With a sixth game in as many years, the Skylanders crew has had to create an astonishing amount of new toy figures. While each Skylanders game has its own unique gimmicks, playing with new and old figures is still the main draw of each entry.
Skylanders: Imaginators features one of the most enjoyable new twists in being able to create your own customizable Skylander. Yet the new Sensei and Villain figures shouldn’t be ignored; they are some of the best figures we’ve seen yet.
Air Strike
Element: Air
Battle Class: Brawler
Air Strike comes with the Observatory level pack, which is a decently fun level to play through. Air Strike is the real winner, however. This short falconer sports a wicked fu man chu and an equally wicked bird.
His falcon swoops down and attacks with every strike, which is a really fun animation. You can also send it up in the air and “paint” the area it lands on, all while continuing to punch and unleash mini-tornadoes. Air Strike is most powerful when he’s surrounded, knocking foes around with wind punches and bird attacks.
Ambush
Element: Life
Battle Class: Knight
“Plant-guy with a sword” isn’t exactly a compelling character concept. Ambush quickly put my doubts to rest. His fluid combo-based attacks play like your favorite third-person action game. He can quickly charge into battle with Splintering Punch, then knock everyone into the air with Arboreal Upheaval.
One of his most interesting abilities is that he charges up a powerful attack simply from standing still for a second. Chaining and timing his attacks together is tricky, but highly rewarding, and makes Ambush one of the most powerful Skylanders in the right hands.
Barbella
Element: Earth
Battle Class: Sentinel
The bronze-plated weight-lifting champ is an absolute powerhouse. Once leveled up her seismic bash attacks churn up the very ground. Enemies are knocked back and rock crystals are formed. Barbella can then smash into the debris to create a symphony of destruction. Her Rocky Rep ability summons giant stone hands that clap together, and create more earthen destruction. There’s so much going on with Barbella’s attacks, you’ll be glad that she can withstand just about anything.
Her Soul Gem lets her lift her barbells a few times to generate a shield, leaving the already tanky heroine nigh unkillable. With Barbella’s hardiness and ease of use, she’s especially well-suited for younger players.
Chopscotch
Element: Undead
Battle Class: Smasher
Chopscotch wins the award for most unique design out of the first wave of figures. She’s a little girl with a detachable skull head, pony tail, and an axe that’s bigger than she is. Her axe attacks are effective at chopping through lines of enemies with her Crazy Cutter skill tree. If enemies aren’t lining up for you, use Spin to Win to turn Chopscotch into a whirlwind of death and knock them around.
Her Soul Gem ability lets her play a hilarious mini-game of hopscotch, buffing her speed. Chopscotch is a great example of how the Skylanders teams still have some really fun ideas up their sleeves.
Dr. Krankcase
Element: Tech
Battle Class: Quickshot
My Quickshot Imaginator is by far my favorite character, capable of some incredibly fast attacks. Also he’s a zombie cowboy. The one Quickshot available right now is Dr. Krankcase. Another Trap Team veteran, the good doctor is a steampunk goblin with robo-spider legs and a gloriously huge top hat.
His attacks manage to combine all of his unique traits into a fun package. He can layer the area in caustic goo with his pistols, then spin into them with his legs to spray poison everywhere. Finally he can launch little spider-hat minions, and spin into them to trigger explosive attacks. Setting up all these moves and then spinning around like mad is a lot of fun, and melts any opposition.
Golden Queen
Element: Earth
Battle Class: Sorcerer
The stand-out Pharaoh villain from Trap-Team returns as one of the packaged figures in the Skylanders: Imaginators base game. Aside from being a delightful megalomaniac, she’s also one of the most well-rounded figures of the bunch. She has long-range attacks firing scarabs, a close-range shockwave blast, and a useful turret.
But her real strength comes from her incredibly fun Soul Gem Ability. She grows into gigantic boss-like proportions with all new attacks – including firing lasers from her eyes! Cackling with glee as you transform to smash your puny foes is highly recommended.
