Tag: Skylanders »

Games like Skylanders have some pretty intense appeal for kids, and they cater to the toy market quite nicely as well. The LEGO games also have a pretty good handle on that section of the market. Sick Bricks from Spin Master takes the madcap weirdness and love of building blocks from LEGO, and fuses it with the real world-meets-toy world concept behind Skylanders to an impressive degree.

The game itself uses simple but seemingly intuitive and responsive touch controls to let you wander around the world of Sick Bricks. Of course by "wander" I really mean "fight badguys and explore various locations for goodies."

What's cool is that you can find (i.e. purchase separately) all sorts of toys, then scan them into the game using your device's built-in camera. Admittedly this method can run into problems when the lighting is a bit dim, but I was seriously impressed with just how well it worked even in semi-dusky conditions. It also works extremely fast. You just line the character up to the wireframe and a couple seconds later you've got them in the game. Character parts like heads, bodies, and hats are interchangeable, so you can mix and match all your real world toys for some truly bizarre (and powerful) creations.

You can also build and scan vehicles, but I didn't get to see this particular feature in action so I can't be sure if it's as simple and quick as character scanning. It's certainly a neat idea, though.

If any of this sounds like your kind of thing, you won't have long to wait for it. Sick Bricks will be coming to the App Store this Thursday (3/12) as a free download.

Activision has announced their #TrapAndPlaySweeps photo and video sharing sweepstakes. Skylanders fans can take photos and videos of their favorite moments as they play Skylanders Trap Team and share them on twitter for a chance to win prizes.

You can post your stuff to the official Skylanders Twitter channel (@SkylandersGame) using #TrapAndPlaySweeps #Skylanders from now through December 11.

You can download Skylanders Trap Team for free on the App Store to get started.

On November 1, Walmart will be offering an exclusive Mini “Buddy Pack” for Skylanders Trap Team along with a “Meet the Minis” experience. You can get Hog Wild Fryno and Small Fry in the buddy pack, as well as trading cards and sticker sheets with secret codes.

For the Meet the Minis experience, the retail giant will post signs around their stores that have codes for the Collection Vault app. These codes will unlock five minis and other exclusive content such as wallpaper, videos and images.

So visit your local Walmart on November 1 to get your trap on.

Activision has revealed the new Kaos Doom Challenge for Skylanders Trap Team. The challenge lets players battle through increasingly difficult waves of Kaos' minions. If using their army of Skylanders and defensive towers, the Portal Masters fail to destroy the minions and Kaos will open the "Mystery Box of Doom," which will is full of gigantic boss monsters!

According to Emperor Kaos, "A recent evil study of a thousand trolls revealed that nine out of ten agree that I am the most powerful and impressive evildoer to have ever conquered Skylands. Naturally, I had every tenth one banished to my "Kaos Doom Challenge" to test the effectiveness of my 100 waves of ultimate evil doom - and they were never heard from again. So let's just say EVERYONE agrees - I am the most powerful and impressive evil doer ever."

With the coming release of Skylanders Trap Team on October 5, it sounds like the Emperor needs a thrashing.

Skylanders has always been a bit polarizing among gamers. Some see it as a glorified (and expensive) kids’ toy. Others see it as a somewhat ingenious combination of toys and video games. It’s a bit less of a toss-up with kids, though - kids adore it. And they’re undoubtedly excited about Skylanders Trap Team.

The Skylanders series has been brought to iOS before, but Trap Team is a first. It isn’t just a port that’s been cut back to fit or a completely different sort of game that uses the license: it’s Skylanders Trap Team. You can swap between characters by switching out figures (including all the characters from previous console-only versions), capture enemies in special Trap Crystals, and otherwise do all that Skylanders-y stuff you’d expect. It’s the same game console players will be experiencing, only on a presumably smaller screen. The touch controls work quite well too, although they aren’t entirely necessary (I’ll explain in a minute).

The portal that’s included with the mobile Trap Team starter set is quite nifty. It uses bluetooth to connect to tablets wirelessly, has a simple but brilliant little notch in the side so that you can prop up your tablet (just about any tablet, no less) while you play, and comes with its own bluetooth controller that easily tucks into the bottom of the portal. Perhaps the most impressive thing about all this is that it’s incredibly easy to pair the portal and the controller with your device. If you’d rather not use the included controller, Trap Team also supports third-party mobile controllers. Or, if you find yourself with a surplus, you can also pair two different controllers and play co-op.

“It just works” has been the mantra for Vicarious Visions as they worked on the hardware for the mobile version, and it’s something they’ve pulled-off extremely well. So long as you have bluetooth enabled on your tablet all you’ll have to do is press and hold a button on the portal and/or controller and they’ll simply connect. Disconnecting them is just as easy of course, and if the controller becomes disconnected at any point during play (either on purpose or because it’s run out of batteries or something) the touch controls will pop up and you can keep playing. And if, for whatever reason, you either don’t have the portal or don’t have access to one you’re still covered. When Trap Team isn’t connected to a portal it’s still possible to play through the game using two special digital-only characters (each with their own levels, stats, and abilities).

Skylanders Trap Team will be available in the App Store as a free download on October 5 for the iPad 3 and 4, iPad Mini Retina, and iPad Air. The Starter Pack (includes the portal, bluetooth controller, unlock for the full game, and two figures) will be available on the same date for $74.99.

Skylanders Collection Vault is a new app for all Portal Masters to keep track of their Skylanders toys and find new ones. It also allows users to learn more about each character, and they can also add characters to a wish list, browse images and videos, and unlock additional content. The free app even lets users share and compare their collection with friends.

"Skylanders SWAP Force is the highest-rated game in the Skylanders franchise to date, and the Skylanders Collection Vault app will be the perfect mobile companion for all Portal Masters looking to learn more about their favorite characters and get to know new Skylanders characters ," said Josh Taub, Senior VP of Product Management at Activision Publishing, in a press release. "Skylanders continues to be the #1 kids' video game franchise of 2013 and we have an ongoing commitment to provide our fans the best experience possible. We're excited to offer Skylanders fans the ability to immerse themselves in a completely digital version of their collections."

Skylanders Battlegrounds has been updated to include all of the Skylanders SWAP Force characters, which allows you to take them into battle! The update also adds cloud saves so that you can play on all your devices, and a new pirate arena for you to discover!

You'll also be able to go up against the crazy maniac known as mage Vengar as Chapter 3 is now available to play. Now go return to the Skylands!

Upon first release back in April, there were plenty of reasons to play Skylanders Cloud Patrol, the iOS version of the hugely successful game and toy series. A subsequent update added even more features and, now, here we are with another major update.

This latest update adds a bunch of new special abilities for the players' Skylanders with Trigger Happy gaining a new Golden Anvil Rain that smashes everything in its wake, Stealth Elf now shoots with suepr speed, while Terrafin can shoot rocks as an extra bonus attack. Other new features come in the form of Legendary Bash's ability to explode all bombs with a Max Combo and Flameslinger's Ghost Swords working twice in a row. That's just scratching the surface, too, with more special abilities promised with every character having a new skill.

Smaller changes such as new elemental coins offering big bonuses and coin collecting goals for players above level 20, and better pacing in later stages complete the update.

Fans should adore the new reasons to return to the Skylanders world, while this proves an ideal time for newcomers to be drawn into the addictive land.