Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

 Xbox 360
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 64 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 64
  3. Negative: 25 out of 64
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  1. hollowfication
    Oct 3, 2012
    3
    i found the game to be boring even knowing it kids game my nephew love it he left it i started playing it i found it boring the no real challenge to it put toy on portal then u can play the toy on game i went thru game like fresh air....

    I dont like game that easy
  2. Voxxen
    Oct 22, 2011
    2
    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 the    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 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
  3. About47Pandas
    Jul 27, 2013
    3
    This game looked cheesy to me from the go. Obviously catering to kids with little to no thinking skills, which could keep them occupied for weeks. I beat the game in 6 hours. It felt like an easy 800 points for my achievements. Not much replay value for someone over the age of 15. I easily leveled 11 characters to 10 and unlocked all their skills. I did that by farming xp on spiders thatThis game looked cheesy to me from the go. Obviously catering to kids with little to no thinking skills, which could keep them occupied for weeks. I beat the game in 6 hours. It felt like an easy 800 points for my achievements. Not much replay value for someone over the age of 15. I easily leveled 11 characters to 10 and unlocked all their skills. I did that by farming xp on spiders that appearently never stop spawning. The idea of the little figures on the portal was cute. But the game play vs buying all the toys not worth it. I could see if it was marketed and programmed correctly, you could have online play, with 2-8 or 16 players in different modes. Though the easy game mechanics need to be adjusted. The battle mode is simple and cheesy... 1 vs 1? Ick. I remember playing games like gauntlet dark legacy, which I found more playble. I think the game has so much potential. Does not deserve a 10. The game is really short for the money you would drop on the toys. The challenges for each toy is kinda hard... Kinda. I didn't hate it, but I didn't feel rewarded enough for leveling all my guys to 10 and beating the game to consider buying 20 more little toys for 10 bucks a pop.

    With that note, I thought micro-transactions were ethically wrong. You can buy a pirate boat to unlock missions that are built in the game but you gotta buy that boat.

    Game cost what? 60 bucks? The pad is another 10 to 15... Then 30 skylanders are 30-40...120 150 bucks for 5-10 hours of game play. Give another 15 to 20 hours to level all those 30 skylanders to 10... Not worth it. A game should offer at least 30 hours plus for 60bucks. That's 12 movies from the 5 dollar bin which gives me 24 to 30 hours.    … Expand
  4. DragYou
    Oct 25, 2011
    2
    I don't think they got the memo across the gaming community: "We don't want change!". Spyro, now a broken faced lizard with wings, is just a disappointment in this game. Feels nothing like the original games at all. Just my opinion.
  5. Pivot1022
    Dec 22, 2011
    0
    Awful. Ruined. Disgrace. Not fun. If it's not broken, Don't fix it. Well activision doesn't understand that. We want them to IMPROVE ON THE ORIGANALS! NOT MAKE MORE OVERPRICED TOYS! Get Stewart Copeland to make the music, Make a FUN game, and i WILL buy it. Not this **** **** Now i'm going to play spyro the dragon on my ps1 because that game is fun.
  6. 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)
  7. 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
  8. ccrogers15
    Jan 27, 2012
    0
    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).
  9. 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!
  10. ChosenKukky03
    Dec 30, 2015
    0
    This game is absolute garbage. The campaign is six hours long & there is literally no character development. The combat is boring button mashing & the only thing required to beat it is about $125 worth of figures. What little plot there actually is is about 95% cliches. After the campaign there is nothing left to do. If you buy this for your kids, you're in some deep ****. I'd throw itThis game is absolute garbage. The campaign is six hours long & there is literally no character development. The combat is boring button mashing & the only thing required to beat it is about $125 worth of figures. What little plot there actually is is about 95% cliches. After the campaign there is nothing left to do. If you buy this for your kids, you're in some deep ****. I'd throw it out, but I wouldn't want to insult the rest of my trash.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2011
60
#60 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. GameCritics
    Jul 27, 2012
    80
    Without a doubt, Skylander's Spyro's Adventure is the best family-friendly, everybody-pleasing title I've seen in quite some time, and has handily eclipsed that other collect'-em-all franchise as the go-to at our house.
    Read full review
  2. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Jan 10, 2012
    50
    Decent game hindered by hidden costs. [Jan 2012, p.98]
  3. DailyGame
    Dec 22, 2011
    90
    One of the most original concepts to hit the industry in the past two or three years, Skylanders is also just fun to play.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »