Skylander's Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack (Game, Portal, 3 Characters) Review

I'm not by any means a gamer, but I do like to play the occasional game... especially when I can play with other people. I absolutely love to play co-op games, and this one is now my all-time FAVORITE!

This game is a BLAST for both kids and adults - but keep in mind that extra figures (separate purchase) are certainly helpful when playing (you are able to play the game with the characters it comes with, but you will miss out on some bonus areas in the game that require a character from a certain set to open the portal door).

 Things to Note: 
- Can be played with 1 or 2 players
- The game is co-op when played with 2, meaning they work together on the same screen, and they will need to go in the same direction to keep play moving
- It is an adventure-type game, so you go through levels and discover different areas and do certain activities to achieve goals (find hidden areas to earn special hats that give your characters bonus points in different areas, find legendary treasures)
- I'd say the age range is really right around 4 to, well... ageless! (We've played with two boys right around 4, and while they both need a little help, they both absolutely LOVE it! We usually help their characters move and they get to shoot, etc)
- The Game comes with the Portal, which you have to have to play the game, and 3 characters. You CAN play the game with only 3 characters BUT (and this is a HUGE but...) you will not be able to open all the areas within the game. There are element portals where you need to use a character from a certain group to get through the door, and you will often find special hats or bonuses in those areas. SO... ideally, you will want AT LEAST one character from each of the 8 groups.
- The characters also serve as extra "lives" so when you die with one, as long as you have another you can put on the portal, you can continue to play your game, otherwise, you need to restart the level
- The character's information (experience, hat, etc) is stored on the character itself, so if you take your character to someone else's house, your experience goes with you and continues to grow! You will take whatever hat your character has on, and can switch it for whichever hats your friend's game has open. 

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT... Yes, there IS a reason why the characters are sold out everywhere! The game is really fun! You get to play whichever character you choose and can switch whenever you want. You, or your kids... are bringing a toy that they are able to hold to life on the tv screen, where you get to help the character WIN!

A few game tips: 
- Have at least one character from each of the 8 groups in order to open all the portals
- When a character gets low on energy, pull them off the portal. When you find food that you don't need for your current player, put that character back on and let them get the food, thus increasing their energy
- If you HAVE to earn all the stars in each chapter, plan to run through the chapter twice: Explore everywhere and take your time to find everything the first time through. Then, once complete, replay the chapter and go past as many bad guys or obstacles as you can in order to make it through in the time frame (you will get the star for finding everything on the level, then you will get stars for meeting the time requirements)
- YES,  If you have two of one character you CAN have them both on the portal at the same time... although it gets a bit crazy trying to keep track of which one is yours on the screen!  We tested it out when a friend of ours got the game after playing it with us, and they brought some of their "guys" over and we tried it out.  We found it easiest to keep track of who had who by making sure the characters were wearing different hats.

 I'm sure I've left a ton out, but needless to say, this game is FUN... now I need to find a nice way to store the characters on the wall for easy access.... :)



Edition Reviewed: Wii version- Review copy received courtesy of the Amazon Vine program!

Want to Win One?: Come back on April 15th and enter to win your own XBox 360 Skylander's Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack!  Entry will be easy via Rafflecopter!

*Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate. I get a very small amount for any purchases made when you click through a link from Wendi's Book Corner, which I then save up to buy more books. :)