I wasn't expecting it to be so engaging, but it is. I'm well outside the target demographic for Skylanders, but there's bound to be something in this game for everyone. You might have to spend some time to unlock it to play on demand though!

It's one of those games that you're either going to love it or hate it. Placing a toy on top of the Portal and seeing that character come to life is more viscerally entertaining than you might expect. As you play, you can customize your character, and thus you develop an attachment to the toy that maybe you wouldn't develop with just using some kind of in-game menu system to swap characters.

The Skylanders games are definitely geared towards kids, but unlike most kids' shovelware, it has a quality and whimsy about it that rivals the Nintendo titles.

The first game was solid and fun, but probably scored higher on the reviews simply because expectations for such a kids' game was so low(OMG SELL TOYS TO GO WITH THE GAME, THIS MUST BE CRAP) and the reviewers were pleasantly surprised by how much quality was present.

There were several improvements for Giants but overall I'm surprised the goodwill earned held up so well with what was clearly a rushed title. It's good, and has genuinely fun moments, but it's not any kind of breakthrough or evolution, it just feels like a new season of a returning TV series. Which, I guess for the target audience, is exactly what they want.