Skylanders Swap Force

In case you hadn’t heard, Skylanders has earned over 500 million dollars, so it’s no surprise that Activision is keen to double down on demand for the kid-friendly series. At Toy Fair this week, the publisher revealed the newest title in the franchise, Skylanders Swap Force. Developed by Vicarious Visions, the new title not only enlarges the roster of playable Skylanders, but even allows gamers to customize the popular plastic figures in new ways.

This time around the adventure moves to the Cloudbreak Islands, a part of Skylands not seen in the previous games. At the heart of the Cloudbreak Islands is a large magical volcano whose eruption every hundred years restores magic to Skylands. Naturally, Kaos and his mother, who was first hinted at in the end of Skylanders Giants, are looking to disrupt things a bit, so it’s up to the Skylanders, along with returning friends Flynn and Eon, to keep Kaos from ruining things for everyone. The new Skylanders are as inventive and quirky as ever. Magna Charge, one of the new tech Skylanders, is a robot with magnetic powers that allow him to lift up the game’s crates and toss them at enemies. He also quickly zips around on a magnetic ball and fires his rail gun at any Chompy or Spell Punk who gets in his way. The water Skylanders benefit from the addition of Wash Buckler, a squid-faced pirate who uses his leg-tentacles to shoot ink at distant enemies and a cutlass to handle those who get too close. By far, the biggest changes to the Skylanders model is revealed by this game’s title, Swap Force. Now, instead of being limited to just one pre-made figure per player, you can create entirely new Skylanders by mixing and matching the upper and lower halves of two existing Swap Force figures. Each of the 16 new figures can be separated at the waist and then joined freely to one another. So you may take the upper body of Magna Charge and stick him on the lower body of Wash Buckler. What results is an entirely new Skylander, Wash Charge, who is armed with squid tentacles, a rail gun, and a magnet hat. The swap works because each power is related to a particular half of the body. Wash Buckler’s tentacle attacks, for instance, stay with the lower half, while his cutlass and pistol stick with the upper half. In general, you’ll find that movement powers are attached to the bottom of the Skylander, while attacks are attached to the top. The treasure that a Skylander earns while adventuring is also attached to the top, which opens the opportunity for players to use maxed out Skylanders to spend excess money upgrading the leg parts of other Skylanders. The swaps are also useful for navigating the new dual-element gates. Where the previous game would lock out certain content if you didn’t have a Skylander of the appropriate element, Swap Force will restrict areas unless you have Skylanders of two separate elements. If you find, for instance, a door that requires a magic and an air Skylander, you’ll either have to have each element represent by separate players in coop, or have a Swap Force character made up of both elements. There are also 16 non-swappable additions to the Skylanders roster, from the Undead, skater-girl Roller Brawl to the explosive-tossing Countdown who has a bomb for a head. There’s no word yet on an increased level cap for existing Skylanders but 16 of the old Skylanders are being reposed for this sequel and will be getting at least one new top tier power. As expected, the new technology means a new Portal too, which will be available as a large bundle with Magna Charge, Wash Buckler, and a new version of Stealth Elf. Skylanders Swap Force is due out this Fall.