Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack for Wii

Disclosure: I received a free product sample for review in my Holiday Gift Guide. All experiences and opinions are my own. Yours may differ.

I’m going to admit something a little embarrassing with this review. I love this game so much, I’m not a very good sharer with my kids. After the kids go to bed at night, my husband and I head to the basement to play our new Skylanders Swap Force game from Activision. Before doing this review I had seen these little action figure toys at Walmart and other stores but had no idea what they were for. Now that I have the game and play it as often as I can I find myself wanting to browse this section of the store.

What is the game about?

For generations, the SWAP Force protected the volcano that replenishes Skylands’ magic. That is until they were caught in a powerful eruption that blasted them apart. Only you can mix and match their tops and bottoms, put them on the Portal of Power™ and save Skylands.

I really like this game.  First, you can set the level of difficulty. I’m not a video game pro so I have the game set on easy and that works for me. It is still challenging enough in areas to be fun, but not so hard I was to throw the Wii nunchuk through the TV. Second, the characters are so much fun. Some of the characters are swappable so you can switch tops and bottoms. This lets the characters share their abilities. There are characters across different elements and categories: fire, water, earth, etc. so in order to open different areas of the game you need characters from each category. I think I will be getting a couple different characters for stocking stuffers this year so we can open up more of the game! Thirdly, the graphics are fantastic! Like I said earlier, I’m no video game pro, but the game is beautiful. The colors of the characters, the backgrounds and the scenery are really nice. It’s enjoyable to watch.

Skylanders Swap Force is rated E 10+. That means it is appropriate for everyone ages 10 and up. Honestly, through playing the game I like the conservative rating but  I also don’t mind letting my 4 year old and 7 year old play it sometimes. The game isn’t bloody or gory. Plus, it is very easy to control. You can easily add or remove a player without too much disturbance while the game is being played. The portal in the picture above is where you add, remove or switch around the characters you want to be. My kids think it is the coolest thing to have the characters transported into the game.

Overall I love this family friendly game. It is only for 1-2 players so sharing is required. Luckily each “land”, if you will, isn’t very long so it is easy to say I get to play this land and you can do the next. Our family has had a lot of fun times playing together and my husband and I have had fun playing without the kids as well. This would be a great Christmas gift for under the tree! The starter pack includes everything you need: game, 3 characters, the portal of power as well as some fun extras like a poster,  trading cards and secret codes. You can purchase the Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack online or check out local retailers that carry the game. Just a little FYI, the ams has been seen on Walmart.com for half off ($37) plus Limited Time Only! Get Free Shipping on Orders of $35 or More at Walmart.com! so shop around people, there are some great discounts to be found!!