So, you know all those Question Mark Gates you can't open in Trap Team? And all those Question Marks and Blanks on your Starter Pack Poster and Trap Tray? Well, you will FINALLY be able to fill those in correctly!
Activision has teased the reveal of the expansion packs, which most hardcore fans have known of for quite some time. There are a few glitches in the game that allow players to access those "off limit" areas beyond the ? Gates that exposed the characters and villains to a greater extent.
Anyway, here is the teaser image from today (12/16):
And here is the final packaging to fully reveal the mystery additions:
Sunscraper Spire: Light Element Expansion Pack
-Location Piece: Sunscraper Spire
-Character: Knight Light, Light Element
-Light Trap
Midnight Museum: Dark Element Expansion Pack-Location Piece: Midnight Museum
-Character: Knight Mare, Dark Element
-Dark Trap
These are significant for several reasons. First, these are Expansion Packs. We are gaining much needed playable content to the game. Second, we can finally open the ? Gates and Trap the villains. Third, we are getting new, playable characters. And lastly, we get 2 NEW ELEMENTS!
This adds an element (no pun intended) of suspense for future releases. We will now have 10 Elements. Will Light and Dark remain as Expansion Packs? Will they fade away into Trap Team only status, but with having paved the path for 2 more New Elements in the next installment? There are a lot of unknowns that these additions bring to the franchise.
For those of you "completionists" out there, these 2 EPs and the Wave 3 arrival of Blaster Mind will allow you to 100% the game if you are so inclined. Similarly, the packs apparently include stickers for your Starter Pack Poster and Trap Trays!
For everyone else, these add another option to the table and might make players budget their Skylander funds accordingly.
Speaking of that, the very few folks who have acquired these via US based transactions have all gotten them from TRU for $31.99. Yep, not making that up. There is always that TRU markup, but I have no way of knowing if it is the usual $1, or something steeper on these EPs. I was told someone found the Light EP at Walmart and was told they couldn't buy it, but they person claimed it was shelved with the Mirror of Mystery and didn't have a special tag, or price point for comparison.
I have had a few people tell me they found them today (12/16), but they were register locked. I have also been told that those finding these in store are reporting solid stock on the Light Expansion Packs and minimal quantities on the Dark Expansion Packs.
These will no doubt be hot commodities for Day 1 players, and a big item of desire for those requesting Trap Team this holiday season (keep in mind, a much larger percentage of the actual target audience doesn't even have the game yet). My advice, as always, is to buy this when you see it, provided you want it.
One person who told me their finding was register locked was told to come back this Sunday (12/21) and pick it up then. Assuming that is accurate, I imagine those of us on the TRU mailing list will be getting a Hot Toy Alert e-mail later this week. I have no confirmation on this, but I would not at all be surprised if this didn't coincide with a few Wave 3 arrivals in their store as well.
I will do my best to acquire these ASAP, but I will not pay more than retail for anything, and I advise you to do the same. I'm not a huge fan of Sunday releases, so we will see how it plays out.
That said, did you know that December 21st, 2014 is the Winter Solstice? That is the first day of Winter AND the shortest day of the year, at least in terms of daylight hours. So, that means that the days will progressively begin getting longer right after that. Does this play in to the Light an Dark concepts, or is it just a calendar coincidence? It is likely the later, but if I didn't over analyze things like this, who would?
As always, stay tuned for any updates and be sure to frequent the Skylaner Club Forum for all the latest news: http://www.skylanderclub.com
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