Swap shop

The clue’s in the name right? Skylanders Swap Force is an interesting proposition this year because of all that switching and swapping you can do with the new figures. What we hadn’t appreciated was quite how varied the new mixed up creations could be, or how much they would feel like fully fledged characters in their own right.

Keen to get a taste what it will be like in the game, we took some time at E3 with Guha Bala, Studio Head at Vicarious Visions, to work through all the combinations of four Swap Force characters: Hoot Loop, Wash Buckler, Blast Zone and Magna Charge .

As we worked our way through the swapping not only did it dawn on us that this was going to take a while — even with just four of the 16 Swap Force characters — but also that we were rubbish at figuring out what the new names would be. You see, each Swap Force character is named in two parts: Wash Buckler, Magna Zone, and so on.

This means that when you mix them up, your new creation inherits its name from each half you have chosen. Mix up Wash Buckler and Magna Zone for instance and you can create Wash Zone or Magna Buckler. A favourite of mine is Hoot Buckler an Owl Octopus.

Thankfully, for those with slightly limited imaginations like us, all you have to do is get the new Swap Force combo on the portal and the game tells you the name as part of the “magic moment” animation.

Are you excited about getting to mix up your own Swap Force characters? Post a comment to tell us.