Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure - Adventure Pack

I bought this along with the 3 currently available character 3 packs and the Xbox 360 version of the game. Here is what comes in the 'Pirate Adventure Pack' set;

- 'Terrafin' Earth-element character toy (exclusive to the 'Pirate Adventure Pack')

Of the currently available Skylander characters, Terrafin is one of the more visually-rivetting designs. He resembles a shark, and at first, I questioned why he wasn't a Water-element character, but playing with him in-game, it turns out he is a "land shark". He's a kind of brawler I guess, preferring to get up close with his fists as opposed to ranged attacks. He can also swim underground and burst out underneath enemies for surprise attacks. His stats are;

Damage; 70/100
Armor; 80/100
Speed; 25/100
Luck; 50/100

I have not used him in-game as yet as I am currently leveling 'Bash' as my Earth-element character, but having seen his character video in the game and seeing him during in-game cut scenes, he looks awesome.

- 'Pirate Seas' pirate ship toy

Place this on the Portal, and a pirate ship appears at the docks of the main hub. Boarding it will take you to an all-new area in the game, the 'Pirate Seas' adventure. The map for this adventure is surprisingly large, and takes a good 15 to 20 minutes to thoroughly explore and get all of the hidden collectables, and in keeping with the rest of the Skylanders game, it is bright and colorful even though it is set at night. As you progress, you are challenged by various pirates to a memory game; starting with a deck of 6 or so cards up until decks of cards numbering more than 20, to beat the pirate and progress further, you must find and match the same card amongst them all. It's fun, and the time limit to beat each pirate isn't too challenging, so younger players shouldn't find it difficult to master these mini-games. The adventure has it's own story scroll, legendary treasure, and hat to find, too. All in all, it is great fun!

- 'Ghost Swords' special item toy

Placing this toy on the portal will make two ghostly swords appear around your Skylander of choice, attacking enemies nearby and hovering around you while exploring whichever level you are on. They have a time cap and last around 2 minutes per level before their power is expelled. Returning to the main hub world in-game will restore their power. This item really comes into it's own during the boss fights, making the challenge a breeze - the damage they inflict on boss characters with large health bars is immense in comparison to the damage that even a level 10 Skylander can manage.

- 'Hidden Treasure' special item toy

Placing this toy on the portal will bring up an icon on the bottom of your screen, representing a hidden treasure chest. Around this icon are 3 circles. The closer you are to the hidden treasure, these circles light up, until all 3 are glowing. When this happens, hunt around in your immediate area. You will hear a chime when you are near the hidden treasure, and when you find the hidden sweet spot, the chest will appear. I am unsure is this counts towards the treasure chest pick-ups with the level, as I had already found all 3 on the level I tried this item on, but when I picked it up the game again reminded me that I had found all the treasure chests for that level, so it is possible the it will count towards this total.

- additional gubbins

You get 4 trading cards representing each of the 4 toys in the set, as well as the online codes for your Skylanders at the official website, a sticker sheet for each toy, and an instruction sheet.

Toys (opinion);

Of the 4 toys included in this set, the pirate ship is a real beauty and when I have had friends over to see Skylanders, they always pick this one up immediately and coo over its design. Terrafin is definitely a cool-looking character, and the hidden treasure and ghost swords have a level of detail to them that borders on unnecessary seeing as they're mere extras, going to show that the Skylanders toy range is definitely great value for money in terms of the overall quality. The paint job on each toy is top notch, to boot. Full marks for each!

Adventure (opinion);

As this is the only adventure pack I currently own from the Skylanders range I have no way to compare it to the others, but I can compare it to the standard game itself. The level design for the adventure is huge, colorful, characterful, and most importantly, a whole heap of fun to play. I cannot give an opinion on the Terrafin character at time of writing as I haven't played with him yet, but the ghosts swords item is a fantastic addition to your chosen Skylander's arsenal and the time limit on their use per level ensures that it doesn't break the overall experience. I suggest dropping the toy onto the portal when a boss fight begins as a way of clearing them a lot faster. The hidden chest is great if you like to play detective on every level, and will grant eager treasure hunters more money to spend on upgrades. A fantastic addition to the main game!

Overall (opinion);

All in all, I am very pleased with this set. Terrafin is a cool character and I can't wait to play as him. The toys themselves look great and they demonstrate the versatility of the Skylanders game and the summoning portal itself. I can't recommend it enough; if you're looking for a way to extend the brilliant Skylanders game with further adventures, look no further than the 'Pirate Adventure Pack'!

Activision know what they are doing and this is the next BIG thing in gaming, The bar has definitely been raised!!

We have always been Spyro fans since he appeared on the Sony PS1 so it was a "well, duh....!?" answer to whether we would buy this game.

It's so simple to use and I think collectors and fans will love. We do.

The starter kit come with a "plate" that illuminates colours like mood lights, these are irrelevant to the game but look fantastic! You are provided with 3 trusty characters to start you on your quest. The characters are represented by figurines that sit on the plate. The first one put on the plate will become player 1's character and then the second for player 2... and so on.

You NEED this figurine/ toy, it holds a memory chip inside and this chip records your gaming level. You can play on each others accounts and it still records your own level... you can take your toys to a friends house to play on their 'station' and you characters are still safe.

My kids love it... It's way too easy for the teens who still enjoy the game (eldest completed original Spyro as a young child) but my 7 and 8 year olds love it. Extra characters are reasonably priced enough for the kids to save up their pocket money for or to be treated for one. A giant step on from the penguins and puffles -
(- puffles and penguins - cute con - you buy the toy for a coin with a code, then chuck the toys to the side to advance on in the web game... Aargh! Disney and I are not friends!)

Pocket money priced figurines that unlock different parts of the game and have their own abilities . A marketing gimmick, but one I will definitely allow Activision to own... The figures are £6 to £7.50 depending on where you go. Kids can be treated to a new one if they've been good, they are perfect as gifts and honestly THE BEST BUY THIS YEAR!!!!

As huge fans of Skylanders since we first purchased it for our daughter at Christmas, we thought that our first leap into an adventure pack would begin a WHOLE new adventure. How wrong we were! Our daugher, aged 11 and by no means a square eyed child who spends much of her time in front of games, managed to complete the level in just over 20 minutes. For eighteen quid, we think it is a total rip off!
Admittedly, the character and the little extras such as the pirate ship are very colourful and fun, however, the challenges are mundane (card games even a four year old could conquer) and take no thought at all.
Our daughter was very disappointed and asked if it could be returned, which is a shame as she saved her pocket money to buy this pack.
We will definitely think twice before buying another adventure pack and would urge anyone else to do just that before buying.
All we can say is 'buyers beware' this will not hold your attention for very long at all.