#Still remember all of us playing with them and making up fun stories with skylanders

[fantasticalchaos]

Giants 🧞‍♀️ | Skytober #11

Skylander Giant Chosen: Ninjini

Ninjini is one of my little sibling’s favourite Skylanders! So I decided to do her, especially since my sibling suggested it! :D

Was aiming to be a bit more ambitious, having Ninjini hold her bottle. But alas, time constraints and busy stuff to do tomorrow (no it’s not like 12am here wdym)! Still satisfied how she turned out!

[cyberstarlope]

If you're still into Skylanders hcs, got any for Pop Fizz or Trigger Happy? (I've been super hyperfixated on this recently... also love all the other ones! If you see a like spam it's most likely me-)

god same lol my fixations have been all over the place ndfghdfkgjvfdkl I’ll do my best w the wonderful gremlins ! and tysm !! like spam is approved and valid in this household (｀∀´)b

Pop Fizz:

◦○˚ everyone thinks he doesn’t talk about where he came from because of some tragic past or something but he just genuinely... doesn’t remember

◦○˚ in general, his memory isn’t the most refined after years of experimentation

◦○˚ he’s surprisingly unbothered by these lapses though, quite content with the life he has now

◦○˚ is that a chemical mixture or an unholy cocktail of energy drinks and fruit punch? doesn’t matter, he’s drinking it either way

◦○˚ despite how disorganized and off the walls he seems, there’s a method to the madness and pop is still considered a highly successful chemist

◦○˚ (drawing a bit from academy here cause I liked this ep) with wolfgang joining the skylanders, the two of them have repaired their friendship and pop still joins him in a song or two

◦○˚ playing truth or dare with him is always disastrous fun cause he always chooses dare and almost nothing is off the table

Trigger Happy:

✥ similarly to pop, trigger is never clear about his past

✥ he had some struggles growing up sure, but it’s just so much more funny to make it up every time

✥ tall tales aren’t an uncommon thing for the gremlin, the most amusing part being that between his over-the-top antics and propensity to make things up, the listeners are never sure how much is fact and how much is fiction (but either way the stories are entertaining and hilarious)

✥ trig spent most of his pre-skylander days putting out bandits and businessmen alike who sought to turn out the pockets of unsuspecting villages and he kept the streak going when he realized he was good at it

✥ he has a pretty good amount of wealth going himself and uses it mainly to help out those in less fortunate situations

✥ he may be a bit of a lunatic but he still has a conscious!

✥ he became good friends with wolfgang’s brother, sal, after a mission and he and pop helped get the two brothers to make up after wolf’s switch

✥ trig and pop are both pretty close as well although some would argue putting the two of them in a room was asking for several safety hazards (and to be fair, that’s... probably accurate)

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Skylanders: Trap Team (Console)

While Giants was boring, Trap Team has the perfect mix of infuriating monetization, cheapness, and charm. Yes, charm!

Here is where I started to despise Activision and the yearly model. Here is where I never 100% completed the game. But here is also where there’s a lot of really great characters, both in figure form and in-game.

Gameplay

Toys for Bob is back and they toned down the knockback combat mechanics. It’s still more playable for melee characters than Giants was, but it’s not nearly as fun as the previous title.

Other than that, it’s par for the course. A lot of combat, some platforming, gated areas, the whole Skylanders deal.

The Gates

Here’s where it gets dicey. Elemental Gates return, but not in the same was as before. These are Traptanium Elemental Gates, which means you need a Trap Master of that element to get through.

If you were part of the fandom during this game’s hype cycle, you would have heard a developer state that ANY character of the proper element would open Elemental Gates as always. As the release date approached, however, an Activision person later said the state of matters that ended up being in the game: that you needed specifically a Trap Master to open the gate. Indicating that this was a change in plan, and Activision was likely the one to request it.

Looking at the design of the game, it shows. In previous games, elements that come in the Starter Pack have more leeway with hidden collectables and show up together in early levels. This happens in this game with both Water gates ( for Snap Shot, a Trap Master), and Life gates (for Food Fight, who isn’t a Trap Master). There’s also Trap Master-specific areas anyways, much like the Giants, so this game would have followed in that game’s footsteps pretty accurately if this change had not been made.

Also, in all games previously, Soul Gems are located in areas that either come with the Starter Pack, or are unlocked by that character. The Light and Dark dragons, however, have their Soul Gems locked behind Traptanium Elemental Gates that match their element. If you don’t have their respective Trap Master, you would not be able to finish their moveset in this game.

But also on top of that, if you truly want 100% you need a full elemental set of traps, sold separately. They’re cheaper than even regular characters and unlock gameplay for several villains, but if you want 100% you need them all.

And there’s two additional elements in this game.

All of this together means that you need to buy 9 $15 Trap Masters and 8 $6 Traps to 100% the game. Oh, and one Mini, which come in 2-packs for $15.

And what’s more is that in the way the game’s designed, you’ll find a hidden area only to be greeted with an Elemental Gate. And it’ll happen over and over. I don’t know if this is different in previous games or not since for those I built my collection quickly while in this one I stubbornly did not and still don’t have everything. But way more often than not you’ll be greeted with a Gate rather than a different collectable.

Old Figures vs. New Figures

They’re relatively balanced in combat. Not the greatest, and characters from this game generally are better than older ones, but old ones are still usable.

The figures from Swap Force seem to be a bit more affected than others. Possibly some developer rivalry?

But the change in Elemental Gates really devalued the old characters, and in fact a lot of the new cast as well. Their uselessness as keys and the fact that Trap Masters get bonuses against bosses (and there’s a lot of bosses), means that there’s little reason to use anybody but Trap Masters.

It’s not as unbalanced as a certain game to come, but it’s not particularly balanced, either.

The Collectables

We’ve got your standard Skylanders round-up: Treasure Chests, Hats, Story Scrolls, Legendary Treasures, and Winged Sapphires. This time, Legendary Treasures are just decoration again. Everything’s back to how it was in the first two games as far as findability.

There’s also Villains and Villain Quests to worry about, too. Villains tend to be in your path as bosses, but Villain Quests can be a bit more out-of-the-way. Villain Quests are like Heroic Challenges: specific minigames for that particular Villain that give them an upgrade. Although some of them are as simple as “jump in this pot,” while others are as complex as an Angry Birds reference.

Bosses

There’s a ton. Each Villain you fight as a boss, and some are in the middle rather than at the end of levels. They aren’t too hard or particularly interesting, and tend to just use their powers against you rather than the environment. Then, after you Trap them, you can play the same way they did.

There are some exceptions, and those tend to be pretty fun. Like Chef Pepper Jack’s crazy fight. Or Dreamcatchers. Basically, the Doom Raiders have more interesting battles. And they actually get more complex in Nightmare Mode I understand, which is an improvement over just making everything take more hits and hit harder.

Levels

I’ve ranted about this above: the whole Elemental Gate thing. I don’t recall my opinion on the actual levels.

I do remember that the more interesting maneuvering and puzzles happen in the Elemental Gates. But that these areas are tiny compared to previous games. So like, they’re marginally more fun for about a minute and then they’re over and you’re back to the main path.

Story

Now I’m going to get this mixed up with the TV show since that used a similar plot.

But I think the game goes about that Kaos freed the villains from Traptanium Prison to be his allies. Ha. Yeah, right. They go rogue.

But, you know, they’re causing trouble so it’s up to you, the Portal Master, along with your new Trap Masters, to take them down. And then they randomly reform in your possession so you can use them against their former allies and Kaos.

I really don’t remember the rest. It just wasn’t that memorable. The characters themselves, though - they were really interesting. Just not the overall story.

Unique in the Series?

It’s the only game with a Trap-like concept, where you have a selection of characters for one figure. It’s the only one with mystery elements that they tried to keep secret for a while. It’s the first game in which you can play as Kaos, (but later games make this not unique).

Other than that it’s pretty standard fare. Aside from the uniquely money-grubbing nature of it.

Conclusion

Many people have different opinions on what caused Skylanders’ downfall. I point to this game. With how Activision betrayed consumer trust by making the Elemental Gates need a Trap Master in particular, gating off parts of the game not designed to have such a high paywall, a lot of people quit the series or just accepted that they wouldn’t be 100% players anymore.

And if you’ve put someone past the tipping point of that, all motivation to continue getting 100% in future games goes down the toilet too. The remaining games are flashy and try to get consumer attention, but the damage had already been done.

This game convinced me that I’d never put too much effort or faith into games made by Toys for Bob again. It was a sinking feeling when they were announced as the ones to make Spyro Reignited. It looks like they’ve redeemed themselves, though, aside from another instance of Activision’s cheapness (the whole fact that only 1/3 of the game is playable out of the box without an internet connection).

[deanmarkfullerton]

Planning the Elements

Competitive analysis 

The main idea was to create the periodic table for a younger audience but some research was needed to find out what the earliest age group could be for this project. Most tables are simple tables that have black and white layouts and are very academic looking. The addition of colours and pictures to represent certain things such as water for hydrogen is often used as well.

Children around 5 years can learn the periodic table but for children so young combining things they should be learning with things that are simple is the key. Learning colours and shapes is key for child development as it is the building block in which children can describe the world around them and have easy ways of assigning certain things to certain colours or shapes.

Fun brain encourage active learning through a game where you test you knowledge through a game where you click on the appropriate element symbol or letter. There is also a table that colour codes more accurately depending on whats nearest to each other and is a good way of separating the groups on the table.

Inspiration 

Mr.Men 

The Mr.Men is series of children's books that where created by Robert Hargreaves the books where then followed by the Little Miss books which was the same concept with female characters. The book has used simple shapes and colours to create characters and these shapes became symbolic with the attributes that where given to their names such as a square being Mr.Strong and the blue cloud being Mr.Forgetful. The use of shapes, colour and words combine a few learning techniques together and eventually there was a card game and computer learning game which combined all of the learning types together.

Leap Frog and Amiibo

The leap frog is an old classic child education book. It has been around for years and is one of the first to use tech to teach kids. It has an electronic book in which actual books are connected to so that the pen connected to the device can be used to interact with the illustrations and words on the screen making the sounds and descriptions in sound so the book can be read as an audio book. This is a big inspiration as this sort of interaction is exactly what one would want to be used for the cards when they connect to the app. 

The cards won't make the noises but when they are placed onto the device they will unlock actions and games similar to skylanders or the Nintendo amiibo series, they are great ways of connection the digital learning with physical things that kids can identify and learn from.

The types of learners 

There are four types of learners and while the basics of colour, sound and shape is important for growing minds of children these play into what type of learner they are. The idea/project to make the table accessible to these younger children needs to incorporate it for all learning types.

