My son's face when he first saw Skylanders Giants
As a Walmart Mom I partnered with the Gamer Network to try out a few of this seasons hottest games and I chose Skylanders Giants and NatGeo TV. Last night I set up a surprise game night for my son complete with popcorn, juice, shrimp tacos and pomegranates.
I know, it may not sound appealing to everyone but these are a few of my son's favorite things and he was over the moon! 
I don't have enough words to explain how much we enjoyed playing Skylanders Giants. This interactive game is so much fun. There are physical game figures called Skylanders that you place on the portal.
Tree-Rex Giant
Glow in the dark Cynder (exclusive to Walmart)
Each has its own strengths and you can easily change characters during gameplay depending on the challenges. I purchased the Skylanders Giants Starter Pack and it came with three figures - Tree Rex - a giant, he moves slowly but is powerful; Jet Vac and Cynder. Each of the characters represents one of eight elements and we have life, air and undead.
Entering into the mythical world of the Skylanders left me with my mouth open. The graphics are absolutely amazing and I enjoyed working on the various puzzles and challenges presented. My son and I played together, at 5 he will sometimes give up on some of the more challenging aspects but encouraged me to complete the tasks. He was also very good about changing out the characters when he thought one would do better and/or the game alerted us that a different element would fair better in the current situation. Although I initially purchased a few additional characters, I plan on going back to Walmart today and getting a few more.
There are 8 elements and to truly experience the game, it is best to have one of each. For Christmas, my son is getting the additional 3 giants that are available and we will both be waiting for the release of the final four. One of the other aspects of the game that I like is the ability to choose the difficulty level. We were playing on the easy level and I must admit that I found it challenging. If I play on my own, I'm likely to go up to the medium level.
Two additional figures - Skylanders Spyros also work with Giants portals
I can easily see how Skylanders Giants might take me back to the "moderately addicted" to video game mode. I can't wait to visit a friend with Xbox360 who plays because I (I mean my son) can bring our characters and all of the information has been saved so I play with all my power, energy etc. Although trying to collect all of the characters might be a little pricey, I think having a base of 8 will suit our family and we can add as we go along. I honestly am not sure who is more giddy about the game, me or my son!
Skylanders Giants kept us so enthralled that we only played with it and left NatGeoTV to the wayside. However, I tried it out this morning so here is the deal. Nat Geo TV is an interactive television experience. You watch special episodes of the show, in my case, Grizzly Bears and at various points a fun game is played. Like the grizzly I scratched at rocks, ate moths, and battled hornets. My son is a big fan of National Geographic and I can see him enjoying this experience for the Kinect. In addition to the game discs, a 1 year Season pass is provided so that you can watch shows on XBox Live and all of the interactive episodes are online so you don't have to worry about the discs. With new shows every month, this game will not get stale!
I must say that the Gamers Network has returned me to the land of video games. I am known to use my consol specifically for health/fitness activities but I now am a big fan of Skylanders Giants! If you don't hear from me for a few days....well, I might be trying to beat the next level! Just joking! As a mom, I have more willpower now but years ago? The couch! LOL
Disclosure: I am a Walmart mom and have been provided with compensation and/or products for the purposes of writing this post. As usual all opinions are my own and seriously? Skylanders Giants is the B.O.M.B.!
