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Skylanders: Swap Force
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Graphics & Sound:
I can say that I was lucky enough to get to see the first Skylanders even before they were released. From that moment, I knew that they were going to be a huge success. The concept of merging actual toys with videogames is pure genius. I was wondering how they would continue to improve, but they have managed to do it, yet again. The characters in the new Skylanders: Swap Force come apart at the waist so that you can mix and match them. This creates both new toys to play with and new, powerful characters for the game.
The new Skylanders look very much like the old ones. There are some new versions of previous characters, like a Series 2 Hot Dog that I would love to have soon. There are some new Lightcore characters as well, like Lightcore Flashwing that I also want (heck let's not lie, I want them all). The real new trick is, of course, the fact that you can mix and match 16 of the characters giving you 256 possible combinations. While I only have three of them to physically play with, you can see all of the possible combinations under your Collections. Amazingly, the tops and the bottoms all work well together, or at least they do as far as I can see. With the three that I have, it is difficult to tell which top is "supposed" to belong with which bottom, if you don't already know. This is pretty impressive, since they are a variety of sizes and shapes.
Your Skylanders and the other characters will speak out loud and they have a wide variety of voices. They also have a lot more things that they say than in the previous games, which you will be able to read at least some of over in our Skylanders Character Reviews, which are coming soon.
I love the different voices in the game. When you go to different lands, in each one the people have different accents. Some are even Irish or Scottish. Baron Sharpfin reminds me very much of Badger from Firefly. They have also added more sound cues during the game. I like that they have added a sound when you push a block into the right place. It helps take the guesswork out and saves time. I think that will make it easier for a younger audience without taking away something that the older crowd finds fun. |
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Gameplay:
Every 100 years, the Elementals start up a volcano to replenish all the magic in Skylands. The heroes who saved the Elementals the last time were trapped in the volcano, changed so that they can swap top and bottom, and sent far away. Flynn is back, ready to watch the eruption, as it has been 100 years since those heroes were trapped. As he is waiting for the eruption, Tessa shows up and tells him that she desperately needs the Skylanders' help, since her village of Woodburrow was attacked.
Woodburrow is going to be your home base in Skylanders: Swap Force. There's more to do in Woodburrow than in the previous home base, like going fishing and using the turret for base defense. One thing that is quite helpful is the Training Dummies in Woodburrow. They will let you practice your attacks so you know how new attacks and characters work. Plus, they give you a few coins, which is handy when you're just a bit short and want to buy another upgrade. Granted, you don't have as much to do in the beginning, but the more boards you clear, the more of Woodburrow that will be repaired and therefore accessible for you. The major goal isn't saving Woodburrow, though; you will do that pretty quickly. Your major goal is to go save the Elementals again so that they can start up the volcano.
As you can probably guess, Kaos is back and he's the one trying to kidnap the Elementals. He wants to make them evil with his Evilizer ray, so that when they activate the volcano, it will put out evil magic instead of good magic. Of course, the Skylanders are going to be trying to stop Kaos, but Kaos is going to have even more troubles to deal with than them, like his mother! Which one will ultimately be his demise: Mother or the Skylanders?
From your Main Menu, you can play in either Story Mode or Arena Modes. In both, you can play with up to two players. In the Arena Modes, there are options for you to play cooperatively or against each other. If you are playing Story Mode with two players, it is always cooperative. When you pick up items like food and money, you both will get whatever one person picks up, so there's no fight to see who gets there first and no arguments that someone stole all the treasure. I really like this, as it avoids all arguments between siblings (or friends) about who stole what items from the other. Unlike most games that really don't provide a way for two players to play on the same console, Skylanders: Swap Force is really made for two people to play in the same house. Personally, I found even Story Mode to be more fun with two players. You do need to note that the Bonus Mission Maps are one player only. |
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Difficulty:
Skylanders: Swap Force provides four difficulty modes: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Nightmare. Nightmare is only unlocked after you have beaten the game, to make sure that you know what you're getting into. You can switch difficulty levels at any time, so you aren't stuck with whichever option you choose at the beginning.
If you are having trouble getting past levels and you don't want to change the difficulty, you can try on different hats or change out your legendary treasures. You will find both in the levels, hidden in various places. The hats only affect the characters that they are placed on. The legendary treasures are activated by placing them on the pedestals in Woodburrow. You'll have to get far enough in the game to unlock the pedestals to use them. You will be able to unlock more pedestals to use, based on how high your portal master level is (how many stars you have collected).
One complaint I know some people had before was that the locks were a bit difficult for the younger audiences to complete on their own. Now it is a different puzzle to open locks than before. Now, you have two characters to move around and the goal is to get them together. I think I like this one better. If you are playing Story Mode with two players, you each will control one of the characters, which is a lot quicker! I also think that this new lock puzzle will be easier for younger kids, but still fun for adults.
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Game Mechanics:
Skylanders: Swap Force plays pretty much like the previous versions, but with one major change that I have been waiting on: your Skylanders can now jump by pressing (X), which is so handy! Before, they had to find a jump pad to jump. There are still jump pads around to help you reach even higher places, but I really like being able to jump over things when I want to. It feels more like the original Spyro that these Skylanders evolved from. Since (X) is now jump, you will use (R2) to speak to characters and activate other things.
Originally, I thought that there was no way to save in the middle of a level and, since these levels can take an hour or so, that can be a bit inconvenient. I did find that when you hit a checkpoint, it will save that level up to that point, so that when you go back into that level, you will pick up at the check point, which is quite nice!
My only real complaint with Skylanders: Swap Force is that I cannot use my old portal and there is no new wireless portal available. I do realize that the new portals drain power even quicker than the old ones, but personally, I would rather change batteries every few hours than worry about my dogs grabbing the portal wire and bringing the whole PS3 down to the floor. The cord on the new portal is about 7’ long (I did not measure it exactly), but that was not long enough to reach my couch from my PS3. I had to add a USB extender to make it reach. The good news is that even a cheap USB extender doesn't affect the characters or cause any lag.
Just like on the previous games, I love Skylanders: Swap Force. It is my favorite one so far, since there are more things to do, which gives you plenty more to play. The toys are fun to play with even if you aren't playing the videogame. I know this, because they have kept a very hyper 6 year old entertained for days now, and she just played the videogame tonight. She had fun sending the toys to "portal world" as she called it. Now she's having just as much fun with the game too. Skylanders: Swap Force is the perfect game for all ages. They have thought about everything, including making sure kids can play together easily in the game without arguing over food, items, or money (everything in the real world is up to you to deal with). If you're looking for a game that the whole family can spend hours having fun playing together, I highly recommend you go invest in Skylanders: Swap Force today!
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-Cyn, GameVortex Communications AKA Sara Earl |
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