The idea to use different coloured cards that are represented by simple colour and shape can have an impact on all learning types. The visual colour and shape will appeal to the visual learner, the app can make certain noises and animation to appeal to the auditory learners. The app will have task and tests for the children to do appealing to the reading and writing learners and the cards are the physical aspects, the app can make the children use these cards to interact with the app or use them as a simple card game and in activities from the app which appeals to kinesthetic learners. 

https://blog.prezi.com/the-four-different-types-of-learners-and-what-they-mean-to-your-presentations-infographic/

https://www.giftofcuriosity.com/why-learning-colors-and-shapes-is-so-important-for-young-children/

https://www.whitbyschool.org/passionforlearning/how-do-children-learn-through-play

User Scenario 

A user scenario is basically what it is, its telling the story of how a user will interact with different pieces of software. In a scenario a specific task is specified and a narrative is written describing how the user(s) may accomplish certain task with in the app, these are different from user stories which are usually written by users themselves. An example may be talking about how a user will access their basket on a shop site and the description would be:

“a user will click on the basket icon in the top right which will show their basket and will ask if they want to proceed to purchase in which the user will hit the big green yes button.”

https://pidoco.com/en/help/ux/user-scenario

User persona

A user persona is a fictional document which is created based on research of a target audience or a specific user group. These are done to help understand the needs of the users and what to include as necessary and what can be discarded or used as the flambonate detailing at the end.

They are used to guide the design to be more meaningful and more useful rather than just being very good to use interactively or as a good looking piece of design. They help answer the right questions and make the people you design for have more benefit from your end project but they also help highlight certain goals that can be set as objective based targets which will help during development. Below is an example of one of the user personas created for the project.

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/personas-why-and-how-you-should-use-them

The Planning of the Elements project 

At the begging of the project there were a few ideas in mind already, knowing the main inspirations where these simple and effective charters that are still remembered to this is something one was desiring to replaced but for a new medium of education. The below images show the process of thinking about how these charters would combine simplicity with effectiveness. The idea of making an effective app to co exist was also a main priority back at the beginning. The idea of using basic shapes for the charterers or model the characters after the elements was a strong pushing force in the project. At the begging the idea for a purposeful brand was also beginning to take shape due to the importance of it. It was decided early in the the project to try and think of a subtitle name for the project. One of the other tings done early one was thinking about user flows for the audience, know that one had never designed for a young audience before made the idea of nailing the flow of the app early in the development very critical due to the big difference in UI and user experiences between children and adults. Knowing simplicity was key also plaid into the way the information was written in terms of its content but also displayed and interacted with on the app, knowing that a simple flow for the UI would be much easier for a child to understand was a key factor when making the user flow.

The About Page for the website

This week saw the completion of the About page for the site. The about page was created and simplified a lot over the design period. The idea for the page was to have somewhere to look at the basics of ones hobbies and interests while also seeing the most up to date and relevant education qualifications that one possesses. The full cv should someone want it is in a large CTA button at the bottom. The graphics on the sides may yet be removed due to the desire to expand and make good use of the white space and not just filling ti with relevant symbols to use up the white space as its main objective. The download was simply done by adding the download attribute to the pdf inside the <a1> which was encased in the button in html.

[camtosh]

My Take of E3 2017 (very long post)

I’m not exactly a writer so this post won’t be perfect, full of mistakes and whatever but I have proof read it so hopefully it wont be too bad. I’ve also put a recap at the bottom of the post incase you don’t want to read it all.

EA

Starts off with typical EA yearly releases, Madden, Need for Speed, FIFA and NBA, nothing to be excited about. Showed a new co-op game called A Way Out which looks really cool, a split screen game this generation was badly needing and I’m glad someone took a risk to make one. Teaser trailer for Anthem, which we will get to later, and DLC for Battlefield. Finished with Battlefront 2 gameplay, although I was disappointed to not have Galactic Conquest we did get Skirmish and new class system which is more like the old Battlefront games. Amazing looking game and something to look forward too!

Microsoft (xbox)

Xbox One X (not exactly the best name but who really cares, the same was said when the One was released) announced at £450/$499 which I think is a reasonable price and will be buying one for that sweet true 4k graphics! Forza 7 shown and a Porsche appears on stage and no-one is surprised/seemed to care, myself included. New Assassins Creed is shown and is set in Egypt which I think is a fantastic setting and is hopefully a breath of fresh air since they took a year extra for more development time. Gameplay of a really interesting game is displayed for us to find out its a new Metro game, I haven’t played any of them before but that trailer made me want to check them out. Battlegrounds coming to the xbox, feel like this is a big deal but as I haven’t played it on the PC I don’t know why. State of Decay 2 made me remember that I no longer care for zombie games. The Darwin Project starts off with ESports commentary to let us know that they want this game to be an ESport (I don’t see that happening). 2D DBZ game announced and looks great but not something I want to pick up. The annual indie game montage showed some promising games that will probably end up being free in the games with gold program. Sea of Thieves gameplay really surprised me, something that I think I would love to play with some friends. Crackdown 3 announces Terry Crews is a part of the game which is basically an instant sell because who the fuck doesn’t love Terry Crews?! Super Lucky’s Tale is announced which looks like a children’s platformer, got to target that demographic I guess. Shadow of War gameplay is given to us and it looks really good, nemesis system is awesome and they made the game better by adding a strategic approach to attacking strongholds which I think is really cool. Now we are shown gameplay for Anthem. What is this fucking game? Did the devs just pick and choose things from every game and just throw it in their own? Titanfall/Destiny vibes too it, fly like Iron Man in an exo suit that reminds me of Fallout power armour and the game looks like it has the same setting as Evolve/Horizon. That being said it’s probably the most exciting looking game of the whole show and I want it now because I fucking love loot shooters. Finally end the show with the news that Xbox Original games will be coming to the backwards compatibility program which is cool I guess but I think I only ever played Halo on it 😂 I’m probably biased towards Xbox but I do think that they put on the best show this year.

Bethesda

Why even bother with a conference if you are just going to have a pre rendered video introduce everything? They showed VR for games that have been out for ages and DLC for Dishonoured 2. Paid mods are back, I’m sure that will go down well. A couple of sequels,The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein 2 announced which almost saved the terrible conference. Wolfenstein 2 looking the better of the two and seem like it has a compelling story. They close their show by letting us know that Quake still exists. Terrible showing from such a good company, shame.

Ubisoft

No Aisha Tyler!?! well ok. The first 15 mins of the show is all about Mario and Rabbids for the Switch, seems a bit boring to me but its Mario so it well sell millions. More Assassins Creed stuff that didn’t feel like they showed anything different from the Microsoft show. The Crew 2 and Skull and Bones are announced which look cool I guess. Even more South Park trailers, I honestly thought it was out already. A new IP called Starlink is announced and looks like a skylanders/amiibo thing. Gameplay trailer for Farcry 5 looked really good, 10/10 for the dog that brings you guns. They finished by announcing Beyond Good and Evil 2 which I’m guessing is a big deal, I never played the PS2 game but that trailer looked fun. Kinda boring show all round for Ubisoft, they spent a lot of time not very exciting games.

Sony

What the fuck Sony? You usually put on the best E3 show and you didn’t seem to care that much this year. They opened with the final trailer for the Crash Bandicoot remake which made me very nostalgic but not really hyped for a game I’ll probably get. I said before that I’m bored of zombie games but I think Day’s Gone looks like it can give them one last chance. Monster Hunter Wold was shown and that got me happy, I’ve always wanted to play them on console rather than a handheld. Shadow of the Colossus remaster is shown and I personally think looks incredible, 100% something I want to pick up. Gameplay trailer for COD: WW2 which to me just felt like a bunch of planes falling out of the sky and not much else, looks pretty though. DLC for Horizon was announced which I might get because that game is amazing! More trailers for God of War 4 and Destiny 2, the latter of which still has year long timed exclusives which is just ridiculous. Something about a new Gran Turismo game but I didn’t really pay attention because I haven’t played a racing game for a long time. They closed with some Spiderman gameplay which looks awesome! There was loads of cool things shown but the presentation of it felt really strange, like there was no-one to hype everything up.

Nintendo

Nintendo always do good at E3, they don’t need to have a huge conference to put on a fun show. Xenoblade 2 trailer shown and Metroid Prime 4 announced which is cool! Kirby and Yoshi games for the Switch which is increasing the likelihood of me buying a Switch. They very lowkey announce a main Pokemon game like its nothing, fucking what?! ok 100% buying a Switch now. Super Mario Odyssey is given loads of time to show off gameplay and I think it looks brilliant! Nintendo are boosting the need for a Switch in their show and its worked for me at least!

Too Long; Didn’t Read?

So pros and cons of this years show? Aka TL;DR

Cons- Well I think there is maybe one game that I’m desperate to know more about, Bethesdas full show, there was too much VR. There were more boring shows compared to ones that were really gripping and there were very little AAA new IP’s.

Pros- Star Wars looks amazing, the Xbox One X release was very exciting. Sea of Thieves looks like it has potential, Anthem looks so promising, Shadow of War looks like a good sequel and they were not all remasters! And there was Loads of content for the Switch including a main Pokemon game!

I enjoyed this year but my wallet has not.

[plufim]

E3 2017 predictions

E3 predictions

In general these come from my thoughts, but also include ideas I’ve heard floated around the web which I completely agree with. Avoiding the already announced/leaked stuff, since that’s not fun!

I’ve sort predictions for all main presentations into 3 different categories based on likelihood (“Lock it in, Reggie” (very confident), “50/50” and “swinging for the fences” (super unlikely but I gotta go all in)). Also, because I’m Connell, this skews Nintendo, but I do have thoughts on everyone! And almost entirely positive ones!

These are in order of the presentation times, hence Nintendo being last. Oh, and a shadow drop is an unannounced game or feature being available for download immediately.

General Predictions/Trends:

- One final push for remastered collections.

- The PC gaming show will be a shit-show again.

- After “Seven Nation Army” did so well for the Battlefield 1 trailer, at LEAST 3 other trailers will use a contemporary song for a game set in another time.

EA:

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Need for Speed will have a Cops vs Racers mode. Because it is always the best thing. Shutting down fools for daring to turn MY roads into a race track is always the best.

- FIFA presentation will not mention the Switch version at all. Info will only be turned up at the show floor, with 2-3 units available. There will be a very simple token minigame so they can justify it as being “built for switch”, but it is 99% the PS3/360 version.

50/50:

- Mass Effect 1-3 Remastered collection, for PS4 and Xbox one. Designed to win back trust from gamers who were burned hard by Andromeda, which really damaged the brand. This leads to my further prediction (not for this though) that ME5 then connects both stories together, where the Andromeda crew find a device that allows them to send a message with information back in time to Shephards brain and bam, you’re playing with the character’s people liked again.

