Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Hmmm... looking at the Gamestop ad shows it to have been a 50% off sale. I doubt Amazon was matching that as their prices are more like 66% off. I was unaware of the Gamestop sale which kind of irritates me as I'm on their mailing list and have recently purchased some used figures online but have *not* received their sale emails in quite some time. They're not winding up in SPAM - just not getting them. I might have gone to one of the local stores had I known, especially since one just bent over backwards to help me get a used Lightcore Pop Fizz (and is still trying to get a 2nd copy for me) as a "normal" price (~$10) rather than the whoreder prices at Amazon.

I'd ordered my grandson a Buzz Wing and Spring Ahead Dive Bomber along with a Splatter Splasher for his sister during TRU's B1G2 free sale. They'll be ~$6.10 each after tax (shipping was free). Considering Amazon doesn't have Buzz Wing yet I felt that was a pretty good deal. He wanted a Power Blue Trigger Happy but TRU sold out before I placed the order. Since he's paying the bill for these he has a strict limit of how much he's willing to spend. Amazon had a figure he'd wanted but it was $.25 more than he'd budgeted so he turned it down (I ordered it anyway and will pay the extra quarter but he doesn't yet know).

I have no idea how accurate TRU's site is about local stock. The closest store to us is ~2 hours away so I have my store setting for the one in Amarillo (where my son is) just in case *it* shows something in stock I want him to pick up for his kids. So far I've not used that feature.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

I just read a article on Imaginators which has vehicle information:

http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/1/1182...ver-to-players

It says:
So... the vehicles are going to be relegated to side board status and be diversions which can be ignored if desired. I like this as I'm not a racing game fan. That means I can play the game with my grandson and not have to worry about the game being drug down and interrupted with a lame driving/flying segment just as things get interesting.

While I'm somewhat relieved to not have to worry too much about this one I *was* hoping that since Toys for Bob is the developer of the year the game would be available for the Wii. I still contend the only thing that kept it away last year was the overly detailed graphics and had they been allowed to "dumb down" the graphics the game would have run just fine on the Wii. At least I saw nothing, other than the improved graphics, on the XBox versions that hadn't already been done.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Count me out on the next version. I'm so glad my kid is finally starting to get bored with Skylanders. What a money sink it was.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Here is the flyer that was in my email. I somehow overlooked it until Friday evening.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

^OK. That's quite a bit different than the online sale ad. That whole bottom segment is different on the online version. If that *is* what Amazon was doing they didn't monitor it well as they still had a few vehicles for $4.99 last night. Today they're all in the $11-$13 price range. The figures were all at the "normal" (i.e. wildly varying with no seeming rhyme or reason) prices by Sunday evening.

I just tried resubscribing to their newsletter. We'll see what happens...

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

TRU is still selling single figures as Buy 1 Get 2 Free... and the games are $19.99 each.

Tempted, but did not bite.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

I found a Superchargers Dark Edition at my Best Buy for $29.99 ($23.99 with GCU) yesterday, which was $20 less than the Standard edition of the game. Picked it up for my son -- he was pretty stoked. Guess we finally will play one of these games on a next-gen console.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

After getting nearly all the figures before Superchargers and playing those games to death, I think our family lost momentum. We bought Superchargers late, and never really got a significant number of toys. I've been tempted by the b1g2f at TRU but they don't have much variety. So I think we're out on this next round, even with no Infinity to compete.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

We are going to get the starter pack of the next one with Crash Bandicoot and the free Kaos figure. We finally get to create our own Skylanders. However, aside from that, I will likely not get many if any of the other figures at first. I also hope that this is the last go for Skylanders unless they made some online Skylanders World game with a large number of real players that can link up and take on missions.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

So... have any of you purchased this one?

I'm sitting it out - partly because I'd have to purchase a new gaming system to play but also because I'm somewhat burned out on 'em.

My grandson wants one, not surprising, but mostly to get a couple of crystals and make his own characters. He's said he's going to sell some of his older stuff to buy into this one. I told him he'd be lucky to get a few $$ for most but he thinks he'll make out like a bandit selling his old characters. I don't know who he's planning on selling them to as he already knows selling to Game Stop is not worth the effort and has ruled out that venue. The worst part is I have at least a half-dozen, or more, figures for *every* prior game put back for him. Oh well... I don't plan to subsidize this one.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Will wait for a big sale. I'm interested in picking up some of the villains.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

I'm liking the game quite a bit after the first couple of levels. Playing with Crash Bandicoot is kick ass and I already have him leveled up to 9. I have not even touched the Skylanders creator despite already having 4 creation crystals. We already have 13 figures, including Kaos.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Yeah this series is always conveniently timed for Black Friday sales, and if not, oh well it'll be on sale soon enough.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Skipped Trap Team, Superchargers, and will skip this one too.

