Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack - Nintendo Wii

I loved playing skylanders as a kid, i would 100% recommend it to any kids to play because you can change characters at any moment of the game

This was a Christmas present for my son who is going on 9. He had been begging for it as soon as he saw the first Skylanders set. So on Christmas morning when he opened this present he was besides himself. Didn't want to finish opening his other presents because he HAD to play it right then. Of course being the mean parents we are we made him open the rest first. :)The concept of the game itself is really amazing. The graphics are great and it's a game that kids can figure out on their own which as any parents can attest to is wonderful. Last thing you want is a game that you end up playing half of it because they are confused.This particular starter pack comes with the game, three figures (Which are your players in the game) and the portal of power. The portal of power is a stand that reads which figure you are going to use and transports them into the game. A small USB device comes with the game which you plug into the back of the wii system which allows the portal and the game system to communicate.Each figure or "player" brings a specific talent to the game. They can be switched out at anytime if one is more suitable to get through a challenge then another. Which I will warn parents of more then one child that a sibling will find it funny to switch out a player while the other one plays to hear them get angry. There are TONS of different figures or "players" out there which you can buy for things as treats for good grades or birthday's which opens more games and brings new talents. So while your child might play through the game with say Spyro they can play a different game or the same game again with a different figure.One added thing I love about the game is that the characters get tire. They will come on the screen and tell the player they need a rest which means it's time to turn off the game. Which forces your child to take a break for a while. Now I am sure you can just turn off the game system and turn it back on and they are ready to go again but my son has not thought of that yet so it works great for us.So if you are trying to decide to pay this much for a game or even if this is the game for you I would give my recommendation and would assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Let me just say this, I am a 38 year old father. My son got this for Christmas. We started playing it together and I think I am more hoooked on it than he is. The three characters it comes with a great to start, but a warning you or your children will quickly want or need more. You can get through the early levels with the ones included. But as you get further and further along the levels get harder and harder. If all your Skylander's are killed, you must restart the level. Thus the more you have, the easier it is to get through the levels. ALSO, you can complete the level without doing so, but in order to get full credit for finishing the level you must find everything in the level/chapter. Similar to the Lego games where you need to go back as free play to find certain things. You need certain Skylander's to open certain gates within the level. GREAT MARKETING PLOY!!! But luckily the extra Skylander's aren't that expensive. $8 each or a three pack for like $20 most places. Right now they are really expensive because no stores have restocked since Christmas and everyone wants them so they are paying too much. Just wait. Really what you need is one Skylander from each "relm" but it is not necessary. I am playing with my 7 year old and he can get through most of the early levels by himself. One other great aspect of the game for younger players is they don't have to read. It does display the words on the screen but a narrator also reads it and tells you what you need to do. Big help so that a parent doesn't have to sit there and tell him what to do. Overall great game but beware, if you even like video games a little bit, you will quickly get hooked. It's a kids game but has enough "fun" for adults. Ask my wife, she has a hard time getting both of us to come to the dinner table once we start playing!!!

I bought this without doing much research on Skylanders. After buying, I was told we should have bought the Giants game first, but as a gamer myself, I wanted to start the series from the start. It is a little more difficult to find characters that are compatible with Spyro's Adventure (SA) in retail stores. The figures are not backwards compatible, so the majority of Giants characters do not work with SA.However, it is easy to find them at a good price here or on local buy sell trade type sites.This game reminds me of an old PS2 game called Champions. Each character represents an element, and has different strengths and weaknesses. You can collect coins to upgrade powers or play mini-games that boost things like armor, speed, and critical hit.I bought this game for my 5 year old. I like that it isn't gory in anyway. The characters don't die, they are told they "need to rest" and you can switch out for another figure at any time. This is where having a large collection comes in handy. With at least one of each element, it is fairly easy to get through the levels with a young child. But there are certain criteria on each level to collect stars. Playing with my 5 year old, we always get the first star for completion. But as a gamer, my husband and I often find ourselves playing after the kids go to sleep to play each level again for all 3 stars.Overall, I highly recommend. I know Swap Force is out, but I find it easier to take kids from the start and move them forward. This way, I can wait for all the bugs to be worked out of the newer games and give people a chance to get tired of it so I can buy their action figures :)

Batteries exploded