em all

Mike Smith — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST

There's some primal need buried deep within the human psyche that's fulfilled by performing repetitive, simple acts and watching numbers rise slowly and compellingly as a consequence. Ask anyone who ever got hooked on a Blizzard game; it's powerful stuff. Now imagine combining that need with another that's just as enslaving ... say, collectible action figures. Like Pokémon, but with a $7.99 price tag on each 'mon. It's the kind of concept that makes rooms full of suited executives twirl their mustaches approvingly.

It's exactly what Activision -- together with veteran Star Control developers Toys for Bob -- have done with Skylanders. As much ecosystem as game, the full Skylanders launch range comprises 32 three-inch plastic action figures (most sold separately), a disc-shaped "Portal of Power" peripheral, an assortment of add-on toys that work like DLC, and enough flashy packaging to give your garbage collector a bad back. Oh, and there's a kid-friendly button-mashing videogame buried under all that, too.

Gallery: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Xbox 360 - 8/23/11)

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Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure review: Gotta buy 'em all originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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