darkSpyro

The embargo is up so here we go...

http://www.thehdroom.com/revie...m-review-81265/

Thanks for the review post. It basically confirmed all my concerns. This franchise isn't really evolving. It's concerned about getting NEW players and not so much in keeping them going forward. With so many concepts eliminated or reduced it's obvious they are going back instead of forwards. I will still get this game as it seems to offer about the same value as Giants with the Doom Challenge mode but no Heroic Challenges or P.V.P. Damn....what to to, what to do. I have concerns after this installment.

The game is definitely worth owning and offers a lot of fun. As you said, there are evolution concerns for those that care about that sort of thing (most kids won't), and they become more evident when taking off the "fan" goggles we all proudly wear.

I'm not going to lie with the entire tone of the review...4.5 out of 5 still seems very favorable for one so negative. o_o

There is now ZERO reason to use any figure other then a trap master, hell you get penalised ofyou use anything else, if you use a core you do less damage can't open gates and less villain play time.

I was reading some other reviews linked from the DS homepage and Joystiq's is right along the same lines as mine. It will be interesting to see what the community as a whole thinks of the game in a few days.

I've had the game nearly a week..and it's as bad as you think.

Aus, stop trying to force your opinion on others.

Auslander pics or it didn't happen.

I think pics would be moot at this point. Since it's officially out here. And I never said anyone had to agree with my opinion it's opinion for a reason.

Alright for either of you then, simple question: do the adventure packs from older games unlock anything, or just AoE attacks? And to this extent does the Volcanic Vault keep its AoE attack from Swap Force?

I don't have my collection with me, as I'm visiting my folks for the weekend. However,
I believe they only have the attack.

I have a question. Are the dummies gone from the hub area? I haven't seen them in any of the latest round of videos. If that's true then it's kind of the ultimate kick in the shorts to older players. Granted most kids aren't interested in what does the most damage or hits the fastest but more mature players do.

Fine if you actually have it then tell me, who are the unrevealed characters?

Okay well then for Buzz, were you able to test the older sidekicks and see if/what they unlock as far as 'exclusive content' like the Walmart poster claims?

Unrevealed as in light/dark? And the element collection part won't unlock till the light or dark skylander is unlocked. So I have no Idea. They don't show up on the main screen.

@Tigorus -- I haven't spotted any dummies in the hub, which I liken to a mini-Hogwarts. There is an arcade side-scroller like area ala Swap Force, but it's best played single player. Two players wreaks havoc with the vertical bounce pads.

@Kung Fu Man -- I'll test an older Sidekick and Adventure Pack a little later today when I'm in front of the game again. I don't own a Volcanic Vault to test.

Quote: buzz

@Tigorus -- I haven't spotted any dummies in the hub, which I liken to a mini-Hogwarts. There is an arcade side-scroller like area ala Swap Force, but it's best played single player. Two players wreaks havoc with the vertical bounce pads.

Thanks for the follow up. I actually saw, in IGN's review, that apparently the little riding play ground animals are the new dummies.

hmm I didn't attack them. Will have to try.

Aus's point maybe annoying, but it isn't without merit. There isn't a point to playing anything that isn't a Trap Master. I look at my 'plans' and the number of 'cores' on my list (2) will most likely cap out at (3),..and some of that is driven by their push for Trap Masters.

As for the quality of the game, I did have a question. In the synopsis at the start of the review, it mentions 'playing younger', would that mean the dificulty 'in general' is easier? I have a 3 year old that liked playing giants, loved the swap nature of SF, but HATED jumping (he's 3 doesn't have that level of coordination, though getting there), and he is SWOONING over the trap mechanic. I'm curious how much he'll be able to play the game as when things get difficult, he just sort of caves and gives me the controller.
- Unreall

@Unreallystic -- the first challenging moment in the game is the Chef Pepperjack boss fight in chapter 5 or 6, I forget which. There are definitely moments where you will have to pinch hit, but by and large he should be able to play a good portion of the game if he's comfortable using a controller.

I didn't find the jumping anymore difficult than Swap Force, but then again, I'm not three years old I can tell you my six-year old had no issues, for what that's worth.

HDRoom says: "...the Traptanium Elemental areas are a fraction of the size as in previous games and always easy to complete, many of which not even requiring a teleportation pad to return to the beginning because they are so short."

But Joystiq says: "I can tell you that many of the game's most interesting platforming sequences are locked behind Elemental Gates"

Humm...

@newkill Most of the Elemental areas are tiny. What Joystiq's saying is some provide more interesting sequences than the main game, such as a room that requires you bake bread (I won't spoil why). That's actually one of the bigger areas, and yet it still feels small.

The first three games had quite a few large elemental areas, which really hooked me on loading up on figures. It is a little sad that these are reduced in scope...

I do have another question: do you need to start a new save to play nightmare, or is it part of the same save like in SSF? I 3-starred each of the Giants levels as I went, and it annoyed me that they wanted me to do it all again in nightmare. If so, I will probably beat the game as fast as possible on hard and then actually get the collectibles on nightmare.

@jbkaok I did start a new save (there are four slots) for Nightmare but didn't check to determine if I NEEDED to. I'll try tonight.

Quote: AusLander

I've had the game nearly a week..and it's as bad as you think.

So, it's not bad at all then?

Quote: Kung Fu Man

I'm not going to lie with the entire tone of the review...4.5 out of 5 still seems very favorable for one so negative. o_o

As with all reviews, throw out the low and hi and keep the middle. IMO, these reviews all seem suspiciously high....not that no one "bumps" reviews for favors, eh?

Buzz has been straightforward with us, I have no reason in the world to believe that he's fabricating a score.

Yeah, you're being a bit paranoid about this GhostRoaster. If it was Gamespot, i'd be more inclined to believe you.

Not paranoid, not saying anything other than the scores all seem pretty high.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Not paranoid, not saying anything other than the scores all seem pretty high.

Maybe because it's, you know, a good game?

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: Kung Fu Man

I'm not going to lie with the entire tone of the review...4.5 out of 5 still seems very favorable for one so negative. o_o

As with all reviews, throw out the low and hi and keep the middle. IMO, these reviews all seem suspiciously high....not that no one "bumps" reviews for favors, eh?

they give 4,5-5 etc and when you read the review its clearly a 3... its like these reviewers are afraid to give bad scores, because then they dont get the skylanders games for free anymore.

As I stated and linked to in my review, I scored the previous games pretty high as I love the concept, and scored this one comparatively to those.