When Skylanders first came out, we actually didn't end up getting it for our son. The first game we got was Skylanders: Giants (which both my son and I loved). The initial concept behind the game was amazing. It was really the first of its kind to introduce these figures that could be put on the "portal" and then transported into the game. It was a great thing for gamers and collectors both (or if you happen to be both a collector and a gamer). It had that awesome uniqueness and shock factor that I think fascinated a lot of people at the time and was one of the reasons why it became as popular as it is today. When I went to play the game (we ended up buying it for our son later after we had thoroughly beaten Giants), I was not disappointed.
The things I liked:
What I liked about the game was, obviously, the figures. I am a very character driven person. I love to create my own characters, mostly, but I also like other people's characters. Skylanders was no different. I liked how you could collect these guys. It created these little Skylander hunting missions that were fun for not only me and my son, but for our whole families. It was definitely a unique side effect of the game that really helped make it that much more interesting. As for the gameplay itself, I loved it. The storyline and the character involvement were awesome. The best thing, I would say, was the ability to level up and get your charcters' upgrades. That really heightened the video game experience for me as well as extended its longevity. It made it more playable and for longer. The addition of the extra adventure packs was pure genius in my eyes. It was yet another way to extend Skylanders' longevity and not in an annoying way (in my opinion although I do see how it could be since you have to buy more stuff). I did get a lot of enjoyment out of the first Skylanders and I think it's a great game for adults and kids.
The things I didn't like:
There wasn't a whole lot in the way of things I didn't like in this game. Some of the gameplay was a bit rudimentary (although considering it's a kids game, that really didn't bother me that much). The graphics were, for the most part, pretty awesome. There were a couple of things that seemed off, but again, not enough to be bothersome or annoying. The biggest grievance I ended up having with the game was the toys themselves. Although they were awesome to find and hunt down, some of them were/are nearly impossible to find. Still. Even though the game has been out for ages. I still can't find Ghost Roaster (unless I want to pay a crap ton of money for him). Also, having to buy all these other characters definitely gets expensive. It gets hard to keep up when you have to pay so much for them.
Overall, the game was amazing. My son and I enjoyed it and played it several times over. We love the characters and we continue playing the games to this day.
My recommendation is that Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a great game to play with your kids (or even if you don't have children.