Well, this is the end.

12/21/2012.

This is the end of it all...

Oh, sorry...I meant to say this is the end of "fall."

December 21st, 2012 is the Winter Solstice.  So happy 1st Day of Winter everyone!

That said, it is also an occasion marked by other historical announcements.  The Mayan long count calendar long ago predicted this...

Wave 3 of Skylanders Giants is out.

Skylanders Giants Wave 3

Yep, that's right.  Apparently Toys'R'Us and Activision have inside info because they placed the launch of Wave 3 right smack-dab on the morning of what many thought, feared, or in some cases hoped would be the apocalypse.

Toys'R'Us is doing another of their famed "come early, stock limited" promos which quite frankly I could care less for.  Short of standing outside the store before the doors open you probably aren't going to get what you want.  And if you do, it doesn't look to be anything exciting.  Coupe that with the lack of any good sales and you have the makings of me waiting it out.

Several TRUs released LightCore Shroomboom to the shelves Wednesday or Thursday.  I was in my store tonight (Thursday) and saw nothing.

Similarly, a few folks came up with S2 Lightning Rod, Eruptor, and Prism Break via broken street dates.  This is usually the case of a "seasonal employee" being given the task of stocking shelves and doing just that, largely unfamiliar with store and/or company policy.  (Of course the real fault lies with lackluster management, but it seems no one likes to take responsibility nowadays).

As of right now we have only heard rumors of Thumpback being the Giant in this Wave.  That said, there have yet to be pics, ebay listings, or anything concrete.

Similarly, Cynder and Stealth Elf are to be in this release, but I've yet to see pics...perhaps they will be packed in a different assortment.



My research tonight turned up nothing: Toys'R'Us had nothing and was so crowded I wasn't about to venture into the mayhem (really not much was going on in electronics) to seek insights.  Target was pretty picked over and had nothing new.  I wasn't about to set foot in Walmart.  Based on what I saw at Target and TRU my last fantasy of the night involved walking into Walmart 5 days before Christmas...plus a lot of people around here seem to be getting sick.

GameStop was my safe haven...not near as trafficked as the other stores.  I was hoping they'd tell me they had the Wave 3 boxes in the back ready to and they'd hold the new stuff for me till tomorrow...no dice.  I was told they had no word on when they'd be getting any new Skylanders, but that sometimes they do get stuff the "day of."  I may call in tomorrow, not sure...really not too keen on crowds and traffic...particularly when said crowds and traffic are all doing the same thing: last minute Christmas shopping.

I will be honest here...I am excited about S2 Lightning Rod, but since I've already got the LC versions of Eruptor and Prism Break I am not in a huge rush for them.  I do think LC Prism Break is another great repose though!  The perk to those two is unlike their LC counterparts we will have the WowPow, which is really the big draw to the reposed figures.

Similarly, while LC Shroomboom will provide a way for those without the Dragonfire Cannon Battle Pack to land the newlander, I've got is standard pose and don't feel obligated to pick him up at full price.

Stealth Elf is great and one of my top characters, but again...L-Stealth Elf is already in the arsenal so there is no rush.

Cynder suffers the same fate as I have 2 of her GITD versions form the Wii and 3DS Starter Packs.

As you might have expected, we have no insight into triple packs.  However, I would almost bank on the fact that before you see a Cynder+Stealth Elf+Lightning Rod Triple Pack we will have to endure them packaging the already released Skylanders into Triple Packs.

The real highlight of the wave is honestly the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack which will be a timed exclusive to GameStop and that many of us have already reserved.  Hot Dog will wrap up the new Skylanders and this will give us access to Zap, who I am thinking SHOULD have a wicked WowPow!!

The other big draw is simply the ANTICIPATION of what, if any, Giant will be released.  Several have speculated we won't get a Giant this wave.  I'm more of the mindset that it will come, just maybe not tomorrow with Eruptor, Prism Break, and L-Rod etc.

Thumpback makes the most sense to me as he looks the most like winter, lol.  I still say Ninjini looks like spring (or Valentine's Day) and since Eye Brawl was not released at launch he just as well be the last released.  I still maintain that Eye Brawl should have been at launch while Swarm was held off till the Spring.

Anyway, as always the bottom line is until an employee or vendor gets stock and coughs up pics, or more likely makes ebay listings we won't know which Giant it will be.

