darkSpyro News

It's Polar Time

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:26:58 +0000

This Saturday (the 22nd) folks in the US will be able to go down to their local GameStop and hopefully get their hands on the elusive Polar Whirlwind. In an event known as "Skylanders Day" Polar Whirlwind will see her US debut (although of course some places have accidentally put her out early) along with some other special items and discounts on things like the Giants Starter Pack.

To get Polar Whirlwind in Australia however you will need to pre-order Skylanders SWAP Force from EB Games, much in the same manner as the rest of the world is doing to get LightCore Hex.

Forum member Tigorus has spotted the first of the new Adventure Packs thanks to a flyer given out when pre-ordering SWAP Force. The round, spiky, winged, core Skylander named Pop Thorn will be part of an Adventure Pack called "Tower of Time". And it appears to come with two brand new magic items just like the original Adventure Packs did.

The SWAP is in Force at E3 2013

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:32:05 +0000

E3 2013 has brought with it many new character reveals, gameplay videos and interviews with an assortment of Activision and Vicarious Visions staff about the upcoming Skylanders SWAP Force.

To kick it off we've been introduced to several new characters, some brand new Swap Force type and some regular "core" Skylanders.

Hoot Loop, Free Ranger

Rattle Shake, LightCore Star Strike

Another brand new Swap Force type character, so far seen only in the newly updated version of the part swapping trailer, is a Fire Skylander called Fire Kraken. And for the core Skylanders you've got newcomers like Grim Creeper and, as shown off in various hands on play sessions, Fryno, a fiery rhino that has upgrades to get his very own motorbike (just like Hot Head).

We've also seen various returning Series 3 characters confirmed through brand new artwork like Spyro, Trigger Happy, Eruptor and Terrafin along with a few other brand new characters whose names have yet to be revealed.

On the gameplay and interview side of things you've got fairly extensive coverage from FamilyGamerTV showing off each of the new characters, like Fryno, as well as an interview with David Nathanielsz from Vicarious Visions the developers of Swap Force.

Coin-op TV too have a few videos and an interview of their own and The Skylander Kids have some up close videos on some more unnamed brand new Skylanders that were seen in toy form at the Skylanders' booth. GameSpot ran a live showing of the game and you can see the 25 minute recording of that to watch them show off of a wide variety of the characters and their combinations as they advance through a brand new level.

Today's Nintendo Direct had a few very brief seconds of video from the Nintendo 3DS version of Swap Force, it's at about the 17 minute mark but blink and you'll miss it.

And of course our very own Skylanders SWAP Force gallery has been updated with all the new screenshots and pieces of artwork that have been released.

Sidekicks in the UK

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:06:42 +0000

It looks like Skylanders fans in the UK will finally be able to have a chance to get a hold of some of the sidekicks from Skylanders Spyro's Adventure. On promotional packs of Chupa Chups and Fruittella you'll find a code that you can use on their website to see if you have won. Oddly though the article says that only two of the sidekicks are up for grabs: Gill Runt and Whisper Elf.

The promotion runs from the 15th of June until the end of August giving away ten each day.

Exclusive Bronze Hot Dog at E3 2013

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:08:51 +0000

Last year it was Chrome Spyro, this time around it's a Bronze Hot Dog for the exclusive E3 variant. FamilyGamerTV have gotten their hands on one a little early and you can see them unbox it in the video below:

[Youtube Video]

Kotaku have also got one which they've taken some nice clear photos of.

Swap Force Preorders and Release Dates

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:22:03 +0000

Pre-orders for Skylanders SWAP Force at retailers like Toys R Us, Target, Walmart and Best Buy now come with a free Lightcore Hex. Unfortunately it appears you have to wait until you actually get the game in October before you receive the Hex (despite being released in Australia recently).

The game has also now had its release date confirmed by EuroGamer as coming out on the 13th of October in North America, the 18th of October in Europe and the 16th of October in Australia.

It has also been announced for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but obviously with no release date for the consoles themselves there's also no release date for those versions.

Along with those preorders are some new images of the packs, confirming for the first time exactly which two SWAP Force characters are in the Starter Pack, it's Wash Buckler and Blast Zone along with the "Series 3" equivalent Ninja Stealth Elf.

The 3DS Starter Pack has a completely separate line-up of toys, instead you get a different two SWAP Force characters (currently no names known but they are Undead and Air elements) as well as Volcanic Eruptor. So no duplicates like last time with Cynder and Tree Rex.

And from the Toys R Us preorder pages there are a few new screenshots that are now in the gallery.

Another Skylanders Giants Walkthrough

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:20:26 +0000

Customarily late as usual but I have finally posted my complete walkthrough to the 3DS version of Skylanders Giants.

And hey, look at that, darkSpyro is nine years old today!

Polar Whirlwind in Canada

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 23:48:55 +0000

The last few of the new Skylanders are finally starting to appear. Polar Whirlwind has just hit Canada at EB Games, Lightcore Chill and Lightcore Pop Fizz are appearing across the US, and Lightcore Hex and Series 2 Drobot have turned up in Australia.

And in other news, a new mini-game has been added to the official website. Called Dreadyacht Defenders it is essentially Plants vs Zombies using Skylanders, instead of plants, to fight against various enemies from the games that slowly advance towards you.

The Skylanders aren't going to the movies

Thu, 30 May 2013 23:16:48 +0000

In talking to MCV Activision's VP of consumer marketing John Coyne stated that there are no plans for a movie or a TV show based on the Skylanders franchise.

Quote: John Coyne

In terms of a TV show or a movie, no there are not any plans. We believe the game is the entertainment. You talk to kids who are real fans of the franchise, and they will be able to tell you Gill Grunt’s powers, backstory, what his friends are and generally what’s going on in the world of Skylanders. The same sort of things that they are able to articulate around a TV show or a movie.

Kind of an odd reason really, especially when you consider the ongoing series of books that already provides new stories about the Skylanders and their adventures in Skylands.

A New Skylander

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:52:59 +0000

Forum member xangor recently spotted this brand new Skylander in an image for a cap on Amazon.de (the image has since been removed).

Unfortunately no name for this new Magic character was revealed so you'll just have to come up with your own for the time being.

E3 2013 is now just over two weeks away so it's not long to wait until Activision finally release some official new information on Skylanders: Swap Force.

Scarlet Ninjini at Smyths

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:52:16 +0000

In the UK and Ireland Scarlet Ninjini will be exclusive to Smyths Toys, it's due to be released next Friday (the 3rd of May), so not very long to wait. Remember that stocks will be limited so try not to miss out!

And even if you can't manage to get your hands on the Scarlet edition, the regular version of Ninjini has begun appearing on UK shopping sites like GAME so you won't have to miss out on the character herself.

Thanks to NAYHA for the heads up on Scarlet Ninjini.