All y'all have fun!

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

^I'd love to skip this one but my grandson, when asked what he wants for Christmas, tells grandma "The new Skylanders game in the Dark edition." Followed by a list of characters with prices and how the dark edition is a better value then the regular. So... looks like I'm sucked back in. But at least this time I don't own a compatible console so won't be getting it for my house.

We *still* haven't fully played through Trap Team *or* Swap Force at my house...

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

You should teach him to use excel so he can give you prices by store lol

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

The dark edition for this one seems to be only sold at Gamestop and is expensive right now. I hope to snag it later for half price. The best price on the figures right now is 12 bucks plus tax after the 20% off Gamers Club Unlocked at Best Buy. Now, that does not mean that something better will come down the pipeline in the next few months. Also, the creation crystals are 10 bucks apiece and there are a few variants for each of the 10 elements.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Yeah... I'm hoping that Dark edition isn't a GS exclusive. They don't specify that on their site but it's been either them or TRU the past few releases...

I'll wait for BF prices before purchasing and *hope* it goes on sale and I can get a copy (usually not too bad here for GS if that winds up being the source).

I don't think he'll be too worried about creation crystal variants but you never know. I've also read that once you set the "Battle Class" it's locked. Some things can be changed but not everything. That's a bit of a bummer as I know he was hoping to be able to constantly make all new creations. It also means those characters you create yourself can wind up costing a pretty penny over time if you're wanting to change Battle Class as there are *10* different Battle Classes.

**EDIT**
In looking up what that "Battle Class" is I discovered this little tidbit:

So... he *will* be able to reset them... possibly...

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Target is b2g1 this week.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

I played Superchargers again with my grandson this past weekend - about 3 hours worth. I still couldn't get into it much. Every time we'd get going good there'd be another lame/repetitive driving/flying/water bit which would totally take me out of the game. And *all* the boss battles seem to require a vehicle. When I commented on that he said they did - all of them - every level. Then there are the long and boring cut scenes, which are mostly unskippable! I timed a few. There was one 30 minute segment of "playing" where we were watching cut scenes and other mandatory character dialog for 20 full minutes. We spent more time wasted with that stuff than actually playing! I know they're trying to build a "story" but I'm the gamer who just doesn't care about that junk. Give me a good game, tell me *only what I actually need* to play a level and shut up! At the very least make all that drivel skippable and make the info available on optional screens I can access during play. The graphics are very good - but the characters in the cut scenes look like plastic while their clothing/gloves/etc. look realistic. That's pretty lame. Yes, I know it's likely to make them look like the toys but if you're going to take the time to make everything look realistic at least put better textures on the characters. And I'll state it again... This *could* have been ported to the Wii if they'd just "dumbed down" the graphics. I truly believe it was excluded all due to them wanting to present "high res" graphics in the cut scenes and in-game. The game play is pretty basic Skylanders stuff.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

In the options menu, you can choose to allow skippable cut scenes.

I'm pretty sure the Wii port was dumbed down due to financial reasons and how many copies they'd sell.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Thanks! I'll let him know - they annoy him sometimes too.
Possibly - but from reading reviews I believe they pissed off more people by going that route. I'd love to see sales numbers on the previous installments to see if a lack of sales could have been a factor.

I tend to think it was more Beenox not wanting to still code for the Wii. Beenox had done both Swap Force and Trap Team for the Wii (and other consoles) and, IMHO, didn't do as good a job as with the games done by Toys for Bob directly (Spyro's Adventures and Giants). They also changed the controls for the worse on the Wii versions (a case of what I call "stupid programmer syndrome" where everything that came before is ignored). It's fitting they didn't bother with Superchargers as I just don't think they'd have delivered as good a game as could have been done by Toys for Bob. The games they developed place far more emphasis on graphics and "realistic" cut-scenes than on actual game play. Something that is in the forefront with Superchargers.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Actually, I like the controls since they match every other platformer where the primary button is jump, and secondary is fight/shoot.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

But the "secondary" on the Wii is the controller's trigger. A royal pain if you're in a "fire fight" situation. Plus every other game on the Wii has the "primary" as fire and the "secondary" as jump. If you translate that scheme to the XBox it's as if you assigned the fire button to the right trigger. That, too, would be a very bad decision.

