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After a long break from videogame consoles, Spyro the Dragon is back in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. The purple dragon's new outing is another cute platform game, but there's one major, potentially industry-changing feature: real-world toys that participate in the game.
Skylanders features a unique control system called the Portal of Power. Place the three toy figures that on the portal, and it will instantly zap that figure into the game as a playable character. Mashable had a chance to try out the new features and see just how well it worked.
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The Figures
Skylanders plays like a standard platform game: Beat up bad guys, solve puzzles, and so on. Players can switch between a cast of 32 different playable characters (the "Skylanders") each with their own attacks, abilities and elemental powers. Some characters are more effective in certain areas; others can access secret paths.
You switch between characters not by hitting a button, but by physically swapping out figurines on the Portal of Power. Each character has an RFID chip which automatically registers and loads up the character as well as track any equipment or levels they've earned.
There is, of course, a catch. Each game pack only comes with three characters -- the other 29 need to be purchased separately. Naturally, developer Activision has been accused of trying to milk its users for cash. Skylanders is launching along with the toy line at Toys 'R' Us. Individual characters sell for $7.99, while packs of three cost $19.99. You cannot reach certain areas in-game without characters that you might not own. In one instance we were barred from a section because we needed a "Life" element. We were then presented with the option to watch a commercial-type video featuring the character Stump Smash, sold separately.
While the figures come with a high price tag, they are nicely detailed. Players won't have to buy all 32 to complete the game. You only need one character from each element to unlock all sections.
Does It Actually Work?
The system works surprisingly well. Changing characters feels natural and there is almost no loading time. "Your toys feel alive," says Alec Sokolow who co-wrote the game along with Joel Cohen. "In our mythology they're not really toys, they're heroes from Skyland that have been exiled into our land." Both Sokolow and Cohen worked on Pixar's Toy Story; the idea that toys have an inner life has clearly carried over. The stories' whimsical tone and action figure tie-in clearly skews to a younger crowd.
So What's the Point?
Anyone who only plays Skylanders by themselves will miss the point of the game. In solo play, the figures are just a nifty way to switch characters and nothing more. The real magic is in Skylander's unexpected social elements. Any of the figurines can be used with any version of the game across any console. This means players using an Xbox 360 can bring their figures to a friend's place and instantly boot up -- even if they're using a PS3.
This encourages social gaming. Can't beat a level? Invite a friend to bring a powered-up Skylander and help you through a tight spot or simply battle them out in the arena mode. The game is strangely addictive and the mechanic rarely gets old thanks to how well it's implemented.
"Kids really do believe that their toys are magical and alive and I know that there has been talk over the decades to merge the toy world and the video game worlds" Sokolow says. "It?s this marvelous concept that people have been trying to figure out: How do you get something in our world to play out on the screen?"
It's clear that the Skylanders figures are an easy way to sell merchandise. That, however, isn't the whole story. Sokolow and Cohen have not only brilliantly written them into the story but translated that shiver and wonder that maybe our toys really could come to life.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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