In 2011 Activision released skylanders, which was set in the Spyro the Dragon universe. The game was groundbreaking, and the people at Nintendo probably kicked themselves for not coming up with it first. Basically, you have action figures that you put into this portal device and the toys come to life in an action fighting game. It was immediately the most wanted toy for Christmas that year. Activision followed up with a sequel in 2012 and a third installment is also coming out this year.
This year’s iteration is skylanders exchange force. The innovative gameplay feature of this game hack is that you can change the character’s body and lower torso. Do you want a powerful robot with octopus legs? you got it. The toys themselves have little magnets on them to make changing easy and hassle-free, though I can see kids losing toys all over the house and making cleanup time an all-day event.
The E3 demo I got hands on with was basically the same skylanders game that has been on the market for two years. There was absolutely nothing new or fresh in the game. Obviously being able to turn the Skylanders you already own on and off sounds great, but that’s to be expected. The only new feature they had was that the new Skylander figures can activate “travel powers” with the B button (Xbox 360) or the circle button (PlayStation 3). It seemed like characters could jump higher with some of these abilities activated, but they didn’t really add anything together. The Giants from last year’s game have a running charge attack instead of the travel powers.
One of the good things for previous fans is that the level cap seems to be raised to level 20, instead of 15 from last year’s game. It increases the time you’ll spend with the game, but it’s disappointing when that’s one of the key points of a brand new game. One of the main problems I had with the above Skylander games is the obvious lack of cooperation online. This is inexcusable for a game like this, which at its core is basically a stripped down dungeon crawler. This feature was not in the previous games and needs to be added. I could see that four player co-op is really fun in a game like this as well.
In terms of the new Skylander figures, I’ll admit they look great; if he was in the target age group, he would be in all of this. If you look at the game as a serious gamer, you won’t find much, but it’s really not for them. skylanders It has always been about having fun with your friends or family; it’s overly forgiving and designed not to frustrate younger players. I feel like skylanders it could also hook older kids if the game evolved a bit. With a game like this, Activision is more interested in selling toys and accessories than providing a solid gaming experience.
This year, skylanders will face its greatest test with the new Disney game Plenty. Basically, Disney also decided to enter the hybrid market of collectible action figures and video games. They will bring all kinds of recognizable characters and brands to their own game. It will be interesting to see if Activision will be able to hold its own against the potential goliath that game could be. Heck, Disney even owns Marvel and the Star Wars brand now so they can dive into even bigger universes.
It’s a shame that Activision has chosen not to evolve too much from the core of skylanders. They really stick to the mantra of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Kids immediately eat these things, but at some point they toss them aside if there’s nothing really new or exciting to enjoy. This game is from a younger person. obligations; every year it will come back and every year people will keep buying it. Perhaps that’s why Activision doesn’t care about changing too much with either franchise. That’s all I can really say about Skylanders Force Exchange: there is simply nothing new about it. It’s a fun no nonsense action game for kids and until they add more that’s all it will be.