- Sim City. It’s been long enough since the last Sim City, which was disastrous. Time for EA to show they learned from their mistakes and can take on city: skylines

 Singing for the fences:

- Mass Effect Trilogy also for the Switch. Despite the only support being a terrible FIFA game thus far, the actual sales of the system will be seen as an opportunity… to sell old games again with very little extra work. Perhaps some token amiibo functionality in the character creator.

Microsoft:

Obviously, this will be all about Scorpio. Every game will make a point to include something about how the Scorpio version is enhanced. Also apologies, don’t really have much

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Forza 5.

- Scorpio will have VR featured heavily

 50/50:

- Scorpio’s final name will be: Xbox Scorpio. Microsoft is done with numbers.

 50/50:

- It will be revealed that Scorpio, unlike PS4Pro, will have games exclusive to it.

 Swinging for the fences:

- Crackdown demo shadow drop

- Exclusive John Wick videogame for scorpio

- BATTLETOADS

Bethesda:

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Wolfenstein Titan(?) official reveal.

- Prey DLC chapters.

 50/50:

- Switch Skyrim has Zelda content in it. Because why else would someone pay $60 US for this game for a third time?

- Elder Scrolls VI revealed. Will feature at least 2 of the regions. Possibly Elsweyr and Valenwood

 Swinging for the fences:

- Elder Scrolls finally bring back the Dwemer, either by reviving them or setting it in the distant past.

Ubisoft:

So… most of this conference is already leaked, but still…. Uh… hm. Well here’s a few somethings.

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Rabbids/Mario will have a CG teaser. Gameplay saved for Nintendo.

 50/50:

- On stage reveal for Farcry will include not only making fun of the people who got so angry that the villians are a white Christian cult, but there will be an embarrassing on-stage play where people pretend to be storming the stage to protest the treatment of horrible people.

 Swinging for the fences:

- A switch exclusive Assassin’s Creed side-story, much like they did for Vita around Assassin’s Creed 3.

- Rabbids/Mario features a cover of “All Star”, covered by Rabbids themselves, because this game will be drowning in memes. And I will hate this while secretly loving this.

Sony:

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Sony saves IO interactive, Hitman 2 will be PS4 exclusive. Microsoft SHOULD do this, but… this feels more like a Sony move.

- MASSIVE Spiderman blowout, including a lot of show floor stuff. Playable demo. No tie in to the movie, but instead a new story with Goblin and the sinister 6 as the villians. And there’ll be some shitty day 1 pre-order crap, probably involving a Black Cat side story. F4 will cameo, but play no major roles – however Insomniac will be building a shared games universe. Yes, even with the Squaresoft stuff.

- Bloodborne 2. It will happen.

50/50:

- A real, honest to god Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer, with worlds revealed, including Moana and Frozen.

- Shenmue 1+2 Remastered announced. With Shenmue 3 delayed (and that having been inevitable for some time), this would be a smart move to capitalise on the clear demand for more Ryo.

- Another Last of Us Part 2 teaser, but no gameplay yet.

- English Dragon Quest XI release date, mid 2018.

- Red Dead 2 trailer, first with actual gameplay. I also think this will reveal that Zelda-like free climbing is being implemented.

 Swinging for the fences:

- The vita returns as a phone. The switch has shown portable games are still viable, vita has some life in Asian territories, and Sony want to keep the remote play train going. Destined to still fail? Probably! But let’s not let reality kill HYPE.

- Last of Us Part 2 prelude chapter available now, for free. One hour of set up, basically a demo. But that’s what they do to get the kids excited.

- Spyro Trilogy remastered. Activision gotta do something with the guy.

- Red Dead 2 trailer showcases a train heist. I LOVE train heists.

Nintendo:

In general, there won’t be much or any 3DS. They’re getting a lot of that out of the way this week already.

Lock it in, Reggie:

- Xenoblade 2 is not delayed, December 2018. Playable on show floor.

- Mario Odyssey for October 2017. Massive show floor presence.

- Mario Kart DLC, same format as for WiiU – 2 packs of tracks, but this time it’s 8 racing and 2 battle tracks, as well as 3 characters and karts each. A shadow drop of the ability to buy the

- Zelda DLC part 1 shadow drop. Teaser for the rest of the DLC.

- Picross Switch, available now. Not Picross 3D though, they’ll hold off on that.

- Rabbids/Mario gameplay demo

- Dragon Quest XI for Switch officially announced

- Everyone on stage will wear goofy hats because of Mario Odyssey, because hats is a big thing in that game. Hats will grant abilities.

- Splatoon 2 test fire round 2 will be announced to begin the next weekend, with significant tweaks.

- New ARMs content announced, with new ARMs avaialable immediately and

50/50:

- Massive update to switch UI, shadow dropped. Includes multiple UI styles, with Badge arcade built in for further customisation, folders, linking to old Nintendo friends lists, musical themes. Further themes will be on eshop going forward, like 3DS. And finally, this also includes the new online system, hence the new details revealed about it last week.

- Animal Crossing Switch. Early 2018, with much improved social features. Massive amiibo functionality, much like New Leaf now has. It’ll have a new hook, not sure what though. My guess is some Sim City style mayoral stuff like setting up and supplying utilities.

- Warioware Switch, holiday 2017. It’s been a while for the Rhythm Heaven/Warioware team. I NEED THIS ONE NINTENDO.

- Smash Brothers 4 Switch, Q2 2018, rereleased with the best levels from the WiiU and 3DS levels, plus an expanded single player mode. It’s just too crowded for this game yet, but they don’t need to hold off for too long, because it’ll be an evergreen. There will be a teaser though, starring Inklings, Ice Climbers and Spring Man.

- Mario Maker Switch for Q1 2018. It can’t release this year, it needs space away from Mario Odyssey. The game will include a new “switch” block which when hit in game alternates the game style. There will also be playable Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad for each game type, each with different styles, and a different switch block or pipe that changes your character mid-level.

- Skyward Sword HD for switch, with optional non-motion controls for boring people. Q2 2018.

- Partnership with Activision to make an Amiibo action game. You might think this is a swing for the fence, but: Toys for Bob is out of a gig right now. And this would sell better than any recent Skylanders game. Activision would release special versions of select characters, so they can get their cut from the toy sales.

- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3, Q1 2018, by Monster Games. They’ve been quiet for a while, they ported Returns to 3DS, they assisted Retro on Tropical Freeze, this is what they’ve been working towards.

- Dead Cells announced for Switch.

- Layton Collection announced… for phone. Lady Layton western release date.

- Retro’s game. And it’s NOT Metroid, but a sci-fi Western RPG.

- This is a long shot, but T2 is relatively impressed by the switch, so: GTA5 for Switch. With a chunk of the DLC included.

- Switch Sports, holiday 2017. The return of the king. All the games as released for WiiU, plus a few from Wii Sports resort (airplane), with additional modes for each sport. I do have a “swinging for the fence” on this though…

 Swinging for the fences:

- …Wuhu World. Remember Pilotwings 64? Where Little USA was a huge island with different activities, sights to see, and so on? Well, take Wuhu Island, scoot up the detail and resolution, include the small surrounding golf islands, and add a few other themed islands the same size as Wuhu (snow island, city island, etc). It’s a free game where you get the islands and one activity per island, and can walk/drive around each island. Dotted around each is various locations that count as home bases for various sports/vehicles from Wii Sports, Pilotwings and some new items. Each of these is paid, and comes with various different modes and missions. This could be further expanded over time, and allows Nintendo to make money from series that could no longer be sold alone.

- Mario Kart DLC includes mission mode, which is available day 1 with missions on existing courses and expands with the DLC.

- New 2D Metroid by a small team from within Retro. There is a 3D game teased to be in the works also, but not from Retro.

- Splatoon 2 Octoling content and Amiibo, including Octoling mascots. I need this, Nintendo.

- EXCITE. TRUCK. 2.

- Nintendo Pinball. Remember Pokemon Pinball? And Metroid Prime Pinball? That but across multiple Nintendo series.

- Sonic and Mario All Stars Racing Transformed. Sumo has to have been making something aside from Snake Pass, and Sonic Racing 2 sold extremely well on the switch.

- Assault Android Cactus Deluxe for Switch. I believe in you Tim! Even if you aren’t even attempting this!

[terryblount]

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy – PC Review

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a remake of the three original fun-loving, cartoon-like Spyro games, originally created by Insomniac Games in 1998, 1999, and 2000 for the PlayStation. However, before discussing this modern ‘reignited’ collection, I need to go back to the late 1990s and share with you my personal history with Spyro.

Back in the Nintendo 64 Days

For his 7th birthday my brother received a Nintendo 64 from our grandparents. This was our first home console, and with this gift we now we had the ability to play so many yearned-for games which, until that moment, could only be played in our most improbable dreams. Indeed, now the two of us no longer were limited to my GameBoy and an old PC, and seeing games in full 3D (limited as it was back then) was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a unique moment in my gaming life.

Spyro the Dragon flying majestically in astounding 3D graphics!

Thinking about that moment, now, makes me almost cry. I had never seen something like that before, and what was even more amazing was that I could also explore such huge, colorful, and incredible worlds thanks to the invention of the analogue stick. I ate up so many games. Super Mario 64 was unprecedented, Mario Kart 64 was so fun, and Banjo-Kazooie was difficult. Through all these games, I felt like my only limit was the time per day I had to explore them because there was always a new corner to discovery and enjoy.

The freedom of flying, with modern graphics, recreated from the original 1998 gameplay.

Besides feeling like the cool kid with my Nintendo 64, I also remember thinking that only Nintendo could possibly provide me with such vibrant worlds. But I realized how wrong I was when, a few years later, I went to a friend’s house and become initiated in the ways of the original PlayStation.

Enter the PlayStation Glory Years

When visiting my friend (thanks to our mothers being busy socializing), my friend and I could play all night long, and we could choose from his wide collection of games since he was one of those friends who had all the games you can’t ever afford. (For the record, my personal PS1 was bought some months after launch, but I just got a few games and lots of demo discs.)

It’s a dinosaur or something who talks and says things!

I remember one night in particular in which my friend (named Matteo, in case you were wondering) decided that evening that we should play a new game he received (probably from his grandparents), which according to him was the real Super Mario 64 competitor on Sony’s console. You guessed it… that game was Spyro the Dragon.

Prior to this night, I had only gotten a chance to see a few screenshots of the game on some of the earliest videogame websites and in some Italian magazines, so I didn’t know much about it. What I did know was that there were no other free-roaming 3D platformers available around that time on any other home consoles, apart from the N64 with the aforementioned Super Mario 64.

