Skylanders - Sun Dragon and Camo Thoughts/Gameplay

For those who don't know, there was a Skylander that was prototype figure of the Life Skylander, Camo, during the development of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. This Skylander's development name was Sun Dragon, a Life dragon Skylander.

During the early stages of Spyro's Adventure, an in-game model of Sun Dragon was already made, and his gameplay was quite similar to Camo's. Like Camo, Sun Dragon could fire sun energy spheres as his primary attack and release a string of plant firecrackers as his secondary moveset. Sun Dragon was first sighted in the cinematic of the Spyro's Adventure Beginning Trailer, notably seen fighting with Slam Bam and Gill Grunt on the right side. And he was seen again on the left side of the screen when the Skylanders were being blasted out of Skylands.

Toys for Bob eventually decided to scrap Sun Dragon altogether very late in the Spyro's Adventure development and instead created our lovable Camo, who became Sun Dragon's successor. Some of Camo's attacks are very much like Sun Dragon's and both even have the same element. But their designs are very different from one another.

Because of the character changes made late in development, Sun Dragon was left in the Beginning Trailer as a sort of easter egg while Camo himself was added in as a last minute cameo.

There have been few Skylanders, and perhaps many more, that were made during the development of Skylander games over the years. Some would become scrapped when the developers created an updated version of the heroes or felt that they were too out of place or were difficult to develop. Some scrapped Skylanders, like Krypt King and Chopper, were brought back after the developers discovered that they may fit in with the game's current gimmick or simply because they wanted to bring them back.

Skylandes: Giants concept art of Chopper as the Tech Giant, before he was scrapped and replaced by Bouncer. He would soon be brought in Skylanders: Trap Team, redesigned and placed as a normal core Skylander.

Concept art of Krypt King standing by Chop Chop. Krypt King was set to be the Undead Giant in Skylanders: Giants, but Eye-Brawl took the role and Krypt King would later appear in Skylanders: Trap Team as a reimagined Trap Master.

Will Sun Dragon be brought back as an upcoming Skylander in a future Skylanders game? With a new name, new design, element, or completely different moveset? Only time will tell, and it is up to the developers of Skylanders to decide.

As a bonus, here is a special prototype gameplay footage of the mysterious Sun Dragon Skylander before he became his successor, Camo.

Going to be voicing in Yooka-Laylee

As you may already know by the title, I am one of the kickstarter backers who will be voicing in Yooka-Laylee. Yep! I will be a voice actor in the Banjo-Kazooie successor. Isn't that great??

For those who haven't heard of Yooka-Laylee, it is an upcoming video game that was successfully funded in Kickstarter. It is being developed by former employees of Rare, a game company who was responsible for developing Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and other notable games. Yooka-Laylee is set to be a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, with playable characters being Yooka the Chameleon and Laylee the Bat.

At first I funded about 70 dollars in euros for the Yooka-Laylee kickstarter and never actually thought about the Be in the Game backer reward. When I thought about changing my pledge, I hesitated since I didn't have the self-confidence about the voice acting challenge. Around that time, the Be in the Game backer reward was filled up, and I lost my chance.

Then the strangest thing happened. Last week, I was browsing the kickstarter page again to see how much money was funded since its first week of success, since it mostly updated by the hour a few weeks ago and is still growing. I scroll down to see how many slots were left on each reward, when I noticed that one last slot in the Be in the Game reward was open, like someone had changed their mind or decided to change their reward pledge.

I don't know if this was a sign, or a coincidence. But I know I wouldn't miss this chance again, so I took it. Not only will be one of the fan voice actors in Yooka-Laylee, I also help fund the game further. :D I don't know who will I voice yet, but I know it will be a wonderful experience.

Skylanders: Battlecast

Just today, Activision reveals a new Skylanders spin-off game, Skylanders: Battlecast. In Fall 2016, you can collect cards and use them to battle online players and navigate through single-player mode. You can purchase the cards at your retailer when the game is released.

"Built from the ground up to bring Skylanders to life on mobile devices, Skylanders Battlecast combines physical card play with mobile gaming in an all-new way," says Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing, Inc.  "This is our biggest investment, and one of our most magical ideas yet, for the Skylanders franchise on mobile."

For Skylanders Battlecast, players can purchase physical card packs at retail, as well as digital card packs in-game.  Players will experience a magic moment by scanning cards with their mobile devices and watching them come to life.  Additionally, fans can scan two character cards to create animated duels in which players can physically interact with the characters.

"We are bringing physical cards to life in an exciting new way. Activision has assembled a team of experts across video game design, physical card game design, pro card players and top card artists to develop an amazing new experience," says Josh Taub, senior vice president, product management, Activision Publishing. "With Skylanders Battlecast, fans can expect the amazing creativity, innovation and fun that Skylanders games are known for delivering."

Skylanders: SuperChargers Amazon Preorders

Amazon.com recently posted preorders of few of the Skylanders and their Vehicles for Skylanders: SuperChargers. Right now they are up for preorder for SuperChargers, Stormblade, Fiesta, Dive-Clops, Nightfall, Shark Shooter Terrafin, and the additions of High Volt and Smash Hit really has few fans hyped up.

