Skylanders SWAP Force, swappable, unstoppable, more characters add to the adventure - review

This weekend, my family was allowed to host a Skylanders Swap Force Game Truck party. At this event, we invited my son's friends over to play the new Activision game, Skylanders Swap Force, on a Game Truck.  What happens when you get a bunch of third grade football players together to play a new video game - excitement, enthusiasm, and an unforgettable night.






If you aren't familiar, Skylanders Swap Force is the newest game from the Skylanders series. This video game from Activision builds on the unique aspect to the Skylanders series, the character play. If you aren't familiar, the fun of Skylanders is that you character can play in against your friends on various gaming systems. For example, my son has the Skylander character Tree Rex which he plays on the Wii but his friend has the game on Xbox. My son's character can still play on the Xbox version.

This new version of the game, Swap Force, expands the characters for the game. Some of the characters have a swap characteristic. These characters have separate tops and bottoms that can be "swapped" with other characters. For example, I have Wash Buckler and you have Blast Zone  I can take my Wash Buckler legs and put them on  Blast Zone's body. I have created a whole new character. The "swapability" characteristic adds up to 250 characters to this game.

According to the story line, Skylanders Swap Force protected the volcano that replenishes Skylanders' magic. That is until an epic battle caught them in an eruption that blasted them apart, sent them to Earth and gave them the ability to swap powers. Only you can mix and match their tops and bottoms, put them on the new Portal of Power and save the Skylands. 

Each of the characters represents an element. The four elements are represented, fire, water, earth and air. Some of the battle zones and games are available to certain element characters. When playing against another character, it is fun to see which characters (elements) work with each other or, in battle play, can out play the other.

During our Swap Force party, the boys were able to play the new game. First we had a tournament where the winner received his own Swap Force character. Each player was able to play the battle round. Players chose their character and battle arena. The winner moved on and eventually one was named the ultimate winner. I was amazed how the boys cheered and yelled for their friends. By watching each other, the boys picked up pointers and figured out which character had the best powers. Some boys wouldn't let go of their character because they were having such success.

Since the Game Truck had multiple screens and gaming systems, the kids who weren't playing in the tournament were able to play Swap Force on other screens. They could chose from Xbox, PlayStation 3 or Wii systems. The game and characters were the same on each system. The kids played over and over till it was time to eat some pizza (then ran back out to the truck and played some more).

When the party ended, I asked the boys for some feedback. According to my small sampling, the boys favorite Skylanders Swap Force character was Blast Zone because he was able to throw bombs. They felt that the best "new" combination was Fire Zone, because it was fast and had fire capabilities. The biggest item that they liked was the previous characters still worked on this new game. Some boys love Tree Rex from the Giants series. They liked that this character can play in the new game.

Skylanders Swap Force is available for purchase at most mass merchants, electronic stores and gaming stores. The starter pack comes with the video game, portal of power and three Swap Force characters, which retails for approximately $74.99. Other characters can be purchased separately, individual SWAP Force figures retail for $14.99 and core Skylanders action figures retail for $9.99.  The game is produced by Activision and is rated E for everyone.

If you love the Skylanders games, I would highly suggest purchasing the the new Skylanders Swap Force. It offers swappable, unstoppable character video game fun for everyone.


Disclosure: I was allowed to host a Skylanders Swap Force party for my friends and family. All opinions are my own.

12 comments:

  1. How cool is that? I will admit that am unfamiliar with these people but glad that you had fun

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  2. How awesome! I bet the boys were just loving it! I can't wait until my sons are just a little older. They will love Skylanders!

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  3. That looks like it was a ton of fun! However when it comes to new video games, my kids have to wait in line behind me. I usually fail within seconds, so really they don't have to wait long.

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  4. Now I know what my son's getting for Christmas!!

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  5. This seems to be the hottest craze right now, I see if everywhere!

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  6. OMG my sons are Skylander OBSESSED! we own the first two games and I think just about every skylander and giant made! I guess I know what will be number 1 on their list this year!

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  7. Better watch out - all his friends are going to want to move in! Looks like a great time!

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  8. What an awesome event! My son is just starting to get into video games and loves playing them with his dad.

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  9. I really love how this Skylanders franchise have incorporated all the game systems to interact. I love that party and sounds like the kids (and you) had a blast. My son has the original game so he should really love this new adaptation.

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  10. WOW I"ve never heard of having a truck party or this company. I bet your kids had a blast!

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  11. What a fun party! That's a party the family will never forget!

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  12. This game looks so fun. We haven't had a chance to dive into the series but hope to soon.

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