Skylanders

Okay, so when I'm asked "How old does your mother think you are?" I'm pretty sure I don't care. Because a few weeks ago, my nephew had his 10th Birthday and he got Skylanders. So for most of the night, I was trying to steal it from him because I've been interested in the game for a little while.

It's a fun little concept, and will probably rake in a buttload of money for Activision (if it hasn't already). You have your figurines which are at about 4 inches tall including the base, and you place them onto a Portal, a small wireless platform which you keep next to you so you may change your characters in the middle of play.

That's right, it's video game that "brings your statues to life". It's a pretty cool gimmick, I reckon. And they've thought of a lot of features about it.

For example, if you have been playing for a while and gotten your character to level 5 on your PS3, gotten some cool hats, and you want to go to a mates place who has the same game but on Wii, No worries. All your toon data is saved ON THE FIGURINE. And no matter what console you have, THEY ARE ENTIRELY COMPATIBLE. You could even use the same Portal Device thingy to plug it into an Xbox or Wii with the little Wireless USB that they provide. The only thing you need is the Game Disc and Bob's your Uncle. So anyone planning to pick up some Skylanders Gear, be sure to note what Figures are yours!

Sidenote: It is really hard to say Portal when your first thought is Aperture Science.

Now the data information I imagine works much the same as a GOCard, the figure contains a chip that reacts on radio waves provided from the Portal device. So as you're playing, your details are constantly being updated. Money, Levels, Abilities. Everything.

Each character is very individual, but is also assigned to one of Eight Elements. Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Life, Magic, Tech and Undead. The last two surprised me for a kids thing, but Tech could make for some cool stuff, and every kid loves an adorable skeleton and the insatiable desire to kill spiders gives even more incentive to play the levels.

But as is the norm for games these days, there are collectables to find, and some areas are restricted to who can go where by their Element. So while you may not be inclined to pick up all 32+ characters, you're still slightly pushed to go and grab at least another 5 of your corresponding missing Elements.

The PS3 version I received started with Spyro (Magic), Trigger Happy (Tech) and Gill Grunt (Water), and I've gotten through most of the game quite happily, just missing out on certain hats and items due to Element Gates.

So the downside? Well the cost of the new figures is a big one. They're AU$20 a pop if you get them individually, cheaper if you look around, and somewhat cheaper again if you get a triple pack. And there's 32 individual characters, with a few with Special Edition versions. The game itself comes with 3 figures, the Portal and the game for just short of AU$90.

So it starts off cheap, but can add up as you collect more and more. I'm already up to 5 at the moment because Mum keeps buying me more figures, and my aforementioned nephew is getting a double of Stump Smash so he's going to give that one to me to make it six.

Future expansions and/or DLC? I'm hoping they'll be free and Activision will recoup with what they spend on figure sales. They'll be required to bring out new figures as well, most data of which will be provided from the DLC or the figures. Though I have my doubts about all that.

But yes, I've had quite a bit of fun with it. And as much fun as I am having, which I appreciate, I'm still pissed at my Mum for getting me presents after I explicitly said "Don't get me anything".