Game Worth Trying.
Sound: 8
Story: 6
Controls: 8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 7
While this game is a pretty solid children's game it may not be as impressive to anyone older than a teen. It has quite an easy control scheme and It has fairly good graphics and music that helps boost the experience. This does not cover up the story's shortcomings, however.
There are over thirty toys and a few adventure packs you can get to extend your game. Short of having one toy from each of the eight elements, which only helps a little in game, the characters themselves have little extension to bring to the games. Each toy has its own attacks and powers but not enough to justify a twenty dollar price tag they carry for three of them.
At first it seems that the game is going to be an easy version of an RPG but after just a few minutes of playing you can see otherwise. There are upgrades you can buy in game that change toys abilities and appearances. They also have hats you can acquire during the game for the toys but, the benefits are mostly aesthetical. The toys can level up to ten but are very easily maxed out and it doesn't take long to afford all the upgrades for one either.
The co-op is where the most fun of this game is. It's really fun to sit down with a friend or even one of your kids and play through the game with them. It even has a little bit of a dungeon crawler feel to it, just not as deep as a traditional one.
The story at first is really enthralling and does a good job at pulling you in. Basically, you are a portal master that can summon creatures to help save the Skylands by rebuilding a fountain that contains a part of each element. About half way through the game though you start to notice a pattern though. The pattern is get this piece and then the element that makes it work. That's really about all there is to the story.
After you finish off the story there is really little to go back and do. You can go back and try to get all the hats and hidden treasures, you can try to get three stars on all levels, you can try to finish leveling up a toy and getting all their abilities, or you can do the challenge levels. There is little reward in going back and doing this though, unless you are a completionist.
You can tell that this game is directed towards kids more than adults but, it does offer up some fun for all ages. The toys are a nice addition for the kids meanwhile, they are just a drain of money for older players. This game is definitely worth a try but you definitely want to try with the starter pack before purchasing any of the additional things.