That is why I don't like to post speculation...I could outline what I think should happen and what I think will happen (they would be different), but the bottom line is until it goes down we are all in the dark.  Someone will guess right, but it is far from a prophecy.

That warps up the Wave 3 excitement.  I will try and pick up my Scorpion Striker Battle Pack on release day (1/1/13), but past that I may actually wait on picking up this latest string of Skylanders...at least until we get a good sale.  I would definitely pop for S2 Lightning Rod and Flameslinger or Prism Break on a BOGO 50% sale.




Skylanders Giants Playthrough

Well, big news here.  As of last night (12/20/2012) I am ready to fight Kaos...with stock Skylanders.  I recorded Chapter 15 (probably my favorite thus far) and have collected all the items in 13-15.

The blog poll just closed on whether you want to see me fight Kaos with stock (more of a challenge and more importantly more Skylanders), or fully upgraded Skylanders.  It was obvious most prefer "upgraded."  That said, I am kind of leaning towards "stock" for the challenge AND to get to cycle more of them into the battle.  I'm sure there will be video comments about how horrible of a player I am as they are all nearing death, but that can be attributed to people not reading descriptions or listening to the intro commentary.

That said, if I do go that route I will then simply re-record when they are upgraded.  Simple fix and everyone is happy.  Plus, in all honesty, if I don't record the battle with them "stock" it is going to take a long time to gather up the cash to fully upgrade everyone.

I will post up what route I go.

Uploads

Sadly, due to internet issues I haven't been able to upload.  I hope to do that over this weekend as well as editing some more to get them ready to upload.

I also have the 100cc Mario Kart vids waiting in the mix, lol.  I still need to record the 150cc stuff, which should be interesting since I haven't played in a few months now.

Once the main Skylanders stuff is up I will work on upgrades and the Nightmare Mode playthrough.  I might (mainly to wait for Hot Dog and getting others upgraded) go back to Mario Kart to get it taken care of...

Mario Party 9 will fall in line and be the next to get wrapped up...

Obviously, any new Skylanders I get will be treated to an unboxing, introduction, and heroic challenge vid ASAP.

Past that I have a few things in mind...I'm still bummed about how the frame rates drop so bad in Skyward Sword :(

I will go into the long terms plans later on...

Skylanders Battle Tournament

This should be returning very soon...Stay tuned!

Skylanders Trading Cards

I have yet to get to check YouTube comments, but if people enjoyed the vids I've got 4 single packs to open up...I also picked up the "other" Starter Set at TRU tonight and I will get it opened, recorded, and uploaded soon...possibly tomorrow.

Currently Playing

Wii: Skylanders Giants, Wii Fit Plus
3DS: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Find Mii, Puzzle Swap

Currently Listening

Auto Audio (In the Car): Audioslave
Home Audio (At Home): The Eagles, Matchbox 20

Purchase of the Week

Batman Arkham City Armored Edition

New category...mainly because this was a killer deal.  Just late last week and early this week I had posted that Batman Arkham City Armored Edition had dropped $10 to $49.99 at GameStop.  I was shocked to see it back at $59.99 last night.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into Target and found the game $20 off at $39.99!  I figure the game will drop to $49.99, but I think it might stay there for awhile.  This is supposed to be an incredible game that makes excellent use of the Wii U Gamepad AND it includes all the DLC.  I'll take my chances at this price..The cool thing was, this was the LAST copy in my Target!  They actually had to get it out of the flip cover on the front of the case!  I am looking forward to playing this, but it will have to wait awhile.



Conclusion

Well it is 4:13 AM and I'm not dead yet...guess that is kind of cool, right?!  Hopefully the same applies for you!  Otherwise, it is kind of pointless that I'm up typing this and not asleep.

Anyway, I hope to get the vids uploading soon and I very well may take on that creep Kaos with stock Skylanders (just for the fun of it).

I'd also like to finish Professor Layton and the Curious Village over the holidays...don't think I lack much of it, but I honestly haven't gotten to play it in awhile.

I should have the Giants playthrough vids going up all weekend (time and internet connection allowing).  I'll also try and get the Skylander Trading Card Starter Pack up...maybe some other things too.

If I don't do that, or post prior to it...

Merry Christmas!  Hope everyone has a great time with your friends and family.