While the upcoming Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure does skew a little bit on the younger side as far as its appeal, it also does introduce an interesting feature with its portal mat. Using the mat, players of Skylanders will be able to transport one of up to 30 different Spyro toys into the game world. How exactly the feature works isn’t entirely clear but it seems like a clever little addition.

Screenshots so far, including a couple that were released today, have shown that this Spyro title isn’t of the same ilk as its predecessors. While Spyro was always a more child-like character, the games themselves were competent platformers that were solid and engaging.

Though, despite its look, we still have a strong interest in Toys for Bob's Spyro title, there is just the unfortunate circumstance of having a gimmick being applied to the title. And, having Spyro share the limelight with other characters does call into question just how much of a “Spyro” experience this game will be.

Check out the Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure Starter Pack and a few of the new screenshots below:

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These starter packs are only the beginning of a much larger collection of Spyro’s Adventure toys that are available (30 in all) but should give potential players a good jumping off point. And it doesn’t hurt that Activision decided to include Spyro in the starter pack rather than as a standalone purchase.

We haven’t seen much of Skylanders in the way of gameplay footage, but its portal mat addition definitely seems like a solid incentive for younger gamers or families to check out this title. It might not be the Spyro gamers remember, but it should introduce a younger generation to the purple dragon, and you can’t knock that.

What do you think of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and its portal mat feature? Do you think that younger gamers would be interested in an older property revamped to appeal to them?

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure releases September 27, 2011 for the PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC, and 3DS.