Skylanders Monopoly Unboxing and Review

What?  Monopoly: Skylanders by Activison, Hasbro, and USAopoly
Where Did You Get It?  Special delivery from Activision!  Thanks!!
Where Does it Retail?  Amazon.com, GameStop, Hastings, and Everything Entertainment
What Does It Cost?  $39.99
Is It Worth the Price?  YES!!

Unboxing and Review of Monopoly: Skylanders

I was very pleasantly surprised this afternoon when a mystery shipment from Activision came to work.  At first I was thinking it might be the new purple variants, or maybe some E3 Hot Dogs to give away...The box could have housed a TON of Skylanders.  I then got a tip off on the label...Skylanders Monopoly?  Seriously?  I literally tried to find this locally on my lunch hour (I did at least get a 2nd S2 Drobot out of the trip).  What a sweet surprise!  And luckily it came before I ordered it in from Amazon.

I have to say, this is a great collector's piece.  The artwork is the best I have ever seen on a board game.  The details (property names etc) are spot-on and were definitely well crafted.  You could literally just use this as a backdrop for your Skylanders and be set...If you open it, you can utilize the board for a floor mat display to an army of Skylanders.

Or, you can actually play the game...Monopoly: Skylander looks like it will take all the fun of Monopoly and seamlessly mesh the classic game play we all know and love into a submersive Skyland experience.

There are 22 Skylands based locations, Treasure Chests replace the Community Chest, Luck-O-Tron Cards replace the Chance Cards, Houses are Huts, Hotels are Casltes, both the Huts and Castles have Skylander themed coloring, and we get six collectible, metal game tokens, that includes, KAOS.

I am VERY IMPRESSED with the little things on this game...As you know I am a stickler for details and spend time going over things with a fine tooth comb...This didn't disappoint me, but it did exceed expectations...big time.  Again, I can't stress how pleased collectors will be with just the artwork and display potential of the game...It is a nice addition for any collector be they casual, or hardcore.  Hats off to Activision, Hasbro, and USAopoly for crafting this one!

I have to once more thank Activision for sending this out, I appreciate Flynn's Balloon too!  I hope that the unboxing and review will help alert other Portal Masters and Skylander fans to the game and perhaps convince a few that may have been skeptical of the polished web store shots that this truly does feature great artwork.

As for the game itself, I haven't played yet...but I will Saturday night!

Here are a few quick shots to go along with the video...

You can find Monopoly: Skylanders at GameStop (retail stores and online), Hastings (retail and online), Entertainment Earth (never heard of the chain, but I assume in stores and online), and of course Amazon.com.  In addition to these stores, some specialty outfits will stock the game and I'm confident malls across America will have carts and seasonal shops open up that will have it (great to package this with the coming 2014 Skylanders calendar imo!).  It retails for $39.99.  I don't think collectors will be disappointed AND if you play the game, it will no doubt pay for itself in a few rounds of play.

Thanks again to Activision and be on the lookout for KAOS as seen in the last picture...

"BEHOLD MY METAL MINIATURE MONOPOLY PIECE...FEAR IT...FEAR MY METAL MINIATURE MONOPOLY GAME PIECE!!!"  (Swallows Fly)

Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed: Online Matches

For the time being, this will just be a log of my recorded "online" matches in Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed for the Wii U.  Below each installment you will find the description.

The Playlist on YouTube can be found here: Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed Online Races

Match 1: 4 Races Carrier Zone, After Burner

This was my first time online (obviously) and we had a few issues finding the online match on the menu and then joining up in the lobby.  Past that the only real issue was being unsure how to change tracks...I joined the lobby, and thus didn't have full control to explore, so I'll have to wait until the next online round to see if that will take care of it.  We did learn that you can not be the same character.

Racers featured in this round: 1ofWiisdom and thewalkthruking
Characters used: Metal Sonic, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Aiai
Recorded Date: 1-4-2013

Match 2:  1 Race Carrier Zone, After Burner

This was just the next round of recordings and it stopped after one race.

Racers featured in this round: 1ofWiisdom and the walkthruking
Characters used: Metal Sonic and Beat
Recorded Date 1-4-2013

Match 3: 4 Races in Graffiti City (Jet Set Radio)

My Nephew and I resume this series for the first time in OVER A YEAR!  Needless to say, we were both a bit rusty.  We actually recorded a race prior to this where both of us sat at the starting line for quite some time due to not knowing which button accelerates, lol.  Believe it or not, I actually managed to win that one quite handily.  I can upload it if anyone is interested...The whole time I was convinced my Nephew was ahead of me and the game was glitched showing me to be in 1st Place...It was honestly the kind of thing you can only do when you jump back into a game after so long...

Racers featured in this recording: 1ofWiisdom and thewalkthruking
Characters Used: Sonic, Metal Sonic, and Knuckles
Recorded Date 2-1-2014