We don’t need any additional Skylanders. Really, we’re good. Of the initial 16 released, we own 12. Still, I stroll through our local Target and Toys-R-Us whenever I get the chance. What I am looking for, and why? I dunno. I guess I just want to spy the new characters, to ogle them like a hormone-raging teenager at a Justin Bieber concert. While plenty of Skylanders characters do make their home here, we’d yet to dabble in the Adventure Packs; each of which offer an additional level to play and explore (a fact that until this week, I somehow did not know).
When I saw the elusive Empire of Ice pack on the peg in Toys-R-Us last night, I had to do it. The girls went ape shit right before bed, meaning they stayed up almost an hour past their bedtime. It was so worth it. Who needs sleep anyway when you’re in possession of the Empire of Ice?
We played around in the Empire of Ice tonight and it is a fantastic level, quite long with a robust haul: 2 Hats (one a Santa hat which pretty much made the Mouse’s night when she got to put it on her girl Hex), 3 Treasures Chests, a Story Scroll and a cute Legendary Treasure. The level goal is to collect the parts needed to rebuild a catapult for a fun and elongated battle at the end; a set-up not unlike the shooting down of the zeppelins in an early level only much more drawn out. The villains here are mostly Ice Ogres which aren’t too fierce. In fact, Slam Bam (the character who in included in the pack) packs such a wallop that he held is own even as a new dude with low health levels and no cash for extras (our Slam Bam did earn a Level Up towards the end). The hardest, but really most enjoyable part, was dealing with the 85% ice surface of the Empire. Your player(s) slide all around trying to avoid ice cacti which inflict some damage. It was a hoot for the kids to see a fiery guy like Eruptor spinning his wheels in the snowy setting.
We neglected to use the included Anvil and Shield but even just for the cool additional character and the brand new level, the Empire of Ice Adventure Pack was well worth the $24.99.
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