Preorder Vehicles are the Sea Shadow, Crypt Crusher, Dive Bomber, Shark Tank and Sky Slicer are also up on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013HJ7ACQ/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013HJ7C4W/

SuperChargers Gamescom 2015 Overview

As Gamescom comes to an end, we gathered a whole bunch of information on Skylanders: SuperChargers.

The official confirmation of Online Play has got me further interested in seeing how SuperChargers will stand out between the previous Skylanders titles. Will it gain a higher game rating upon release, or will it outshine the other titles instead? Fans appear to be immediately drawn in, as the highly-requested online play was finally added into this installment.

As stated, not only are you able to do online co-op in Racing Mode, you can also play online co-op with your friends in Adventure Mode as well. Online competitve racing has up to four players with many different race tracks for you to experience. There will be power-ups and hidden routes for you to take advantage of during the race.

"Skylanders' all-new Racing Mode, playable in Land, Sea and Sky environments, features supercharged racing combat, layering in even more depth and excitement to the game's online multiplayer component.  The high-octane mode is further amplified with all-new time trials, which include three-lap races that take friendly competition up a notch as players battle for the best time score on the leaderboard.  All Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Packs will come loaded with six dynamic race tracks - two each for Land, Sea and Sky. With hidden routes, power-ups, and diverse locations, Racing Mode offers completely new ways to enjoy the game. Whether played in offline split-screen or online multiplayer, gamers can choose the best route to finish a race, trying to avoid attacks along the way as they navigate through dynamic environments. Voice-chat is available with friends for an added layer of excitement.

Skylanders fans told us they wanted to go head-to-head in online multiplayer with their friends and family, and we delivered. Skylanders SuperChargers enables gamers to race against friends all over the world and brings an exciting new expansion to the Skylanders gameplay experience," said John Coyne, senior vice president of consumer marketing, Activision Publishing, Inc.  "We continue to be firmly committed to driving Skylanders' spirit for providing originality, innovation, creativity and fun with each game."

Previously, fans were disappointed when there were no signs of villains being playable in SuperChargers after purchasing traps specifically to capture these characters back in Skylanders: Trap Team. But rejoice! Most of the villains will be making a return in SuperChargers and now also have their own vehicles to pilot.

Skylanders SuperChargers continues to rev its engine with the addition of Skylanders SuperChargers Racing Action Packs at launch and beyond. These optional expansion packs, one each for Land, Sea and Sky, unlock even more thrilling racing content for Portal Masters. Each pack comes loaded with three special toys, including a SuperCharger, its signature vehicle and a villain trophy. The villain trophy unlocks two new tracks and new modes, including SuperVillain Cup, Boss Pursuit and Mirror Cup. There are 12 boss villains across all three packs, with four in each pack, which players can defeat and play as. Fans can then store these boss villains on their villain trophy toy to play at a friend's house.

The following Villains confirmed so far -

• Chef Pepper Jack
• Golden Queen
• Count Moneybone
• Wolfgang
• Kaos
• Chill Bill
• Captain Frightbeard
• Threatpack
• Pain-Yatta
• Hood-Sickle
• Chompy Mage
• Dr Krankcase
• Bad Juju

Fans continue to speculate on which villain will appear. From Dreamcatcher, the Gulper, and other minor villains they like. The possibilities are endless. No doubt SuperChargers will be put to the test when it comes up against its fellow toys-to-life game rivals in the Fall.

Skylanders: Return of the Dragon King Comic Bundle

Skylanders: Return of the Dragon King is presumably the most anticipated comic arc in the Skylanders series so far. The reason why is because the story features the full debut of Malefor, the self-crowned Undead Dragon King in the Skylanders universe. 

Did you know? Malefor originally appeared in the Spyro series, notably The Legend of Spyro game trilogy as the true main antagonist. For him to finally appear in the Skylanders universe, reimagined along with Spyro, Cynder and Sparx, is what most fans, most Spyro and Skylanders fans, have been waiting for since he was first mentioned in the backstories of Cynder and Hex.

Skylanders Malefor was portrayed wonderfully, proving to be the most malevolent and powerful enemy the Skylanders (Spyro included) had ever faced. Though I was still curious about how he will be portrayed as being the first purple dragon in the Skylanders universe and reveal his connection to Spyro. Kudos to writers David A. Rodriguez and Ron Marz for developing Malefor's character and the story. It was well worth the wait. :D

And Fico-Ossio, IDW Publishing comic artist for Skylanders, did a magnificent job designing Malefor when researching The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. Very intimidating and awesome redesign, although his normal state was a little too similar to Malefor's Dawn of the Dragon design.

Overall, I would highly recommend this story arc for those who are die-hard Spyro and Skylanders fan WHO have an intense liking in seeing Malefor back in action in some form. I hope to see him again in a future Skylanders comic, or a Skylanders game. :)

Skylanders: SuperChargers at Gamescom

Skylanders: SuperChargers is taking Gamescom 2015 by storm. Not only has the appearance of the villains from Skylanders: Trap Team excited fans, the confirmation of online multiplayer has them cheering. Being one of the press individuals for Skylanders, I was given new gameplay footage of SuperChargers for Gamescom 2015. Just one more month, and the game is out~! :D

Opening

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