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"  Skylanders Swap Force is hands down one of the most ambitious family-focused video games ever conceived. The third core entry in the Vicarious Visions series aims to take the toys-to-life genre it spawned to dizzy new heights with a dynamic swapping mechanic that enables players to create new Skylanders by combining existing characters. With mere weeks to go before Swap Force arrives in stores, Digital Spy headed down to the developer&amp;#039;s state-of-the-art studio in Albany, New York to find out how the game is shaping up. The swapping mechanic explored For those who are unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is Skylanders, these titles use a peripheral called the Portal of Power to scan in NFC-enhanced action figures and allow players to control in-game representations of them. Swap Force takes this inventive concept even further. It introduces 16 new characters with separable tops and bottoms to enable fans to create up to 256 Skylander combinations, mixing and matching attributes depending on the user&amp;#039;s preferred play style.  &amp;quot;In the case of the innovation and dynamic swapability in Swap Force, there were a lot of interesting problems that we had to solve,&amp;quot; Vicarious Visions co-founder Karthik Bala told DS. &amp;quot;The technology behind the connectors and the NFC tags at the top and bottom of the characters had to work in unison, and there were some really tricky laws of physics problems that we had to work around. &amp;quot;Once we figured out the technological breakthroughs it still had to feel right - the clickety-clack of the magnets and how fast you can switch characters and parts, and the feel of it all adds up to accessibility, and we really had to keep the pace of the game up.&amp;quot; Splicing together two different Skylanders comes with a world of advantages, as there are different movement types suited to specific terrain on the bottom and a range of special abilities up top. In-game portals crop up at various junctures in each level, enabling players to select a more appropriate combination for the task at hand. Our hands-on experience Aside from the innovative swap mechanic at the heart of the game, Swap Force also brings the ability to jump to the series, giving it the feel of an accessible 3D platformer. We were presented with the Wii U edition of the game - which is equal to its PS3 and Xbox 360 counterparts on the technological front - and a stack of Swap Force figurines to play around with during our hands-on session.  Our first instinct was to rip the nearest two apart and splice their opposite ends together to get a feel for the swap mechanic. We combined the tech-based Magna Charge with fire-themed Blast Zone, and the resultant combination was known as Magna Zone. Needless to say Magna Zone packed some serious firepower, which we put to good use on a level called Cascade Glade, a bright and vibrant zone full of lush greenery. We spent most of our time blasting away at Evilized Greebles and solving basic puzzles that involved pushing blocks around. The controls were fluid enough for children of all ages to pick up intuitively, but there was hidden depth there in the form of attack combos and hidden secrets to unearth. As the stage progressed, it became apparent that we simply couldn&amp;#039;t jump high enough to traverse Cascade Glade effectively, so we shook things up at the nearest Portal of Power. After replacing Blast Zone&amp;#039;s bottom half with that of Rattle Shake - a snake-themed character who uses his tail like a propulsion spring - we were able to reach those high-up places and take in the secrets they had to offer. The idea behind Swap Force is to experiment with different configurations, but you can also stick to your guns and level-up your favourite combo if you&amp;#039;re the type of gamer who is set in their ways when it comes to play styles. Vicarious Visions deserves credit for taking a concept as sophisticated as bringing toys to life using NFC technology and the power of console hardware, and boiling it down to a level of simplicity that makes it accessible for all of the family to enjoy.      Bringing balance to the force With a staggering 256 Skylander combinations to play around with, it&amp;#039;s amazing how well balanced the game feels. None of the amalgamations we tried felt or functioned like Frankenstein&amp;#039;s monster-esque creations. They all felt like characters in their own right, with unique strengths and weaknesses. &amp;quot;We put a lot of thought into gameplay balance. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of charts and a lot of graphs to make sure that each character was powerful in its own way,&amp;quot; said game designer Jeremy Russo. &amp;quot;You take our top half, and it could have a ranged attack or a lobbing ability. You look at the bottom halves and they could maybe go fast or have an attack build into themselves. &amp;quot;Each one is powerful in its own way, and based on the situation you are in, you may choose one combination over another. So, it&amp;#039;s not like one combination is going to be more powerful than another.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sure people will get into heated debates about which combination beats which combination, but as soon as you start getting to the depth of the upgrade trees and trying them in different situations, and really meshing with people&amp;#039;s play styles I think it&amp;#039;s going to be all over the place in terms of the reality,&amp;quot; Russo added. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m really proud of where we ended up in terms of game balance.&amp;quot; The power of next-generation technology We were treated to some brief hands-on time with the PS4 edition of the game, which plays the same as its current-generation counterparts, but looks jaw-dropping in all of its 1080p glory. Swap Force on next-gen hardware almost matches one of Pixar&amp;#039;s latest movies in terms of visual splendour, but that&amp;#039;s not to say that the game doesn&amp;#039;t look impressive on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U. The game was designed using a graphics engine purpose built for next-generation hardware, and then scaled for optimisation on current formats. &amp;quot;This is a brand new engine designed for next-gen and then scaled to maximise the power of the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U. We were able to create much more immersive and dynamic environment,&amp;quot; Bala explained.  &amp;quot;The lighting and the environment itself is dynamic - you have lighting and mood changes from day and night, and elemental zones and things that bring that level of immersion. &amp;quot;Vegetation moves and separates itself as you are walking through it, and there&amp;#039;s a subtlety to the motion to give an organic and lush feel to the environment. &amp;quot;Visually, we wanted to make it look as good as an animated feature film. &amp;quot;Particularly on next-gen hardware - this is true because we can be at 1080p - there&amp;#039;s more advanced rendering techniques for motion blur and parallax occlusion mapping that gives us far more details on the surfaces than we can render on current gen.&amp;quot; Swap Force is shaping up to be one of the most innovative and capacitative family titles of recent years, with all of the magic of its series predecessors and a ground-breaking new mechanic to keep the experience fresh. Vicarious Visions are no longer running unopposed in the toys-to-life category following Disney&amp;#039;s entry into the playing field with Disney Infinity, but from what we have seen of Swap Force, they have little to fear from anyone. Skylanders Swap Force will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Wii and 3DS on October 13 in North America and October 18 in Europe. The game will be released for Xbox One and PS4 in November.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/previews/news/a518586/skylanders-swap-force-preview-hands-on-with-the-magical-sequel/>