Toy Fair isn’t typically known for introducing new video games, which is why I was so excited to hear that Activision had something big planned for this year’s Toy Fair in New York City. That something is Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and it is one of the most talked about items at the show.
As you might have guessed from the title, it’s a new Spyro The Dragon video game but there is a huge twist that has opened the doors of Toy Fair to this game. That twist is real-world character figures that players can collect and play with. Each of the detailed and beautifully sculpted mini-figures literally enter the game when they are placed on The Portal Of Power – a small platform that connects wirelessly with the game console. When a figure is placed on the Portal, it instantly appears in the game and becomes the player’s in-game avatar. As you play the game, you will encounter obstacles and challenges that require a specific characters’ abilities so you will need to switch the figure on the platform in order to progress. With every figure, all the experience and leveling up that is achieved in the game is stored on the physical figure which can then be taken to a friend’s house and placed on their portal and play in there game. Once again, all achievements will be stored on the figure.
There will be over 30 characters when the game arrives this Fall. Three figures and the portal will be included with the game and players can collect additional characters separately. As cool as the figures and portal system are, the game is also a really fun Spyro adventure game that includes a 2-player battle arena mode. I’ll have more on the game itself in the coming months.