There were some other games that tried to be open in their world design. I had the chance to try a PC demo for a game called Croc (which was great!), but it wasn’t very open like Mario. Crash Bandicoot (on the PlayStation) was obviously a great game, but it was built to be “on-rails”. The Tomb Raider series was certainly a thing, but those games were still limited to the confines of the caverns and hallways you were in.

Spyro lets you enjoy the freedom of open 3D platforming like never seen before (in 1998).

Introducing Spyro: A Decent Mario Competitor

With all these things in mind, we now come to my history with Spyro the Dragon, itself (himself?). Sure, Mario was (and likely always will be) the real platformer king, but back in the late 1990s I really wanted to find a decent competitor in order to widen my choice of games to play. And Spyro delivered.

I recall booting up the game. Spyro magically started to live when the disc was inserted into the PlayStation, and it was love at first sight, sound, and play. From the start the humor was there that really made me laugh. The bright, vivid colors popped out at me, and the game was one of the best looking at that time. (Keep in mind that many of the ‘hot’ PS1 games were ‘mature’ with dark colors and themes.)

Spyro’s full of colorful characters who sometimes carry around creamy cakes!

Last, but not least, for us Italians, it was one of the first times where the whole game was completely dubbed with Italian voices, thanks to Italian voice actors. If I wasn’t already smitten with the game before, this last selling point was all it took to totally fall in love with Spyro, the pretty-friendly Dragon!

Thanks to all of Spyro’s charms and much more, the developers, Insomniac (who recently, in 2018, put out the universally acclaimed smash hit Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4), strongly entered the videogames industry, and Universal (the publisher) made lots of money.

The new graphics are just as impressively beautiful and vivid as they were back in the day.

Much more importantly than fame or money, many players finally got to enjoy a real open-world 3D platformer on a console other than Nintendo, and there clearly was an appetite for this style of game. Consequently, Spyro, in his cool purple dragon style, sauntered himself through two additional Insomniac-developed chapters also on the PS1.

Hard Times for Old Heroes

Unfortunately, Spyro soon declined in popularity as game design evolved past the joys of simple 3D platformers. A couple PlayStation 2 titles (2002 and 2004) were developed and were moderately memorable. Other spin-off titles were also made to milk the franchise.

Then there was an attempt to revive Spyro in the 128-bit era by Activision (who bought the rights and owns them to this very day). This led to the creation of less interesting and semi-forgettable titles, including a dubious 2006-2008 rebooted trilogy with big-name voice actors and a planned movie tie-in (yuck).

Given Spyro’s rocky years, Activision shifted gears and directed one of their wholly-owned studios, Toys for Bob, to create a new type of game that mixed real-life collectible toy figures with videogames. This new vision would become the insanely successful Skylanders series. So in 2011 Spyro found himself becoming a ‘collectible toy’ video game designed to be inoffensive and accessible with RPG ‘hooks’ to keep the player engaged (and buying toys).

It’s ironic, then, that Skylanders began as a spin-off of Spyro but soon came to completely eclipse the Spyro brand. Soon enough, Spyro was mostly forgotten about as Skylanders went on to create an entire genre full of collectible toy creatures and mildly interesting ‘children’s’ videogames over the 2011 to 2016 period. Quite a fall for Spyro from being the up-and-coming threat to dethrone platforming-king Mario back in the early 3D days.

Finally, Spyro Returns, Reignited!

Having been dormant for some years now, and thanks to the trend in remaking old 3D classic games, Activision has finally brought back the original Spyro in this modern remake of the three very original games, much like how Activision remade the Crash Bandicoot saga in the ‘N. Sane Trilogy‘ in 2017. To accomplish this remake, Toys for Bob was called back to the action, which is fitting since they’ve had years of experience with Spyro-inspired games since 2011’s Skylanders series began.

Spyro can smile again, having been returned to his glory days in this modern remake!

First released in 2018 on PS4 and Xbox One, this remake has been a huge success from both critics and players, in part because it has allowed so many of us to relive old childhood memories in modern accommodations while retaining the appreciated ’90s gameplay mechanics. Accordingly, sales were huge, and Activision has successfully ridden the wave of instant nostalgia and given fans a real blast-from-the-past treat.

How Faithful is the ‘Reignited’ Remake? Very!

As far as the faithfulness of the remake goes, Toys for Bob have created a very faithful product, with the same story, worlds, and enemies of the originals. This is very much a 1:1 remake, much like its reboot-cousin, Crash’s ‘N. Sane Trilogy.’ With this reboot, from the first moment when you boot the game, it’s like traveling through time with some magic trickery.

Happiness and sunshine is what Spyro feels now having been given a quality remake.

Everything is there, in the same place I remember it, with all the same gems and chests right where I left them some 20 years ago. Even all the enemies are in the right places, with the same movements and noises. Indeed, all the gameplay and mechanics are basically identical to the original games. Even the beloved dragonfly character Sparx is faithfully recreated, who shows how much health is still available before collapsing and losing a life (you’ll understand when you play the game).

The only big difference in this remake is the technical, not structural, changes. Under the hood, the game hums along with excellent performance thanks to the Unreal Engine 4 engine, and all the modern effects create a visually pleasing, if still simplistic, style. The game engine also provides lots of configuration options to fit the power of various PCs, and the semi-cartoon visuals mean the game looks good even on lower settings.

Overall, this remake is ultra-faithful gameplay-wise but also has excellent additional details to make these original games come alive in ways never before seen. All the new aesthetic details are a treat to behold, even if they don’t change the underlying gameplay, and the few minor gameplay tweaks are welcome.

Very strong art and graphics create a new view of these old treasured games.

The Same Gameplay: Both Good and Bad

Delving into the actual gameplay, it should be noted that it’s both good and bad that this remake is so faithful to the originals. There’s no denying that these games are dated in design with gameplay that has aged a bit badly, but as long as you know what you’re expecting, you’ll likely find lots to appreciate.

As far as the structure, all three games maintain the world hub and its respective world zones scattered around it. Just like before, the player needs to collect all the gems, free all the dragons, and find all the stolen eggs using Spyro’s powers.

There’s just a few new additions here and there: for example, Spyro now has a new way of moving, inspired by feline movements, which make him smoother than before. The same treatment was used for every 3D model, allowing cleaner movements, making the game easier to appreciate in our time.

Out exploring, enjoying the smooth movement (but the gameplay is a bit stiff).

An Italian Aside

For the readers out there from Italy, let me once again say that we yet again have a completely localized game with redone (and superior) voice acting. Gone are the questionable accents of the original games, so the localization efforts deserve praise.

Game Difficulty: Not Hard

Let’s bring up Crash Bandicoot again. That series was cruel and difficult despite its happy cartoon-like design, and both the originals and remake were obviously aimed at experienced players. Spyro, on the other hand, was always aimed at younger players, and both the originals and remake have much easier controls and laid-back design.

Mind you, Spyro can still be a tough game at times, but it’s only ever difficult, not nightmarish, and most of the game is easy to explore and enjoy. Basically, Spyro is the type of game everyone (including kids) can play through and reach the end, feeling satisfied at the result.

It would have been nice to have some way to select or unlock more difficulty options in this remake, but whether you’re young or old there still is enough challenge to keep most players focused. Still, you can decide for yourself if the lesser challenge is a plus or minus for you, personally.

Concluding the Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Now I’ve taken you on my person journey through Spyro, leading up to this recent remake. I’ve enjoyed my time with this modern Spyro, and it’s been like a homecoming for me, reliving my old cherished memories. However, even if you’re never played Spyro before, there’s much to enjoy. The game is colorful, smooth, and interesting with a cartoon-like story and charming characters.

There’s much to love in this charming game world, if you don’t mind old game mechanics.

Make no mistake, this Reignited Trilogy is nothing more or less than a totally faithful, high-fidelity remake of the first three games (some would say the only legitimate Spyro titles). New players might not be willing to endure the old-school mechanics and simple challenge, but with the right mindset it’s really enjoyable to play.

At the very least, it’s nice to have Spyro back in a nice modern three-in-one package, reliving his 3D platforming glory days.

Faithful to the original trilogy

Remastered graphics

Easily customizable

3 games for the cost of 1!

Suitable for all ages

Probably too easy for some

No additional levels

No original graphics mode

No bonuses or extras

  Playtime: 12 hours total (and counting). Mathieu has not completed the game, but he’s still playing it to collect all the gems!

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit laptop computer, with 16GB of Ram, Nvidia 1050Ti.

The post Spyro: Reignited Trilogy – PC Review appeared first on DSOGaming.

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy – PC Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[silverbrumbyfan]

The Lion King Vs Simbas Pride Vs The Lion Guard

I know it doesn’t look like this is about shipping but it technically is because I find Kovu and Kiara absolutely adorable.

I just decided to watch Simbas Pride the other day after watching a few clips of the Lion Guard because damn that direct to video movie looks gorgeous in comparison.

I just watched Simbas Pride again because I started to realise they actually paid attention to detail but we’ll get there.

Also I’m not dealing with TLK 1 and a half because it doesn’t add anything to the story.  Hands up here who are sick to death of prequels when a sequel has been practically gift wrapped for them.

The Lion King

This has and will always be my favourite CLASSIC Disney movie.  The animation especially the attention to detail, the music, the characters and the emotional moments.  Its all so beautiful. Almost perfect.

However, since Simbas Pride exists I have to compare the two movies.

Simbas Pride

I know this will be a rather unpopular opinion especially since I’m referring to a Disney direct to video sequel but after watching Simbas Pride just now I realised that I think its better than the original.

Now obviously it suffers from the poorer animation all direct to video sequels have BUT I think it looks better than most Disney sequels.  While watching I kept looking at the other characters in the background and i was like hey wait they’re moving, they’re reacting its like they actually exist in that moment and haven’t turned to stone.  Most Disney sequels will have other characters in the background but won’t really do anything with them, they’re just there because they’re there.  The animation is still very similar to the original with just a few awkward moments here and there like in one scene Kiara walks as if her paws are sticking to the ground but its still very lion king and I am not a fan of the constant flashes of white teeth, like you showed them smiling normally before why the teeth now.

The music I think is better, He Lives in You (yes I know its from the West End/Broadway version) is my absolute favourite.  My Lullaby is my favourite villain song.  We are One is catchy and memorable.  Upendi can fuck off though, that song is an evil ear worm, One of Us is an awesome song  and finally Love Will Find a Way which I definitely prefer to Can you Feel the Love Tonight.

