Developers:
Vicarious Visions
n-Space (3DS)
Beenox (Wii U)
Publisher: Activision
Price: (Starter bundle) $74.99 (Figures $9.99-14.99)
Release Dates:
Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U & Xbox 360
NA October 13, 2013
AU October 16, 2013
EU October 18, 2013
Where to buy: Gamestop, Walmart, Toys R’ Us
The holiday season is nearing us, you know parents, the time where you work extra hours to get the little ones joy for a weekend. Skylanders is not shy in pop culture standing in as the new generation of collecting. Bringing out the excitement of unlocking new worlds, and playing new characters. Personally myself I fell into the enjoyment of collecting a few of the little critters as I adventured in Giants. Swap force takes the series in a new direction. With jumping (finally), climbing, and even more mini games that can test your little ones. As uncanny as it sounds, make you pick up the controller yourself, and give it a try.
I was given two starter packs for review (we are humbly grateful might I add!)
When I taken the figurines and portal bases out of the box Off the bat, this new portal (wired) was massive. Resembling the same circular shape. With the 3DS portal, it was compact, big enough to allow one Skylander to mount it. A interesting thing to note the 3DS as everyone knows, is a hand-held, so you think “ I do not want all of these toys all over my van, or car on road trips!” The clever folks at N-Space thought ahead of that for you. How it works is quite simple. You take your toys (you can keep them sealed and the reader still detects them, so collectors take note.) Place them on the portal it will tell you to hold the 3ds, and the portal making the infra red facing one another. Once it gives you the little video for each Skylander, its saved in the game forever.
The console version on the other hand, is you are required to keep the toy on the portal at all times. Which should not seem like a bad deal, seeing you are suppose to be sitting down in front of a large TV to play this anyhow. Along with portals, you are given 3 characters to start with. In the Xbox360 copy you get: Ninja Stealth Elf, Blast Zone(swappable), and Wash Buckler(swappable). And in the 3DS version you get Volcanic Eruptor, Rattle Snake(swappable), and Free Ranger(swappable). From the hip of marked packaged figurines, you get a few toys that can be combined with other ones to create a character that makes a powerful or useful character to run through the game. Every version of Swap force gives you a total of 172 you can collect for the toys. This includes different color variants, etc.
Gameplay feels tight and responsive. On the 3DS you control your skylanders with the circle pad, and play with the four command buttons. On the bottom screen you are shown your current skylander, and all of the element color groups. The 3DS game carries a different plot and cut back format. It handles a bit more like platformers from the PS2. Which by means is not a bad thing. While I was able to breeze through the 3DS copy due to the fact most of the powerups were unlocked per skylander level, I would say in a pinch, this is a pretty good little game for the device. However if you already have the modern consoles such as the Xbox360, or PS3, aim towards those, unless you want to get Volcanic Eruptor, which is sought after at the moment.
The Xbox 360 copy Looks crisp and stunning. Off the bat I compared all 3 games(Spyros adventures, Giants, and Swapforce), and over all this game looks clean, and sharp. Every character has a graphical overhaul. Bringing more live into each figure you place on the portal. Series 3 makes its entry into the figure line, so every character you know such as 
Stealth Elf, gains some wacky new abilities, and color variants. Testing out the Swapforce characters was a interesting task. I was curious to see the functionality of the characters swapping torsos and legs. With the connection is magnetic with two small circular bits. When connected it would give you a screen letting you know which elements the upper and lower parts are. Then you get a name such as “Wash” “Zone”.
Mixing and seeing which combinations was pretty fun. Wash Buckler with the lower half of Rattle snake brings out a pretty solid build. Where you got the mix of melee attacks, and washes bubble blaster. Which can lock enemies into place. With that I used Snake’s bottom to bring out bone snakes and do a ton of damage due to the fact the enemies were not able to dodge the attack.
In Closing:
Under the shell of this game holds a classic felt platformer genre, with plenty of fun puzzles, and mini games that would keep the young one busy for hours. While if you are a funny on a budget, I would advise to sticking to one element of each, and having the kiddo play with those. It is a reasonably priced range for 
the figures, the finding the best ones is keeping your eyes open in department stores. The story overall felt much like a Saturday morning cartoon episode. With humorous, and enjoyable comedy all throughout. I would say this is the new generation for new collectors. More interactive then Pokemon is when it came to those trading cards. The music was fantastic overall. Fitting the mood for the stages. I would personally like to thank Activision, and PR alike for this chance to cover the games. One let down was no online co-op play. Lets hope the new installment for the series provides this via next generation. For this holiday season it would be silly to disappoint your children, get this for them. Do it!
9.0