Frankly, it would be "OK" if they'd provided a method to remap the controls - like many games allow. They *do* allow that for flying/underwater segments so you can make the controls work as a proper stick (forward to dive, back to climb) and not the reverse video game format those who don't know stick controls seem to prefer. The code to do this is small and easily integrated. That it wasn't done is pure laziness on the part of the programmers, something I've observed seems somewhat common with Beenox games.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Christmas brought my grandson a copy of Imaginators Dark Edition for his XBox-One. Between his uncle, mom, and me he received almost a full set of crystals and about as many figures. I'm off for Christmas break and he brought it to my house for us to play during the break. So far I'd say it's a far superior game to Superchargers. No vehicle segments at all. They *did* include the tracks in a section like the battle arenas so you can race if you wish, but otherwise it's as if they never existed. I tend to think that'll make a few people angry as they've spent all that money on now useless vehicles. He's not put any on the portal during a level to see what happens - I may suggest that just for grins-n-giggles. I've noticed that decision seems to have caused the prices for the vehicles to drop somewhat.

So... Imaginators. It's pretty cool and, IMHO, a major upgrade from Superchargers. The ability to create your own character is quite cool and totally fits my grandson's mind-set. Using a prior game to fully reset the crystals adds to their value (both the older games and the crystals). Activision shouldn't have "locked" the "class" and allowed it to be changed within the game but those hacks using other systems and/or game versions does a end-run around the restriction.

Otherwise, game play is pretty much the same as prior games. There is the occasional "pay wall" where you need a Sensei of a specific type to get into a area and the need to have a crystal of each battle class for all those bonuses. Of course the 2 level packs and Crash Bandicoot or Dr. Cortex for the 3rd level unlock.

They've cheapened the figures a bit as well. The bases feel/sound like hollow plastic with the high quality figures mounted on top. Of course it could simply be the size of these new bases. They're huge in comparison to prior games.

I'm going to see if he'll play a game from the start so I can get a better feel for this one. So far we've played one he started on Christmas morning and he's gotten quite far. I'd also like to play some of my older figures to see how they interact.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Rumors are that Imaginators is likely the last game in the series. We will see what happens. I like and have all of the Imaginators figures released so far.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this is the last of the series. So far I've liked most of the Sensei figures I've played. A couple my grandson doesn't like I pretty much prefer.

I still want him to start a new game... today all he's wanted to play is "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2." One I don't care for at all so he's played it on his own. I just don't get the attraction for such games.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

We put a vehicle on the portal while playing a Imaginators level to see if it gives you anything. Nope - just a message that you can race from the main screen. Traps give you money. He said if it has a villain trapped inside you get more money than if it's empty.

We never did start a new game. He's supposed to bring his XBox 360 to my house and leave it for us to use here since he doesn't use it much at home after getting a XBox-One system. I have a copy of the "regular" edition of Imaginators for that platform I'd not given him for Christmas as I'd purchased more figures than I'd anticipated so he got those instead. If he brings the console to my house I'll break it out as a surprise.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Skylander Day is coming, Yo!

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/pages/eve...landersDay.jpg

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

^Hmmm... I'd tell my grandson but he just blew *all* his savings on the 2/$20 offer at Gamestop. At least what he purchased on that offer wasn't available in the store so had to be ordered - and we had a free shipping coupon to help. I don't know if they have anything in stock he'd want... the last time I checked stock online they had only 4 or 5 figures and he already has those... I *might* go in to complete his Superchargers collection *if* they still have any stock (didn't at last visit).

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Activision confirmed on their investor call today that there's no new Skylanders game for consoles this year. There will be a new mobile game, and Imaginators is being supported with new adventure packs and apparently other content, though.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Interesting. I wonder if the "toys-to-life" video game segment is imploding due to over saturation. Disney Infinity is dead. Skylanders appears to be heading that way. Nintendo's Amiibo has seen a huge decline and will likely be axed soon.

Lego Dimensions appears to be doing OK, though, with new content being released this month in conjunction with the Lego Batman Movie.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

The biggest clue to whether Skylanders will continue in the future is what happens to Toys for Bob. We shall see.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

The local Target barely has any space for Imaginators, even with Infinity gone. In fact they devote more shelf space to amiibos.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

So... a few weeks ago I started getting the Superchargers characters after scoring the game for the WiiU for about $25.

Today I learned that TRU has their "in stock" Supercharger figures and vehicles for $2.99 each!

So I got 6 vehicles and 11 characters for a total of $55 shipped.

Saved a ton!!!

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Lucky! My local TRU has a lot of shelf space still dedicated to Superchargers, but they really only have maybe five distinct characters, just a ton of them.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

Luckily the website has them for the same price, most available for shipping.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

All Skylanders characters and vehicles from everything except Imaginators actually.

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

yeah, I meant to say I got them "online".

Re: Skylanders, Anyone?
 

No new console game for 2017... but we might get a mobile game.

http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/02/09/no-new-skylanders-console-game-in-2017