The stakes are much higher here.  In the original Simba returned because he was the rightful king, and for some reason Scar’s rule turned the pridelands into a wasteland but the conflict in Simbas Pride is between 2 warring prides.  If Simba loses to Zira his entire pride will be slaughtered.  And the violence in this my word, I mean its a Disney flick there’s no blood or visible wounds but  we can use our imagination, Disney distracts the kids from this by giving Timon and Pumbaa some screen time but you can’t look away as an adult.  You see outsiders biting pridelanders throats, several pinning down one lioness and tearing at her.  I mean yeah its a good thing Simba let the outsiders join the pride since he must have lost over half of his lionesses in the battle.  And lets not forget Nuka’s tragic death, crushed to death by logs wow Disney you really can be dark sometimes.

Zira and the outsiders are better antagonists than Scar and the hyenas.  Now don’t get me wrong I love Scar and I think he’s a great villian but he only commands hyenas who are only able to help him takeover due to their large numbers.  Zira commands lions and I’m not entirely sure how many since every shot there seem to be more but I would guess between 10 and 20 lionesses.  She has them train every day to prepare them for their inevitable battle with the pridelanders.  Every time she speaks to her pride as a whole during battles she’s saying ‘remember your training’ and telling them the best way to incapacitate her enemies.  Notice that she NEVER enters the battle herself.  She holds back commanding from afar and only steps in when she’s sure of herself.  Zira and the outsiders are fighting because they used to live in the pridelands while Scar ruled and Simba banished them to the outlands where they struggle to survive so to them Simba really is the villain of their tale whereas Scar and the hyenas do what they do because of a hunger for power.  Because Zira and her pride were once pridelanders under Scar it adds a sense of mystery to them.  With Scar you didn’t really need to know why you just accepted he’s evil and moved on but with Zira and her pride you do want to know.  Why would Simba just straight up banish a large part of his pride just because they were Scar’s supporters or did something happen?  Why does he warn Kiara they can’t be trusted? Sigh, it makes me sad when you see all these questions could have been answered in another film,  film set during Scar’s reign in The Lion King would have been ideal.

The romance in this was fairly rushed but I don’t really care because I love Kovu and Kiara.  From their first meeting they are absolutely adorable.  My favourite  moment is when Kiara tries to get Kovu to play with her and when he acts confused she switches to something she thinks he knows its just a shame Simba had to interrupt when he did.  I’d have loved to see them tussle a bit first.  Then when they’re grown they help Timon and Pumbaa and Kovu is confused again because all he thinks about is training but Kiaras like screw training lets just have some fun and he loves it, even when the rhinos are chasing them he’s got the biggest grin on his face.  Their awkward nose touch after the rhino chase was so sweet.  I like the scene after when they’re looking at the stars, Kiara points out a baby rabbit and Kovu immediately picks out an image of violence showing a clear comparison of their worlds.  What I love most and I’m most surprised about, Kiara never believes that Kovu was behind the ambush.  Most stories like this result in the character being misunderstood so everyone turns from them but Kiara doesn’t.  

The Lion Guard

Ok so I realise this was made with little kids in mind but its the kind of show that will be dumbed down.  I remember being excited when they announced the film, I watched about 2 minutes then gave up.  The lazy animation style was too unbearable, even if it was made for kids if they at least tried to stick to the original animation style I would have been happy to watch, well only if they kept the character’s personalities too.  I mean no don’t worry about following the much beloved source material just make these wonderful characters into cardboard cutouts I’m sure that won’t backfire in any way.

I don’t watch the show but I sometimes view clips on Youtube.  I watched one where Simba is stung by a scorpion and faints.  Nala cries his name once and thats it for Nala.  For the rest of the scene she’s sat gazing down at Simba as if he’s dead already and she doesn’t move at all its like they’ve replaced her with a cardboard version for the rest of the scene.  Kions the only one who’s trying to get a response out of Simba I mean yeah he’s the main character of the Lion Guard but Nala is SIMBAS MATE, she should be frantic nudging him, speaking to him, asking Rafiki if he’ll be ok but no just have her sit mutely in the background because only Kion matters.  What is the point of having these characters if you’re just going to ignore them. 

This is possibly the worst thing about watching something animated. In live action shows there is always something happening in the background because its real life but in animation it only happens if the animator can be bothered to do anything more than the initial plot point.  

I know this was quite biased but this is just how I feel especially since it baffles me that they decided to do something more with Lion King so forced a character who didn’t exist before into the story since Kion can’t possibly be a part of Simbas Pride when they could have just continued with Kovu and Kiara (pretty sure EVERYONE wanted that to happen, its like Spyro, Cynder and Skylanders all over again).  Isn’t that the point of the Circle of Life, they could do lion king movies forever and go on for generations and generations if they wanted to.

This was also partially inspired after reading Savu0211′s comics again on deviantart https://savu0211.deviantart.com/, I would highly recommend them to any lion king fan, just note Savu is german and his english and grammar isn’t perfect but you can usually figure out what he’s trying to say.

[mariocharactersnames-blog]

Un-Answered Questions Into Super Mario Bros Characters Revealed

Mario returns to conserve the Princess, and collect plenty of coins on the manner. He could also use Boomer to try to make an explosion near Francis. It's possible for you to dress as Mario with ordinary clothing you've got around the home. Mario was initially created in the calendar year 1981 by Shigeru Miyamoto. He is one of the most famous video game characters. Mario and Luigi have precisely the same abilities except in a couple of situations.

Super Mario Bros Characters - the Conspiracy

I you will have to buy the game to learn more about this game! Purchase this game, and you will really not be let down. It's an extremely good game with lots of charm to it.

It is possible to play the game with as much as four players. It was among the initial games to allow over 2 players at a moment. It is a huge game to play if you're in a new relationship and you're still being flirtatious with one another. Conventional party games are still enjoyable.

Super Mario Bros Characters Secrets That No One Else Knows About

If it's possible to bear the noise (or just mute the game whilst playing which is normally advised), you will rack up some KOs in virtually no time. For instance, some games let you customize your in-game character by taking an image of yourself to use as the surface of the in-game character. It's simple to see the reason why this game is among the top selling video games of all time. Both games also have an assortment of characters to pick from and elements that may only be unlocked by certain characters. It is a recommended game. Not all excellent couple games need to be casual games.

Things You Should Know About Super Mario Bros Characters

The game is believed to be commercially outstanding as it managed to sell throughout the world 9.7 million units. It will alter the way that people play video games. It's very clear that side scrolling video games ought to be popular once more.

You play the game in the very first person shooter perspective. Aside from the aforementioned advantages, you may finally get closer to actually beating a few of those previous games you fondly remember. If you wish to modify things up from standard racing games, Wave Race is a significant choice.

The Upside to Super Mario Bros Characters

If you haven't ever played them game and want to know more about knowing about it, then delight in the remainder of this guide. You can't go wrong with Mario games. It's excellent for those who are only starting out with Mario games. It's among the greatest Mario games ever made.

Super Mario Bros Characters - the Story

Since you can imagine, there are lots of men and women who will tell you playing games can be a great deal of fun. When you truly stop and think about it, there are lots of individuals who will say the Spiderman games are not just incredibly fun, but they are also rather relaxing. Spiderman GamesSpiderman games have come to be incredibly common in the last several years largely on account of the many movies that have come out where Spiderman is the major character.

The War Against Super Mario Bros Characters

You will pick a character and say your lines based on the character and their personality, defeating dragons on the way. The character travels to various regions of the magical world named Skylands'. Brawl, where the 2 characters (among a great deal of others) would actually have the ability to fight each other.

[megadads]

There aren’t many thing that I can say are benefits of being an (almost) 40-year-old, but there are a few. Having a greater appreciation for fine foods and culture, remembering how cool it was to grow up in the 80’s, waking up in the middle of the night to a symphony of pain in joints that you didn’t even know existed… okay maybe not that last one. Also, being born in the seventies means that I experienced most of video game history unfolding right before my eyes. I got to play most of the classic games that shaped the industry into what it is today, games that kids growing up today might not even have heard of.

My daughters were introduced to the world of video games through titles like Minecraft, Skylanders and Disney Infinity, but there are decades worth of amazing games that they know nothing about. Games that by today’s standards may seem archaic and rudimentary, but still hold a lot of value both as historical artifacts of the industry as well as still being a heck of a lot of fun. The difficulty though has always been trying to find the right way to introduce them to these older experiences.

‘101 Video Games To Play Before You Grow Up’ is an upcoming book from author Ben Bertoli and publisher Walter Foster Jr. that aims not only to introduce younger players to some of the best video games available (both classic and modern), but also to make the experience of discovering these classic games as entertaining as actually playing them. Ben is a full-time teacher and a freelance games journalist who has written for Polygon, Kotaku, and Nintendo Life. He was nice enough to share his book with us and talk about the inspiration behind it.

“As a full-time teacher I interact with kids on a daily basis. My students know I like to play video games and often they come to me asking what I’m playing, or have played in the past that I would recommend. Many kids make rash decisions when it comes to buying games or diving into series and often times they’re only purchasing or trying games that others have suggested. Children like to replicate adults and this leads to many of them playing games that are not appropriate or are far too hard. Knowing this I wanted to create a book that could give young readers dozens of gaming recommendations with plenty of insight into what makes the game or series as a whole worth playing. Knowing the history behind a game or what kind of gameplay it entails is essential to picking out a title that can really enthrall and enlighten a young mind.”

The book features over 70 pages loaded with games, and includes everything from well-known classics such as Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man to some lesser known gems that kids might not be aware of like Tearaway and Costume Quest. There are so many great games packed into the book that my daughter and I both found plenty of titles to seek out. Even with over 3 decades of gaming experience under my belt there are so many games that I know nothing about,and having this resource of family friendly titles at my disposal is incredibly helpful when it comes to choosing which games to play with my family.

They’ve done a really good job of making finding new games as easy as possible, with each title being divided by genre so kids can find games that they are familiar with first and then use the directory to discover new games that might be similar to what they enjoy. They’ve even included a handy guide to explain what each genre is for those who might not know the difference between a strategy game and a platformer. It’s a small detail, but one that’s appreciated. Each page also features an illustration from artist Spencer Wilson. His art combined with the bright color palette used on the pages make the book visually eye catching and fun to read.

For each of the games in the book you’ll find a wealth of information. Not only is there a detailed description of the characters and story, which is important for the kids when it comes to deciding if the game appeals to them, but they’ve also included the crucial information that parents might need to know about. What year did it come out? Which consoles is it available for? What is the ESRB rating? All of the things that a parent would need to know to determine where to find the game or in deciding if the game is appropriate for their children (the book covers games from ratings E through T).

