Skylanders Giants hits stores on October 21

Last Christmas my son was bonkers for the Skylanders game. I played the game with him on more than a few occasions, and it was really cool. I particularly liked how you could take a little statue figurines of the characters, place them on this round device that plugs into the game console, and the statue would turn into the character on the screen to use in the game. The game turned out to be impressively popular, and the sequel to the original game is set to launch this weekend.

The sequel is called Skylanders Giants, and it will be available in stores on October 21, which is Sunday. The game will be available for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360, and the PS3. The game has 16 new characters including eight Giant Skylanders that are twice the size of the normal characters.

Each of those giant characters has special powers to go along with their massive size. Along with the giant characters are eight new Skylanders that have their own unseen powers. The game will also introduce new LightCore Skylanders that glow when on or near the Portal of Power without batteries being required.

The Portal of Power is the little accessory you set the figurines on to get them into the game. It's also worth noting that all the characters from the original Skylanders game are compatible with Skylanders Giants. The stats and customizations applied to those original game characters will stay intact.