Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is the brilliantly innovative spin off game from the beloved Spyro The Dragon video game series. This game comes complete with the Portal Of Power and the three starter pack figurines Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy, and Spyro the legend himself. These action figures transform into interaction figures when placed upon the Portal Of Power, transporting them into the game world and naming you as Portal Master.

An evil genius by the name of Hektore has invaded the wonderful and mystical world of the Skylanders, and has frozen all of its guardians and banished them to Earth; the fate of their world now rests on your shoulders. Only you can unfreeze them using your Portal Of Power and send them back to defend their home with their magical abilities and weapons, in order to save Skylands forever.

There are over thirty characters in total, each with their own particular strengths, elements, and attributes such as armour and speed. Each of these Skylanders can upgrade their moves and weapons, and get stronger overall by completing challenges and specific side missions which can be played to train them up, and to learn how their powers work. You can change characters at any given moment by merely swapping them on your Portal Of Power, which comes in useful as sections of the levels you will play throughout the game are tailored to the elemental strength of a particular Skylander. This swap in swap out at any given moment feature means that you can employ different strategies and use different characters for each and every level, meaning endless replayability. Every figure you use will automatically save everything they have gained whilst you played them, including their current level, experience points, money, stat-boosting hats, and anything else you may have collected on your travels together.

This 3DS version gives you a game that is more tailored to an action platform genre, with levels only being completed by gathering certain gems called Radiance Crystals. Collect enough, and you will able to unlock previously unvisitable levels, therefore allowing you to further progress throughout the game. Crystals can either be found scattered around in the level you're currently playing, or achieved by doing specific tasks such as finding certain items, or defeating a certain number of enemies. When you find a Radiance Crystal, the mysterious and evil character Hektore will magically appear and a time limit will be set in place, where you have to defeat enemies within the time limit, and use rockets against an enemy that chases you. The 3DS version also boasts an exclusive mode called Tag Team, in which you can place two characters into the game and switch between them whenever you want.

Alongside the main game levels, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure also boasts a multitude of side quests and secrets. These range from hidden treasures, stat-boosting headgear, areas full of loot that you can plunder at will and spend in the hub world on abilities to save to your character, and so much more. There is also an abundance of enemy creatures to defeat, puzzles to solve, and soul gems to collect that unlock ultimate powers for your Skylanders, amongst many other things, all of which you will want to spend hours discovering. There is also a wonderfully inventive drop in drop out co-operative mode, where a friend can place their Skylander alongside yours on the Portal Of Power, and either team up with you to defend the world together, or go head to head to play against you and prove the strength of their character. Player vs Player takes place in a Battle Arena, where you pit two characters against each other in three different game types, but who emerges victorious is up to how strong your Skylander is. With so much to explore and enjoy, this game is perfectly suited to have fun with both friends and family, or fly solo and save Skylands from the evil Hektore! (Cat Emerson)