Skylanders: Swap Force
The leader in the toys-to-life genre released another gem with Swap-Force, bringing a lot of upgrades and changes to the game, but maybe a bit too many additions for its own good. Now, I could write an entire doctoral thesis comparing this game to its predecessors and successors, but I won't. Rather, I hope to delve into Swap-Force almost as if it were a standalone.
What I noticed immediately about this game is that it looks and feels gorgeous. Everything blends together seamlessly into one solid world that combines cartoony with colorful, creating a wide variety of aesthetically magnificent levels. The platforming is also quite enjoyable, coupled with a button-mashing combat that stays exciting thanks to a variety of enemies and playable characters. Even the story is worthwhile as multiple humorous cutscenes play during the (unfortunately long) loading times.
However, there are flaws, and most come thanks to the franchise's inherent business model. As a game that typically has a new release every year that floods shelves with new playable figurines, consumers need a reason to buy them, rather than just stick with their current collection. Swap-Force solves that problem with a feature known as "Portal Master Rank," which encourages level completion, mini-game perfection, and figure collection in order to rank up and 100% the game. This means that completionists like myself are required to fork out hundreds of additional dollars towards the game, just for a measly "rank up" (not that the figures aren't awesome in and of themselves, though).
All-in-all, the Skylanders adventure presented in this third installment is quite enjoyable, and it is obvious that a lot of work was put into its development. It is definitely worth a play through, but don't expect to complete it without thinning your wallet a bit.