The book is also chalk full of fun tidbits of information for you and your kids to discover about each of the games, from what the best games in the series are to what other similar games you’d like if you enjoyed that one. There’s also a fun “Did You Know” section on each page which gives you fun facts about the game such as “Mega Man is known as Rock Man in Japan. He also has a robotic sister whose name is Roll. Get it? Rock and Roll!” It’s a fun bit of trivia not only for the kids, but there were plenty of facts that I didn’t know about either! Yoshi was originally going to be a Koopa?!

One of my favorite features though is something that your kids can do as they play each game. There’s a section on the bottom of each page for kids to check a box once they’ve played the game, color in a star rating to show how much they liked the game, and a few lines for them to write in what their favorite part of the game was and any other notes they may want to take. It’s a fun way to make it an interactive experience for them and makes it a fun book for them to hold onto for years to come and look back on their experiences. Bertoli really understands the importance of introducing these games to today’s kids.

“The next generation of video game players is also the next generation of video game developers. As a child, sampling a wide range of genres and the games can influence a whole new level of understanding and appreciation when it comes to gameplay. These series and standalone games are classics for a reason. They may not appeal to everyone, but whatever it is they have to offer is worth mentioning on the off-hand it sparks interest in a young player. Games have gotten sleeker, shinier, and more complex, but the roots of gaming trace back to core concepts and feelings of success any gamer can relate to. The greatest way to teach children about the past is to let them experience it, and there is no medium better suited to tackle this hands-on approach more than video games.”

101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up is an essential book for families with new or younger gamers. It was a joy not only for my daughter to read, but for the two of us to read together and talk about the games that we discovered inside. And if you’re in the same boat as I am (as many of our readers are) I suggest you find room on your bookshelf as well.

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You can pre-order ‘101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up’ right now on Amazon and it will be available on October 1st.

    Mega Dads Book Club: 101 Video Games To Play Before You Grow Up There aren't many thing that I can say are benefits of being an (almost) 40-year-old, but there are a few.

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (3DS)

I was an optimist for the series when Skylanders began, and honestly this game helped cause the optimism to soar. It was different from the console ports, very very different. And in a good way. Or at least, in a way that I liked.

Gameplay

The main gameplay for this game is platforming: Hopping along tiny islands and fighting enemies. There is definitely a lot of action (as the enemies get very tough by the end), but maneuvering is your most common action. Pretty much the exact opposite of the Console versions without changing the genre.

The characters all act as unique as in the console versions, but here they don’t have multiple paths and their stats and abilities upgrade as they level. Money does not exist in this game, and the money on the figure doesn’t affect it.

Also, winged characters do glide in this game. It isn’t a main mechanic, and it doesn’t help you get places any better, but it does exist.

The Gates

Each level has one or two elemental areas. They’re pretty much like the rest of the game: platforming, battling, and getting a hat at the end. Requirements for 100%ing this game are identical to the Console game: you must have one of each element to do so.

If they weren’t worth it for the console game, they’re really not worth it here. The areas are much smaller, and don’t add much of anything. But hey, this is a companion title to the main game, so it can get away with that.

The Collectables

There’s three here:

Hats are purely for the aesthetic in this game. But hey, you can unlock a lot of them without worrying about elemental areas.

Character scrolls give some bonus I don’t recall to the corresponding character. Some are in mismatched elemental areas, (example: Stealth Elf’s is in an Earth area) which is annoying.

And finally, Radiance Crystals are the main story collectable. You need to get enough of them to progress. Each level has five, which you get for completing various tasks and the last one is always a speedrun of the level with Hektore chasing you.

The first two are pretty much just found along your way. There’s not much in this game that’s hidden.

Sometimes there’s other collectables scattered around the level for a Radiance Challenge, but that’s all they’re good for.

Bosses

Uh, boss singular? I honestly don’t remember how this fight went. Hektore is really forgettable in many ways.

Levels

They’re all pretty similar in function, but their theming is pretty varied. I mostly just enjoyed this game because it had been a long time since I had last played a new platformer. And this game definitely scratched that itch.

My main problem is that whenever you complete a task, you need to speedrun to the end. It’s a lot less fun rushing through the levels than it is taking your time. Worst of all, once you have all the Radiance Crystals, it’s always a speedrun. On my second playthrough I specifically did the elemental gates on separate run-throughs just to not have to deal with Hektore.

Story

There’s not much to it. Hektore is an evil floating mask (and unlike Kaos, is just an evil floating mask) who has in some way taken over this section of the Skylands. It’s up to poor Wendel to use his staff to contact you, the Portal Master, so that you can send your Skylanders to help him.

And then it’s pretty straightforward of collect enough Radiance Crystals to open the Dark Mirror and defeat Hektore once and for all.

Wendel also has the secret ability to reset Traps and Creation Crystals from later games, which don’t natively allow you to reset them. This isn’t part of the story but makes Wendel a much more interesting and likable character.

Unique in the Series?

It’s the only game with Wendel and Hektore, and the only time they’re ever referred to I believe.

Honestly, I’ve only played this one, Giants, and Superchargers for the 3DS. I can’t say for certain what’s completely unique about this game, because I don’t know if anything Giants lacks, Swap Force and Trap Team also lack.

I’ll need to get those at some point for completionist’s sake. But for now, I’ll just say that it’s a lot more platform-y than Giants and is unique in the annoying must-speedrun thing after you complete the level completely.

Conclusion

As much as I had relatively little to say about this, I love it. It’s tied with Superchargers for my favorite Skylanders game, although a lot of it might be the nostalgia for the optimism this game gave me.

It’s incredible how emotionally charged this series is for me. I guess that’s what happens when your favorite franchise is altered so completely, with such predatory practices, and yet the games are still, deep down, fun. I can’t love them nor can I fully hate them.

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Spyro the Dragon

Hey, as someone who only owns a Switch of the current console generation, and as someone who grew up playing Spyro on the PS1, I’m super hyped for the return of the dragon!

And I thought up yesterday, what better way to do that than by reviewing every Spyro game I’ve played.

Well, I’ve played... *counts* 22 Spyro games. Counting the 3DS ports of Skylanders games which are different enough to talk about separately.

Alright divide the number of days left until it comes out and...

Uh... one every two days, huh? Guess I better get started! (May space them out or have bonus comparisons/recaps at the end to deal with the extra days)

Spyro the Dragon

The first Spyro game! Also the first video game I ever played. One day, when I was 3, my dad plopped me down in front of the Playstation, gave me the controller, and started up some demo disk. The first one on there was this game called Spyro the Dragon, and he told me what the buttons did (since I couldn’t read the screen that told you), and let me play.

I told my mom about it (divorced parents), and we rented the game from Hollywood Video. *She* played it. She loved it. And I loved watching. And pressing buttons on a controller put into slot 2. I had a fancy Barbie controller. I don’t know what eventually happened to it.

Eventually the Hollywood Video lost the disc and we bought it for ourselves. We were renting it every week, anyway. I remember us going up to the video game counter and my mom going “We’d like to get this game, it’s about a dragon...” and I shouted “And he’s purple! And his name is Spyro!” I loved him so much.

Now I didn’t play through the entire game myself until I was a teen, but unlike any other game, I did see the ending as a kid because my mom was able to make it through the game, into 100%. It’s a series we bonded over, and I have so much nostalgia for it. I can’t wait to play it in Reignited and see what she remembers.

Anyway, stopping with the memories and onto the review! It’s just... really hard to be fair for a game like this. I have too much nostalgia related to it. Honestly, though, that’s the case for a lot of the series.

Gameplay

Spyro the Dragon is an early 3D platformer. Despite being early, though, it controls really well. I’ve played a few others from that era (Croc, uh... Crash? Maybe not a few) and none of them control quite as well as Spyro does. Spyro is extremely responsive, stopping and starting on a dime.

You have two attacks, spitting fire and charging with your horns. The latter can be used to move quicker, but you don’t turn as sharply when running. When to use each attack is well-conveyed, as large opponents are immune to your horns, but weak to your fire, and opponents with a shiny metal shield are the opposite. There’s a few enemies immune to both, but they can be beaten by ways that are broadcasted well.

Collectables

One of those ways is the dragons. There’s three main collectables in this game: Gems, Eggs and Dragons. Gems are everywhere, Eggs are only in a few levels, and Dragons are placed in key locations in each level. The Dragons are I suppose the main collectable, but all three are needed for progress. Dragons in particular also double as tutorial and lore pieces, as each tells you something when you free him. They also all look unique, with each of the five species having their own general look and each individual having his own textures. I go into a lot more detail in this blog post. This really makes the dragons in this game stand out amongst the series, as no other collectables are nearly as unique.

Gems I don’t really know what to say about. Many collectathon platformers have collectables like them: something spread around every level so you need to explore the entire play area. Gems are special in that each one has a different value: red being 1, green being 2, blue being 5, gold being 10, and purple being 25. And this spread shows approximately how common each was, with the lower values being more common and spread around, and the higher values being rewards for going into more out-of-the-way areas. Collecting them is satisfying, especially in larger amounts. Just watching the numbers spin is one of the highlights of this game, especially at the end of the bonus level.

Eggs are special. They come from chasing down blue thieves, which are the most annoying enemy in the game. Sure, now I can get them in one try, but back at the beginning the ones that don’t have a full circular path were the most annoying things, since if you got to the end, they’d just jump out of reach and taunt you.

Powerups

There’s two main powerups in this game: Superflame and Supercharge. Both have a couple of levels that use them extensively.

Superflame definitely is the weaker of the two. You get kissed by a fairy, turn red, and then for a limited amount of time you can use your flame breath to destroy metal objects and enemies. In the two levels it’s in, there’s an enemy you specifically need to use it on: the terrifying spiders and the enchanted suits of armor. The thing is, Superflame otherwise looks and works exactly like normal flame, just is usable on more things. While it’s cool to get the limitless one in Haunted Towers, overall it’s not a very memorable ability, and is improved dramatically in the sequels.

Supercharge you get from charging over lit arrows, and it enhances your charge to work on larger enemies and makes you go really, really fast. It takes a bit to master, but once you do, it is a very satisfying skill to use. Too bad none of the levels in this game have a limitless track to use it on. The levels that use it use it in very creative ways, including the one where I’m not even sure how you’re supposed to know the path you’re supposed to take. It really spices up the gameplay, to the point where Tree Tops feels like an entirely different game. And if you know me, you know that I love games that spice up the gameplay.

Bosses

The one weak point of this game is its bosses. They’re basically normal enemies, just with a slight gimmick. And that gimmick usually involves a large battlefield where they will run away from you. It does make you feel powerful: after all, they’re running away from the fire-breathing dragon attacking them. But at the same time, they offer very little challenge. The only really interesting one is Metalhead with his electric-guarded power generators, but even then, it’s not like he can hit you or anything unless you’re standing completely still. And the final boss is only hard because of how many holes the stage has in it. Not at all because of Gnasty. He’s still the most likely to directly hit you of all the bosses, but that’s not saying much.

Levels

The levels are all themed to their world, which is pretty neat, but does get repetitive at times. Still, it made each world feel more real.

Speaking of things feeling more real, something I’ve noticed is that Spyro the Dragon doesn’t fall into the same pitfall of having platforms that are just platforms because this is a platformer. Every piece of land is connected to something, oftentimes even in Dream Weavers which is literally floating islands. Moving platforms are caused by wizards, dangerous platforms are caused by Gnorcs zapping them, and often random platforms in the middle of the level are themed to it, like the stumps in Beast Makers.

The game progresses from easy to hard very smoothly, adding more gimmicks and platforming challenges as it goes along. This is also shown by the Gnorcs getting more competent as the game goes along, beginning with no weaponry in Artisans, getting cannons in Peacekeepers, electricity in Beast Makers, and finally machine guns in Gnorc Gnexus. Too bad Gnasty never learned to use a gun.

Story

Gnasty Gnorc turns all the dragons into crystal for insulting him on live TV. And if you read the instruction manual you learn that he hates gems because he hates his own reflection because he is too ugly. Really, there’s not too much here, but that’s not the point of the game. At least it’s not a save-the-girl plot. You don’t really see save-the-adults too often.

Unique in the Series?

Truly what makes this game unique is the fact that it’s completely platforming-based. No minigames, few gimmicks, just the entire game is platforming and collecting stuff.

This comes with a lack of real NPCs, which many people find makes the game lonely, but I don’t mind at all. It’s definitely a different feel from later games, but it’s not in a bad way.

Also something I’m surprised is unique to this game is the fact that many of the secrets involve going onto parts of the level that look like they should not be accessible. You glide onto the surrounding hillsides in Stone Hill, you climb up nearly-invisible steps in Terrace village, and you use the walls that look just like random scenery to fully explore Misty Bog. This type of thing isn’t used in future Spyro games, and rarely (if ever?) in video games in general. Truly a unique experience that has since turned me into an accidental bug hunter because I keep trying to get out-of-bounds just in case in other games.

Conclusion

All-in-all, Spyro the Dragon is tied for my favorite video game of all time with its sequel, Spyro 2. I compare everything I play to these games. They’re just the standard. I love them. Nostalgia-bias? Maybe. But despite there being a few flaws, I can’t really find fault when I play it. It’s too fun.

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Skylanders Swap Force (Console)

Vicarious Visions takes the reigns for a game, and at the same time, wins me over.

I honestly didn’t want this game at first, but eventually decided to try it with the bare minimum of figures a few months after release. To my surprise, I loved it, and there was soon enough a sale that let me get the rest of the Swap Force leg types at half price. I never really engaged much with the gimmick, but the game itself made me want to buy the rest, and that’s what a Skylanders game should do.

Gameplay

On the surface, it’s the same as the first two games. There’s one major difference, however: the presence of a jump button. Yeah, it doesn’t seem to do too much, but as someone who grew up on 3D platformers, being able to dodge attacks in three dimensions was so much easier than just using the two.

And there’s also some very minor platforming. Not enough to make it really a platformer, but enough to make platformer-starved me delighted. Seriously, the world before N-Sane Trilogy and Mario Odyssey was a dark place. Because for some reason I never thought to, you know, buy games for the PS1 and PS2 that I had previously missed out on.

Oh, and the Swap Force gimmick, where you can mix and match the different top and bottom halves of the Swap Force characters. I didn’t use it much (I think I was using only one of them on my official playthrough team), but it added some interesting variety as you figure out which attacks work best together.

The biggest thing, though, is the new combat balancing. Enemies now will be pushed over and back when you attack them powerfully enough. This makes combat so much more satisfying, and also makes melee characters usable in Nightmare Mode.

The Gates

It’s still early in the franchise, and thus everyone gets to be included.

We’ve got the original Elemental Gates. These are unchanged but are quite a bit less common.

We’ve got new Dual-Elemental Gates. These can be unlocked two ways: 1. You can make a Swap Force character with those two elements, or 2. You can enter 2-player mode and use two different elemental Skylanders to open the gate, then exit 2-player mode if you desire. This was a fun and fair way to do it, imo.

We’ve got Giant Chests, that only Giants can open. I don’t think these counted for percentage points and were just another way to get treasure.

And finally, the Swap Zones. These are minigames that require you to have a Swap Force Skylander with particular types of legs. These were fun. At least, doing all bonus stars were really fun. Plus, you know, they’re minigames, and I love gameplay variety.

Old Figures vs. New Figures

Vicarious Visions restatted all of the characters for this game, so everyone’s on approximately even ground. New characters, old characters, they all do around the same amount of damage, and they all use new mechanics well.

The characters made for this game do take advantage of the new combat styles better than older characters, and some of the older characters’ abilities are now completely phased out of usefulness when at least they could be used in Adventure Packs in Giants, but those are minor cases.

Old characters retain their value in that they continue to be able to open up Elemental Gates, and Giants have some use with the Giant Chests. Still, Giants are significantly less useful in this game than in their game, aside from Nightmare Mode because it is actually possible to use them here.

The Swap Force figures obviously have the most to do, but it doesn’t feel unfair when everyone else has something to do, too.

The Collectables

We’ve got a lot of returning stuff, being Treasure Chests, Hats, Winged Sapphires, Soul Gems, Legendary Treasures, and Story Scrolls.

Legendary Treasures now give stat bonuses. You can choose which ones to display after a certain point in the story and the ones on display give you bonuses, like the Luck-o-Tron Wheels in Giants.

There’s also random stuff that’s different every level. These contribute to level completion and are always hidden in the main part of the level that anyone can access.

Finally, there’s Bonus Mission Maps, which give you extra stuff to do in the Bonus Mission game mode. More variety!

The thing to mention, though, is that everything other than Treasure Chests and the level-specific collectables are found behind Elemental Gates and Swap Zones. This makes it much more frustrating figuring out whether you’re really missing something, or if it’s just a place you can’t go to because you don’t have the figure, and makes upgrade discounts locked behind additional figures.

Additional Game Modes

The game has a few different game modes, and they work a bit differently to other games in the series.

We’ve got the Adventure Mode, which is the main story.

There’s Bonus Missions, which are unlocked through Adventure Mode, are small tasks to perform, similar to Heroic Challenges but locked only behind standard gates rather than each individual character.

You can complete the Swap Zones in various difficulties and with various other tasks for stars.

There’s Arena Challenges, which were also present in Giants but the improved combat mechanics makes these much more fun.

Each Skylander also has individual quests that unlock more stats. The bigger your collection, the more replay value! Although a lot of them are pretty repetitive.

Bosses

I remember them being pretty fun. They have levels to themselves, now, so they have their own set of stars and sometimes those are pretty difficult to complete!

The fight with Kaos’ Mom is actually really interesting as well, using your portal as part of the battle. This series doesn’t do fourth-wall-breaking things nearly often enough when it comes to gameplay.

Levels

The only real issue is how long the levels are. Like: expect to take an hour or more exploring them. They’re so long they all have a mid-level checkpoint for sanity.

But I actually didn’t have much of a problem with that. Sure, there’s fewer levels than in the past games, but the gameplay you get out of them makes up for it.

Other than that, they’re fairly fun to go through and pretty well-designed with some hidden areas in the main level rather than all being gated. There are getting to be a lot of gates, though, and that can be a bit frustrating if you don’t have everything needed, and that is objectively more expensive than it ever has been before, given that at minimum you’ll need to have a Swap Force character of each leg type, and you can double-up and get each element at the same time. So minimum of 6 additional $15 figures assuming you got the Starter Pack.

Story

Kaos found this Evilizing volcano and is spreading darkness throughout the Cloudbreak Isles, trying to corrupt the Elementals. It’s up to you, our Portal Master, and your Skylanders to stop him!

Oh, and Kaos’ Mother’s actually one of the main villains. She is never referred to as anything but Kaos’ Mother.

If Kaos’ Mother actually had a name or any particular characterization, this game would be more interesting. As it is, it’s the standard save-the-world plot with a slight twist.

Kaossandra is a lot more interesting in the Skylanders Academy TV show.

Unique in the Series?

It’s the only game that actually tries to make previous gimmicks have a place. It’s the only game with quests for each individual Skylander to complete to get extra stats (I think?). The Swap Zones never return. The clay-like artstyle never returns.

Yeah, it is pretty unique. But it also builds up the series with new types of gameplay that will continue in the future. Starting with this game, the replay value goes up a lot in the series aside from just playing through with different characters. It made a lasting impression, even though it took some risks.

Conclusion

Swap Force is one of my favorite Skylanders games. It’s only behind the other Vicarious Visions Skylanders games, and that’s because this game plays it a lot safer than they do, and I like the way they experiment.

Swap Force is the reason I don’t hate Skylanders after Giants disappointed me. Not bad for the developers behind Spyro Orange.

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon

Continuing my stories from childhood theme, here we have the game that we got the early, glitched version. And we definitely ran into the glitch.

If you entered a Speedway and didn’t fully complete it before leaving, you could never get the egg from the race. Due to this glitch, I didn’t see Super Bonus Round until I did my 100% series runthrough as a teen.

Anyway, without further ado, the review:

Gameplay

Spyro himself receives no changes between Spyro 2 and 3, aside from fixing the double-jump bug. However, this game adds five(six counting Hunter) new playable characters, all with variations on the main controls.

Some work, some really don’t.

The New Playable Characters

The first, Sheila, is the closest to Spyro, controls-wise. She’s just faster by default, can jump higher, can’t glide and only has one attack. Since she basically exaggerates Spyro’s main land gameplay, she’s really fun to play, but isn’t very memorable.

Sgt. Byrd is next, and he’s the most different from Spyro. His main gimmick is the ability to fly freely, but his controls are very slow and clunky. His attacks are ranged, and this game doesn’t do ranged attacks very well. These are the days before strafe-locking became mainstream, and it just makes everything difficult to hit. Still, the freedom you gain from his flight makes him my favorite of the new characters, especially in the level you can play as him in the main part of the level.

Next up is Bentley, or as I called him as a kid, “the yeti.” His gimmick is being really strong, being able to smash really strong crates and large enemies without trouble. As a tradeoff, he’s really slow and can’t jump very far. This makes his main gameplay not very fun for me. He does have the best personality of the four new guys, though (as much as later games missed his point completely).

