Activision Brings Toys and Video Games Together with ‘Skylanders Spryo’s Adventure’

At Toy Fair, we were lucky enough to get the chance to see one of the newest undertakings by Activision called Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. Under developer Toys For Bob, Activision is combining the much loved Spyro video game series with a brand new toy line.

But this isn’t just a tie in with action figures modeled off characters from the game. Instead, players will take these figures and place them on an attachment for their Nintendo Wii to load any of the 32 characters in to the game. Young players will be given the opportunity to do something they never have before, watch their toys come to life in front of them on a video game screen.

Seeing these toys in person, they look as if they were all beautifully hand sculpted. Spyro even has a little bit of a badass feel to him instead of the super fluffy dragon he started out as. What you don’t immediately see is the technology hidden underneath that gives these toys the read/write ability to load information in to the Wii using the Portal of Power and then take the experience and treasure that player has found with them to their next destination.

Activision told us that these remarkable little guys will retail for about $10 each. In addition, there will be expanded levels players can purchase as well which will work alongside the Portal of Power to create new areas in game as well.

We got the chance to get a few minutes hands on with Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure at Toy Fair and it had a fun classic feel to the gameplay. Starting off with a single player top down view, our walkthrough resembled a higher res version of Spyro games past. It is notable that this game looked fantastic on the Wii, a system not always known for its technical abilities. Running through the level and taking down baddies, the controls were tight and not reliant about clumsy Wii point and shoot tactics as one might expect from a “gimmicky” kids game. The real interesting parts came in when certain enemies or obstacles popped up that certain characters were better matches to tackle. All that had to be done was lifting the toy off the Portal of Power and putting a new one on. Instantly, the new character was on screen ready to start the fight. We also placed a second character on, and with the help of the player 2 Wiimote, we were ready to cooperatively join the adventure. It was just as easy to drop out as well by just pulling the second toy off the Portal. This is going to be a great feature for parents who wants to be able to help out their children playing the game, but also don’t want to be stuck sitting through the entire experience with them as well.

Here is some of what Activision has told us:

Each Character Has its Own Unique Powers – In addition to the highly collectible design and personalities of the toys themselves, each character has different powers and abilities, opening different experiences inside the game. Players can drop in and out of each level with as many different characters as they like, making each players experience unique.

Toys With Brains – Each toy/character remembers the player’s shared experiences. Achievements and leveled up capabilities earned in the game are embedded inside the toy and travel with the toy. Wherever the toy goes, its experiences go with it.

Portal of Power – The Portal of Power serves as the gateway between our world and the amazing world of the characters in Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure.

Play With Friends – By placing two characters on the Portal of Power at once, players can team up together for cooperative play, or face off in player versus player battle arenas utilizing their leveled up characters.

Diverse Experiences on Diverse Devices – While the toys can be used with gaming consoles to play the disc based game, completely different gaming experiences await them on the mobile app and inside the Web World, each of which were designed specifically for those platforms. The result is a remarkable number of different gaming experiences in one game.

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure lets kids take on the role of a powerful Portal Master, who can control over 30 different characters, including the beloved purple dragon Spyro. Each of these heroes is a protector of an amazing, mysterious world, but they have been ejected from their world by the sinister Portal Master known as Kaos and now they are frozen in our world as toys. Only the players of Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure can get them back into their world, by embarking on a fantastical journey where they will explore mythical lands, battle menacing, outlandish creatures, collect treasures, and solve challenging puzzles as a part of the quest to save their world.

Take a peek below at the announcement trailer as well as our own footage from Toy Fair showing the transition of characters from toy to screen in action. Stick to the Flickcast for more on Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure.