Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

 PlayStation 3
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 54
  3. Negative: 21 out of 54
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  1. Vcom
    Jul 12, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Okay, before I start review I want to give 2 things:
    1. Don't review this game if you haven't played it
    2. If you read the negative review of this game, read it carefully, as some people tend to dislike a game based on trailers.
    Okay we cool on that.
    Like Call Of Duty, this game's presentation is not very good, but only if we talk about Graphics. Music is pretty nicely done, so Presentation deservs an 8.
    Gameplay gets 9. If I am to describe Gameplay shortly, I would say It is a very very very simpified Diablo (Although I never played Diablo :-)). You must defeat enemies with skills that you learnt from a specific skill tree. For each of 32 characters, there is 1 skill tree with 2 branches, having a total of 64 diffrent characters with diffrent abilities. This game also feautres good multiplayer modes.
    now, if you are to play this game, I strongly recommend you to have at least 5 diffrent figures for player like I did with my friend, because final boss of the game is pretty hard, but very good one to test what you have learnt through out the game (even though this game features my least favorite villain of all time).    … Expand
  2. cptamused
    Dec 6, 2011
    0
    A friend of mine but the $70 game for his kids. Within a week they were begging for more characters. Those characters (the little guys you place on the base pad) cost $15-$50 depending on which character it is are and where you get them.

    Think of this as Pokemon at $20 a card. Your kids are going to want to collect them so every time you go into a store, they are going to be asking for    A friend of mine but the $70 game for his kids. Within a week they were begging for more characters. Those characters (the little guys you place on the base pad) cost $15-$50 depending on which character it is are and where you get them.

    Think of this as Pokemon at $20 a card.

    Your kids are going to want to collect them so every time you go into a store, they are going to be asking for new ones. Different stores carry different versions. There are some versions that are exclusive to Target, GameStop, Toys R Us and so on.

    If you look on the gaming sights you will see most rank the gameplay around as mediocre and nothing new. So you are paying $70 for an average game that you will later pay $100s to add on to.


    This game is more expensive than most games and a lower quality product as far as the gameplay itself goes. You are paying more and getting less. If you want to add to the gameplay you have to pay more money to add more characters. Which increases the cost.

    Lets make a comparison a bit more clear.

    Skylander - $70 with an average user rating of 6.4/10 on Metacritic.

    Lego Batman - $18 with an average user rating of 8.4/10 on Metacritic.

    LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars - $20 with an average user rating of 7.3/10 on Metacritic.

    LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year Edition (my son's personal favorite) - $21 with an average user rating of 8.7/10 on Metacritic

    Three games that are $50 less and have much better ratings

    All the reviews talk about buying the extra characters to make the game fun. So lets say you spend $30 on characters. You know have a game you paid $70 for and then another $30 to upgrade totalling $100 to make it almost as fun as a game you could have bought for $20 that doesn't need upgrades to be good.


    My advice, don't let your kids near this thing and don't waste your money.    … Expand
  3. LordOfChaos
    Oct 16, 2011
    10
    Although geared for a younger crowd, very enjoyable. Nice idea for expanding and continuing game.. Simple and just plain fun. I wish more than 2 could play and sad you have to buy new characters but my sons and I thoroughly enjoy the game and look forward to more characters and more adventures
  4. iFox
    Dec 16, 2011
    7
    This is game is a good buy for young children. My son of 3 years old can fully interact with the game and enjoys the levels, and sleeps with his 7 characters. For me at 29 I enjoy playing the game with my son and working together playing through the game. This game is one of those child games I can actually look forward to playing alongside my son. Other then the above the game is notThis is game is a good buy for young children. My son of 3 years old can fully interact with the game and enjoys the levels, and sleeps with his 7 characters. For me at 29 I enjoy playing the game with my son and working together playing through the game. This game is one of those child games I can actually look forward to playing alongside my son. Other then the above the game is not that amazing. The price tag is expensive, and yes my son wants to pick up a new character at $8 or a 3 pack at $20. I recommend the game for family's looking to bridge the video game cap between a 3 and 29 year old. Good game worth the buy for young children. And Yes my 3 year old can fully interact with this game, he can't read it but he can kick butt on the monsters and handle the challenging obstacles.… Expand
  5. ccrogers15
    Jan 27, 2012
    1
    This game is the worst game ive ever played. This 1, is not spyro. They only used the name spyro for it to sell. They should of left spyro alone and started a new IP. But no, they yet again gotta ruin the spyro name. Why dont they learn and go back to the original spyro that always got good reviews. (not enter the dragonfly tho).
  6. SamuelJJ
    May 8, 2014
    1
    I bought this game because I used to love Spyro in the 90's and yeah, it was my biggest regret yet; £60 in a puddle of Spyro's p***. I can understand this game is for children and for that reason I won't be so harsh on it.
    The developers (activision) want everyone's money and sell these tacky magnetic figurines for £15 a unit. The characters you purchase have moves and abilities which are    I bought this game because I used to love Spyro in the 90's and yeah, it was my biggest regret yet; £60 in a puddle of Spyro's p***. I can understand this game is for children and for that reason I won't be so harsh on it.
    The developers (activision) want everyone's money and sell these tacky magnetic figurines for £15 a unit. The characters you purchase have moves and abilities which are quite cool but you will not need to use these; the first skill you acquire solves all your problems. when you have successfully completed the boring levels through out where ever the F*** you are, you will encounter the last boss which is a big step up from p*** easy. At this point your child will consider buying 10+ figurines so he can have extra lives on the boss, bare in mind it's £15 per figure.. give your child away and demand a refund for your game.
    I wouldn't even recommend this to a child I hated, it's a 1/10 from me. PS activision should keep off good game series and let them RIP. That is all.    … Expand
  7. DocThompson
    Oct 21, 2011
    10
    This is a really fun game. Gave it as a gift to my nephews and played for a while them. Great to see how much they liked the toys and being able to play with them both in the game and out. For me, being a fan of dungeon crawlers, I was happily surprised by how satisfying the game was and how enjoyable it was to level up my little toys. Best gift ever for kids.
  8. seriouslydude
    Nov 26, 2011
    10
    10 quick points on this game.
    1) This game is enjoyable.
    2) The character designs are excellent. 3) Got this game for my kids and I ended up playing this game with them and enjoyed it equally as much. 4) I've never played a Spyro game. I typically play games like Borderlands or Final Fantasy. I really enjoyed the mixture of action and RPG. 5) It's easy enough for a 5 or 7 year old to    10 quick points on this game.
    1) This game is enjoyable.
    2) The character designs are excellent.
    3) Got this game for my kids and I ended up playing this game with them and enjoyed it equally as much.
    4) I've never played a Spyro game. I typically play games like Borderlands or Final Fantasy. I really enjoyed the mixture of action and RPG.
    5) It's easy enough for a 5 or 7 year old to play, yet the trophy challenges make it fun for Dad to 100% the game.
    6) I actually thought while playing this that it would be cool if Final Fantasy did something similar with figures. They are well made and not cheap at all. The platform reacts immediately to one or two player adjustments.
    7) I saw a 1 rating on this game and thats just ridiculous. I'm not sure what game they played but its not this one. 8) You don't have to buy all the characters, the ones it comes with are sufficient to finish the game. To 100% the game you'll need 1 of each element, but still not "all" of them like mentioned by ccrogers15. Still great game with only the characters it comes with.
    9) The music, the scenery and controls are all great, no complaints.
    10) If you are buying this game as a Spyro game, then just use Spyro. You can beat this game with him alone. If you use the other characters, it becomes less of a Spyro game and more of a great action RPG. Its more like Skylanders with Spyro as a playable character. Extra Credit: A little deeper next time and longer and you'll have a Skylanders franchise. I want to give this game a 8.5 or 9 but the 1's are so unfair I'm giving it a 10 to assist the overall score of a very solid and worth while game.    … Expand
  9. IHATENEWSPYRO
    Dec 24, 2011
    0
    Once again Activision has paid all critics. The truth is that this game sucks almost as much than mw3 (that got really bad reviews from users) I you liked old spyro dont get this crap (even legend series was better)
  10. bitterroot1995
    Mar 14, 2012
    1
    This is not spyro. Thanks activison for AGAIN ruining a GREAT series. If a series is doing good, LEAVE IT ALONE and DONT TOUCH IT. Keep your grubby nasty fingers away from Ratchet and clank, Sly, and ty. You guys KILLED spyro. Legend of spyro was one thing, but slylanders goes over the limit!
  11. irateworstgames
    Dec 9, 2011
    0
    Even for a series that has never exactly been stellar, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure sets the bar particularly low. The story is exceptionally trite, the script asks very little of the voice-actors, and the gameplay is bare-bones simple (even as it holds your hand through the most rudimentary mental exercises). There are no platforming elements to speak of (you can't even jump in theEven for a series that has never exactly been stellar, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure sets the bar particularly low. The story is exceptionally trite, the script asks very little of the voice-actors, and the gameplay is bare-bones simple (even as it holds your hand through the most rudimentary mental exercises). There are no platforming elements to speak of (you can't even jump in the console versions!) and practically any platforming-esque mechanic is either performed automatically (conveniently placed bounce-pads replace the aforementioned jumping) or is explained a half dozen times by in-your-face visual cues, constant narrative hints, and pop-up text explanations. The enemies in this game are laughable and should never pose the slightest threat to your life total. Graphically, the Spyro series was never really a powerhouse, and it is obvious that the same amount of effort went into this title. This could have been a PS1 title. It is marketed towards the elementary-school set, though, so it gets a pass. The toy mechanic itself is cute and sure to be a hit with kids from ages 9 to 90, but when taken as a whole with the design decisions in the game proper, it comes across as exceptionally aggressive marketing. Different characters basically play exactly the same as any other, even Spyro himself (which explains the loss of jumping and gliding: lazy design), with one financially relevant caveat. The element attached to each character serves as a key to access locked areas (ie: only a fire element skylander can unlock a fire element area) and a damage modifier is applied for certain elements in some areas as well. What this effectively does is force you to pay for additional figures in order to unlock the full content of your already expensive purchase. And why wouldn't you, after finding the character-specific advertisements sprinkled about each level that unlock abilities and short intro videos for figures that didn't come with the core package! There are already expansion packs available as well. When distilled to its purest form, Sklanders: Spyro's Adventure is essentially a poorly made toy tie-in game that thinks you or your children aren't intelligent enough to figure out how to solve basic challenges without being told exactly what to do in at least three separate ways. To unlock the full breadth of this franchise-turned-shovelware experience you must needs spend something to the tune of a hundred dollars, though you do get some cute toys in the process. And hey, at least there are hats.… Expand
  12. Zeph
    Dec 30, 2011
    6
    The game is really up in the air. To a gamer who fits in the target audience (pre-teenage), they will love it, and want to clear the store shelves of the characters (which on a side note, seems to be working as all the local stores around me are sold out). However, anyone older than that, or even a younger gamer who is experienced in platformers won't be blown away at all by this game.The game is really up in the air. To a gamer who fits in the target audience (pre-teenage), they will love it, and want to clear the store shelves of the characters (which on a side note, seems to be working as all the local stores around me are sold out). However, anyone older than that, or even a younger gamer who is experienced in platformers won't be blown away at all by this game. Each character has a limited set of attacks, which are mapped to multiple buttons. This is fine for younger gamers possibly making their first steps into gaming, but experienced gamers will cruise through this in seconds. To it's credit, the starter pack is enough to beat the game and nail every trophy that comes along with it, but you may be left wanting because of the extra sections that are scattered about. (Although, I might want to add that those sections are in all honesty, really small). Some may be turned down by the easiness of it, but again, this is a game for kids. One complaint I have is the animations. Some of the animations are downright awful (for example, look at your Skylander as he exits a cannon). Also, the lipsyncing is shoddy at best. In terms of it's credit as a "Spyro" game... I want to discredit it. This game is a game that just HAS Spyro in it. Sure, you can level him up and upgrade him to have some of his previous abilties, but for a long time Spyro fan since 1998, I left this game wanting... not more of the figures, but more of that classic Spyro platforming, which has all been chopped into bite sized pieces and strewn about the 8 elemental characters. No go if you want that classic Spyro feel, a go if you have a kid who has possibly never gotten into gaming ever before. They will love it, but they and their friends and parents who can play co-op with them, may be the only group of people that will adore this game.… Expand
  13. YoutubeTGW
    Aug 31, 2015
    0
    NO NO NO!!!! Why do they put "Spyro's adventure is" in the title when it has nothing to do with our beloved purple Dragon. I mean the legend of Spyro three left a cliffhanger ending and the official guidebook that HINTED a fourth installment on page 163 the very last box said "in a final sacrifice, Spyro unleashes the fury within him, reversing Malefor's distraction. All is onceNO NO NO!!!! Why do they put "Spyro's adventure is" in the title when it has nothing to do with our beloved purple Dragon. I mean the legend of Spyro three left a cliffhanger ending and the official guidebook that HINTED a fourth installment on page 163 the very last box said "in a final sacrifice, Spyro unleashes the fury within him, reversing Malefor's distraction. All is once more well in the world, what of our hero? Will he ever return? "Yes in a crappy game what's the name of a very loved character just slap on it for a cash grab." WHY did they use the name Spyro in the title!!?!?!? that is very misleading! I have seen the game play trailer but it didn't offer much information on how the game is played. I thought what the name "Spyro's adventures" it will be a game ABOUT Spyro, like Spyro was the default playable character animal statues you put on the portal unlock characters you can play as in unlock extra areas. The extra areas part was right but for characters of different elements and with figures be in $20 $30 a pack it's a money trap for parents to HAVE to buy another statue so their kid can get in the other area. It was amusing to have a voice actor for Invader Zim to voice the bad guy, but I feel like that's getting the A quick buck from the nostalgia of invader Zim fans. ( if you want your the storage of four invader Zim then get the comic books). why I feel that way? If you had clips of both invader Zim and Kaos talking but the screen be black and swap The dialogue where they refer to themselves in first person (when they call themselves by their own name) you really can't tell the difference between the characters.

    The story gets off chosen one syndrome the biggest cliché and children's entertainment. The gameplay was AGONIZING. The power ups not worth collecting. Combat system was just.......no...

    Spyro deserves better than to be a PLAYABLE CAMEO and what I mean is sky landers Spyro's adventures is to Spyro as sonic spin ball was to sonic. as in sonic spin ball was the game with sonic in it but it wasn't a sonic game just like This game is merely a game with Spyro in it.... but it is not a Spyro game like the title miss lead you to believe.    … Expand
  14. SuperAquaLuigi
    Mar 4, 2017
    7
    (Note: I consider a 7 to be a positive score, unlike Metacritic.) I'm probably the only person who grew up with Spyro and still likes this game. Yeah, it's a bit of an investment, but it's still a fun game. It's got fun gameplay, decent level design and music, good controls, memorable characters, and has a lot of content. If you're good enough at the game, you can beat it with only the(Note: I consider a 7 to be a positive score, unlike Metacritic.) I'm probably the only person who grew up with Spyro and still likes this game. Yeah, it's a bit of an investment, but it's still a fun game. It's got fun gameplay, decent level design and music, good controls, memorable characters, and has a lot of content. If you're good enough at the game, you can beat it with only the three Skylanders the game comes with, so contrary to popular belief, you don't really need to by more toys to play the game, even if there's extra content you DO need more Skylanders for.… Expand
  15. ghopper168
    Apr 18, 2012
    9
    Not sure why people are bagging this game, but the toys are running out of the shops.
    For the target audience it is great, sure it may not be a game for every one, but for young children they love it. They have a good marketing strategy , selling toy to kids. But I can't see why it is any different to MMORPG like world of Warcraft where you have to pay every month.
    Isn't that more of a rip off ?
  16. Calandria
    Jun 1, 2018
    5
    Skylanders:Spyro's Adventure isn't bad game but i forgive the Spyro 's horrible appareance, so for it revolution control and fun boss, i give 5 score
  17. NotActiv_YT
    Nov 2, 2020
    10
    Amazing game, don’t understand how it’s so low in ratings, it was very enjoyable and had hundreds of hours of replayability... the series died as the games got worse and worse every year but the first was amazing and there was nothing like it...
  18. ND-Bringer
    Dec 19, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Would I call this a thrilling fantasy adventure game? That's what I keep telling myself. When I look back at the beginning of Skylanders, I like to remember the all the great levels I played...in the first half of the game. Back in middle school, I would always avoid game completion in favor of full upgrading all of my figures. I'd say otherwise if this was one of the sequels, but Spyro's Adventure had always rubbed me the wrong way. While it does have some really enjoyable levels, they're usually followed uninteresting levels to boot. The game kicks off with Master Eon telling us about the growing threat in Skylands, "The Darkness". And until Super Chargers came along I had know idea what the darkness was supposed to be. I assume it's a force of energy that powers up Kaos' army or a form of madness that affects all the creatures in Skylands. All it really does in this game is make the sky look sinister. My other theory is that the levels become tougher due to the growing darkness. The game starts off with some easy going outdoors levels that fill me with a lot of joy because I can see the sky. The vivid colors accelerate my heart and I get to urge to smash hoards of enemies as I race to the guarded artifact. The first 3 Air Elemental levels act as tutorial stages, showing you the ropes of the game while adding fun little moments to brighten up the adventure. I consider this game to be the darkest because of the intimidating enemy models and the lack of difficulty settings. Meaning that this is no walk in the woods. The moment players run into the Goliath Drow introduction, the real challenge starts to kick in. And after a few upgrades, you can put all you've taken in to the test and complete a real level...STORMY STRONGHOLD. I love this level, the mighty tornado from stage 1 makes a return, that sick electric orchestra music plays in the background, and the Drow throw everything they've got into stoping you! After taking your first steps into Skylands, it's time to collect the remaining parts for the Core of Light. Next up are the Water Elemental levels. They give you a lot of freedom to explore thanks to the massive ocean terrain. I wish this feature was used more often in the game. Using the elemental techniques of your Skylanders to create short cuts through the level. The only downside to these stages is that the Fire Gate Refinery Maze is really tedious too navigate and I can't explore the beautiful Leviathan Lagoon since that darn Leviathan keeps booting me back to the start of the level. The Earth levels are pretty nice, the Crystal Eye Castle feels fresh and the road leading to Stone Town combines all the previous level themes, its average at best. As for the Life levels, man...they're spectacular. Treetop Terrace is easily the best level in the game. The music track is so good that it rivals some Donkey Kong Country levels. You get to race through a fortress of wood full of traps and challenges. And at the end of the day you get to launch a ton of rockets at some giant troll chainsaw mechs, I love it. And then for a moment the game turns into into Conker's Bad Fur Day with all of the charm sucked dry. You go through some muddy grey colored war-themed stages full of these annoying rolling bomb puzzles that only get worse in the Undead gate, so its best to use a big Skylander like Stump Smash if you want to keep your enjoyment intact. And man do I loathe the underworld levels. These levels feel empty in not a generic way, but it reminds me of Super Mario 64. Since theirs barely anyone to talk to in the later levels, I felt alone and frightened. The zombie enemies terrified me. And since T-Bone and I were separated I abandoned this game for a while in favor of the newly released Swap Force. These underworld levels kind of ruin the game thanks to the half-invincible Rotting Robbie enemies, I declare this as the darkest Skylanders game. These Chibi Resident Evil creatures still terrify me to this day. The only thing creepier is staring into their roasted, unconscious bodies lying on the floor. Well that's where the E10 rating came from. The Fire levels...are OK, but the thing with these underground levels in general is that the camera angle makes things feel cramped. It's a nice dark theme older players will enjoy, but younger viewers will be most likely turned off by these grim level themes. Finally the Magic levels come around...and while the level themes are a treat for the eyes and ears, the puzzles drag on for bit too long. And hopefully you can stand and out of no where new robot fighting mechanic trying to make the level feel more whimsical! And the final level in Kaos' Lair starts with some decent gauntlets and ends with the worst final boss fight in the series. I think this game is best for senior players, most of the game mechanics may get on your nerves. But the original levels offer up some nice challenges that can really test your skills. It's the beginning of this mixed bag of a series.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Best PS3 Game of 2011
81
#81 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    Jan 6, 2012
    80
    Enjoyable enough that adult gamers won't mind playing along. [Jan 2012, p.87]
  2. Official PlayStation Magazine Benelux
    Jan 2, 2012
    76
    Activision knows how to promote a product. There are ads running on every kids channel right now trying to convince them that Skylanders is the must-have game. Admittedly, the idea of the figurines is quite neat, but the game itself is nothing to get excited about. [December 2011, p.96]
  3. Armchair Empire
    Dec 28, 2011
    85
    All told, Skylanders is responsible for hours and hours of enjoyment in my house.
    Read full review
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