The last unlocked is Agent 9, the monkey with a laser gun. As stated in Sgt. Byrd, this predates strafe-locking, making his main gimmick difficult to use. Similar to Bentley, he doesn’t jump well or move quickly. He also singlehandedly convinced me never to try first-person shooters. Perhaps it’s unfair to the genre, but they tend to be a lot grittier than I like, anyway.

Finally, Sparx has some bonus levels. These are 2D, and have Sparx dash and shoot various bugs. These control solidly, and I have a lot of fun with them. Honestly, if they made a game of just these, I’d buy it.

Collectables

This time, we have dragon eggs as the main collectable. They are obtained in a mixture of the ways the first and second game’s main collectables were obtained: some are lying around, some are hidden behind minigames. Blue thieves also return after being missing in the second game, with only a clone in a different outfit as a minigame in Shady Oasis.

Gems work the same as they did in Spyro 2. Not much to say here.

Powerups

Supercharge is back to being activated by lighted-arrow paths, and is only in specific minigame areas now. These tracks (especially the one in Icy Peak) are really fun, though. As in Spyro 2, it’s usable freely in Speedways.

Superflame is rarely used in this game, but does exist and is activated by powerup gate. Its mechanics are unchanged from Spyro 2.

Superfreeze doesn’t exist, but Ice Breath replaces your fire breath in one level. It has the same range as your fire breath, but freezes enemies and makes even large enemies die if you charge them. Kind of thematic, but aside from making platforms, it’s weaker than fire breath.

Invincibility is now used to let you swim in dangerous liquid in a level. Like in Spyro 2, it feels really freeing to use, although the time limit is stressful.

Superfly is used exclusively with Superflame. Just as good as always.

And we lose Superjump. I didn’t miss it.

Spitting rocks is used once, and Turrets are used rarely. There’s a new type of turret that shoots completely straight. Easier to use, anyway.

You may notice that aside from the straight-shooting turret, nothing is new. In this case, though, there’s enough variety that it doesn’t bother me. It does make it hard to remember which levels were from this game and which are from Ripto’s Rage, however.

Speedways

Last game added Hunter’s Challenges, and this game adds races. While the paths of your opponents are set, I find this really fun. Especially Country Speedway, where you can chain a ridiculous number of speed stars. The controls are tight enough that it’s a challenge, but doable to go ridiculous speeds.

I loved playing these so much as a kid, and I still enjoy them during my playthroughs. I love them.

Bosses

Four bosses this time, and other than the fact that they are definitely not in order of difficulty, they’re pretty solid.

Buzz is easy once you know what you’re doing, but has an interesting gimmick with his spinning attack and fire shield.

Spike is the hardest boss and comes second. His boss fight is very similar to Gulp’s, just that he shoots straight rather than in the air. Pretty fun boss, and of course my favorite boss type in the series: the type that fights you for your powerups.

Scorch is pathetically easy, but has an interesting gimmick: he sends out eggs that hatch into various enemies that go after you, and you have to deal with them before you get back to him. And that one yellow ball with a tongue is unique to this boss fight. Too bad he’s easy.

For the Sorceress, I like that your weapons get cooler as the fight progresses. As much as people don’t like the UFO controls, I can’t help but love flying around at that stage of the fight. I think I like it more because I saw it played before I played it myself and thought flying around on the UFO was the coolest thing, so I became determined to love it.

And because of that, I can’t help but like the bonus boss. It’s too easy, but still: you’re on a UFO.

Levels

They’re about the same quality as Ripto’s Rage, and in the same style. I don’t really have anything new to say about them.

Minigames

Much like in Ripto’s Rage, they’re very varied. Even more-so because new characters are thrown into the mix, with variations on their playstyle.

Unfortunately, with this variation, there’s some minigames that I cannot stand. Pretty much summed up: Agent 9′s Doom sections, and the UFO (ironic) Demolition Derby. I’ve played the game enough that I’m not bad at them, but I still don’t like them.

There are some really great minigames as well, though. It’s just the bad ones make me dread getting to those parts of the game. I find when I play, it generally is in two sessions - I take a lengthy break once I reach the end of Evening Lake, and then finish next time only out of obligation.

As for presentation, each minigame is in its own mini-portal area. This allows for them to be very creative, but also loses on them feeling like part of the level. I don’t mind, though.

Story

It’s the year of the dragon! This is the time when all the dragon eggs get carried into the dragon realms by fairies.

However, all of the eggs get stolen, and taken to the other side of the world! The reason? The Sorceress needs baby dragon wings for a spell to make her immortal. And her apprentice, Bianca, does her will because she believes the purpose is to restore magic into the Forgotten Realms, as the magic has been fading ever since the dragons were banished.

As it turns out, this place was the original dragon realms, but the Sorceress banished them a thousand years ago.

Definitely the deepest lore of the original Spyro trilogy, but it’s not saying much compared to other series. Still, Bianca switching sides eventually was the first time little kid me recognized character development as existing. It makes her one of my favorite characters in the series.

And this time, the calamities in the levels are directly tied to the Sorceress. She sends her Rhynoc army out to collect the dragon eggs, and they wreak havoc. It comes at the cost of visual enemy variety, but the enemies are still varied in interaction, so it doesn’t matter too much.

Overall, it works and has a better story than its predecessors. I approve.

Unique in the Series?

Haha, no. It borrows a lot from Ripto’s Rage, and later games borrow everything that’s new from it.

It does have the highest number of playable characters if you don’t count Skylanders. And is the only game in which you can play as Bentley. And is the only game in which Bentley is not a dumb brute. But game-design-wise, it’ll be copied.

Conclusion

Solid game, and definitely one of my favorites. Loses points merely due to me disliking certain minigames.

[megadads]

There aren’t many thing that I can say are benefits of being an (almost) 40-year-old, but there are a few. Having a greater appreciation for fine foods and culture, remembering how cool it was to grow up in the 80’s, waking up in the middle of the night to a symphony of pain in joints that you didn’t even know existed… okay maybe not that last one. Also, being born in the seventies means that I experienced most of video game history unfolding right before my eyes. I got to play most of the classic games that shaped the industry into what it is today, games that kids growing up today might not even have heard of.

My daughters were introduced to the world of video games through titles like Minecraft, Skylanders and Disney Infinity, but there are decades worth of amazing games that they know nothing about. Games that by today’s standards may seem archaic and rudimentary, but still hold a lot of value both as historical artifacts of the industry as well as still being a heck of a lot of fun. The difficulty though has always been trying to find the right way to introduce them to these older experiences.

‘101 Video Games To Play Before You Grow Up’ is an upcoming book from author Ben Bertoli and publisher Walter Foster Jr. that aims not only to introduce younger players to some of the best video games available (both classic and modern), but also to make the experience of discovering these classic games as entertaining as actually playing them. Ben is a full-time teacher and a freelance games journalist who has written for Polygon, Kotaku, and Nintendo Life. He was nice enough to share his book with us and talk about the inspiration behind it.

“As a full-time teacher I interact with kids on a daily basis. My students know I like to play video games and often they come to me asking what I’m playing, or have played in the past that I would recommend. Many kids make rash decisions when it comes to buying games or diving into series and often times they’re only purchasing or trying games that others have suggested. Children like to replicate adults and this leads to many of them playing games that are not appropriate or are far too hard. Knowing this I wanted to create a book that could give young readers dozens of gaming recommendations with plenty of insight into what makes the game or series as a whole worth playing. Knowing the history behind a game or what kind of gameplay it entails is essential to picking out a title that can really enthrall and enlighten a young mind.”

The book features over 70 pages loaded with games, and includes everything from well-known classics such as Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man to some lesser known gems that kids might not be aware of like Tearaway and Costume Quest. There are so many great games packed into the book that my daughter and I both found plenty of titles to seek out. Even with over 3 decades of gaming experience under my belt there are so many games that I know nothing about,and having this resource of family friendly titles at my disposal is incredibly helpful when it comes to choosing which games to play with my family.

They’ve done a really good job of making finding new games as easy as possible, with each title being divided by genre so kids can find games that they are familiar with first and then use the directory to discover new games that might be similar to what they enjoy. They’ve even included a handy guide to explain what each genre is for those who might not know the difference between a strategy game and a platformer. It’s a small detail, but one that’s appreciated. Each page also features an illustration from artist Spencer Wilson. His art combined with the bright color palette used on the pages make the book visually eye catching and fun to read.

For each of the games in the book you’ll find a wealth of information. Not only is there a detailed description of the characters and story, which is important for the kids when it comes to deciding if the game appeals to them, but they’ve also included the crucial information that parents might need to know about. What year did it come out? Which consoles is it available for? What is the ESRB rating? All of the things that a parent would need to know to determine where to find the game or in deciding if the game is appropriate for their children (the book covers games from ratings E through T).

The book is also chalk full of fun tidbits of information for you and your kids to discover about each of the games, from what the best games in the series are to what other similar games you’d like if you enjoyed that one. There’s also a fun “Did You Know” section on each page which gives you fun facts about the game such as “Mega Man is known as Rock Man in Japan. He also has a robotic sister whose name is Roll. Get it? Rock and Roll!” It’s a fun bit of trivia not only for the kids, but there were plenty of facts that I didn’t know about either! Yoshi was originally going to be a Koopa?!

One of my favorite features though is something that your kids can do as they play each game. There’s a section on the bottom of each page for kids to check a box once they’ve played the game, color in a star rating to show how much they liked the game, and a few lines for them to write in what their favorite part of the game was and any other notes they may want to take. It’s a fun way to make it an interactive experience for them and makes it a fun book for them to hold onto for years to come and look back on their experiences. Bertoli really understands the importance of introducing these games to today’s kids.

“The next generation of video game players is also the next generation of video game developers. As a child, sampling a wide range of genres and the games can influence a whole new level of understanding and appreciation when it comes to gameplay. These series and standalone games are classics for a reason. They may not appeal to everyone, but whatever it is they have to offer is worth mentioning on the off-hand it sparks interest in a young player. Games have gotten sleeker, shinier, and more complex, but the roots of gaming trace back to core concepts and feelings of success any gamer can relate to. The greatest way to teach children about the past is to let them experience it, and there is no medium better suited to tackle this hands-on approach more than video games.”

101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up is an essential book for families with new or younger gamers. It was a joy not only for my daughter to read, but for the two of us to read together and talk about the games that we discovered inside. And if you’re in the same boat as I am (as many of our readers are) I suggest you find room on your bookshelf as well.

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You can pre-order ‘101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up’ right now on Amazon and it will be available on October 1st.

    Mega Dads Book Club: 101 Video Games To Play Before You Grow Up There aren't many thing that I can say are benefits of being an (almost) 40-year-old, but there are a few.