The invasion of toy-based video games happened two years ago with the launch of Activision’s Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. Of course, Activision isn’t someone who just releases a hit game where a franchise could be, like with obligations, skylanders has had annual releases and 2013 brought skylanders exchange force and the only difference this year was that Disney launched its own version of the genre with the incredibly ambitious disney infinity. We can finally determine which one is really worth your parents’ money.
The real selling point for this year Skylanders is the ability to change the bodies and legacies of your new Skylanders. When you buy the starter pack, you receive a new portal, the game, two tradable characters, and a normal, non-tradable Skylander. Changing Swap Force characters is pretty easy; simply unfasten the character magnets, then switch the caps. My favorite aspect of the swap characters is that the bottom and top have their own leveling tree for different powers. As in the previous installations of skylandersthere is much variety.
Upon release, there was a very limited selection of interchangeable Skylander characters. Activision concentrated on different sculpts of previously released characters instead of creating new ones. Though earlier this year, Activision has been doing a spectacular job churning out more characters. It was a shame that at launch the selection was so limited.
After a long cutscene at the beginning of the game, you will finally be in control of your choice of hero. If you’ve played any kind of third-person action RPG, you’ll feel right at home. It’s your standard beat-em-up, gain access to the next area, more enemy characters appear to block your way. Rinse and repeat for the entire individual long player portion. There are some puzzles that require cooperation (such as moving blocks to access a path) and other fairly standard puzzles. This won’t be difficult for anyone under the age of ten, so keep that in mind.
The real charm of the series has to be the overly stylized cartoonish look of the worlds and characters. Some gamers might find the aesthetic appeal of the overall package somewhat annoying and in your face, but it works pretty well for a game like this in my opinion. The version I played was for Wii U, so the bright colors and loud characters made the game feel at home with other Nintendo products. As a parent, you’ll never feel like your child will get a joke she wasn’t supposed to hear.
Again, when it comes to playing the game, nothing has really changed except for the new addition of exchange force characters. The game essentially feels like the previous one. skylanders titles. Which might be great for younger fans of the series, but for veteran players, it’s pretty much eye-roll-inducing. I will say that the fight is a little more attractive than disney infinity. Whom exchange forcethere was no frame rate stutter as the game kept up with all the action on screen.
Of course, with a game franchise as big as skylandersmost likely whoever is playing exchange force you’ll want to experience cooperative play and this is where the game really shines. If you play alone, it can be a bit boring and stale. With another person playing alongside you, you can experiment with different character options. Hell, you could even change your exchange force characters around for extra whimsy. For some strange reason, this game still lacks online co-op and this is a serious misstep for a title like this. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it is marketed towards younger players, but even disney infinity includes this feature. I would classify this as developer and publisher laziness.
When it comes down to it, you have to wonder if this game is really worth the hefty retail price of $74.99. For me, absolutely not, but I’m not the target audience either. If you want a solid game that will occupy your son or brother, skylanders exchange force is a great choice. Though for the price I would suggest taking a look at the top one disney: infinity also. It’s mostly apples and oranges, but either option will keep your little ones happy.
