n-Space has been a veritable force in bringing the Skylanders franchise to the Nintendo 3DS with Skylanders: Giants and Skylanders: Swap Force being the most standout efforts. It now seems to be working on a new “high profile” action RPG for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

This was indicated in a recent listing for a 3D Character Animator which states that the person in question “will be working closely with the Art Director and Designers to create an amazing gameplay experience on an upcoming high‐profile action RPG for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4!”

What’s even more interesting is that the animator will require “expertise in animating all forms of life” but also be required to animate “quadrupeds, and flying creatures.” So there will definitely be a fantasy element not unlike Skylanders.

What are your thoughts on the Skylanders team working on a new console action RPG? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

You see, these are no ordinary toys. Simply by placing these little fellas on a special USB-connected pad, they instantly come to life onscreen, for you to control, upgrade and evolve. The colour-changing “Portal of Power” uses technical wizardry (Near Field Communication) to transport the toys into the game – a concept that was first introduced in Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure in 2011 and has since amassed global sales in excess of $1.5bn!

For children, it’s a truly magical experience that brings toys to life… for an older, slightly more grizzled gamer such as myself, I must admit I’m warming to the little critters too.

"Not only can you place any one of the hundreds of characters already available for the previous games on your Portal, now there are 16 new SWAP Force characters that have interchangeable tops and bottoms – meaning a world of opportunities and over 250 permutations."

The latest addition to Activision’s line up – Skylanders SWAP Force – adds an appealing new facet to the proceedings too. Not only can you place any one of the hundreds of characters already available for the previous games on your Portal, now there are 16 new SWAP Force characters that have interchangeable tops and bottoms – meaning a world of opportunities and over 250 permutations. This cleverly means you can combine their unique powers and abilities – and tiny chips inside each half mean that they have a memory so they retain their individual stats and upgrades too.

For the purpose of this review, I enlisted the help of my young daughter – a very discerning gamer – and clearly Activision’s target audience. Her excitement at being able to physically touch the toys and then control them virtually had her gripped from the outset and she’s been constantly nagging to play ever since.

Despite the cartoony nature of the visuals, bright colours and cheery music, SWAP Force does pack a fair challenge. Although she was initially a little wary of the various baddies heading towards her Skylander like little homing pigeons, any concerns were quickly cast aside when she realised each hero comes with various attack moves that can easily dispatch even the most persistent of foes, leaving glittering treasures on the floor. It also helped that we lowered the difficulty – Hard really does mean hard, so younger players will be grateful for the more forgiving settings.

"There are two game modes on offer: the main campaign and Arena, the latter split into five survival and battle games that can offer single player and co-op horde modes, or the opportunity to compete against a friend."

There are eight elemental categories that a Skylander can be: Earth, Air, Fire, Magic, Water, Life, Tech and Undead. Each allows access to certain areas of the map, and each has different abilities such as flying, climbing, digging, bouncing, or teleporting.

Accessed via the pause menu, the stats screen displays each Skylander’s five main attributes: health, speed, armour, a critical hit rating and Elemental Power – and a score for each, much like Top Trumps. As you progress, these abilities can be powered up to make a very formidable character indeed, with a skill tree allowing some degree of customisation.

At any time you can pluck your Skylander figurine off the Portal and the screen prompts you to add another. In doing so, an animation kicks in with booming voiceover welcoming the new character. Presentation-wise, it’s excellent – a little too good in fact, as my daughter took great enjoyment at constantly switching the figurines over simply to kickstart another cutscene.

There are two game modes on offer: the main campaign and Arena, the latter split into five survival and battle games that can offer single player and co-op horde modes, or the opportunity to compete against a friend.

"Among the many other attractions in Woodburrow is a training area to practice your attacks, a pond for a spot of fishing, and importantly an upgrade area to make use of all the treasures you collect on your travels."

But it’s the story portion that forms the bulk of the game and will eat hours of your time – particularly given the fact that you’ll need to invest in countless new figures to gain access to otherwise locked areas. The plot goes something like this: a magical volcano in the Cloudbreak Islands that erupts every century sees a group of Skylanders caught in the explosion. As a result, each of them is bestowed with the power to swap halves – allowing them to combine powers and make up completely new Skylanders (thus the name SWAP Force). It’s up to these guys and all their friends to thwart the evil plans of bald-headed antagonist, Kaos and his equally malevolent mother.

You’ll spend a lot of time in the town of Woodburrow – the hub that provides access to missions, shops, training and upgrade areas. There’s plenty to explore here, such as Tuk’s Emporium where you can buy new brightly-coloured hats, each providing not only a quirky look for your character but improved attributes such as strength, speed or attacks. Acquiring Legendary Treasures provides similarly useful boosts, while you can also purchase bonus missions should you desire.

Among the many other attractions in Woodburrow is a training area to practice your attacks, a pond for a spot of fishing, and importantly an upgrade area to make use of all the treasures you collect on your travels. As mentioned above, your SWAP Force characters have unique skill trees for both their tops and bottoms so there’s plenty to spend your virtual money on.

"There are numerous challenge areas dotted about each level too – huge elemental gates accessible only to Skylanders with certain abilities, from climbing to flying."

For example, the top half of Wash Buckler, the octopus pirate captain packaged in the Starter Pack, has numerous enhancements available, such as being able to fire bubbles that trap enemies or to create a temporary shield that reduces damage. The bottom portion, meanwhile, can be adjusted to increase the strength of his tentacle attacks or spray deadly ink clouds from range. Not only are these cool skills in their own right but switch either half with another SWAP Force character, and those skills are transferred to the new hybrid creature. It’s all very clever and in no time, you’ll have combined Wash Buckler’s tentacles with the heavily armoured body of Blast Zone – also included in the pack – for a speedy, bomb-wielding, ink squirting creation.

Talk to the various inhabitants of Woodburrow and you’ll soon be directed to the next mission. Each consists of some classic platforming fun and typically includes a couple of mini game sections and a few minor skirmishes that culminate in the main boss battle. The cut scenes are funny and progress the story well, so much so that I never felt like skipping through them – a rarity indeed.

There are numerous challenge areas dotted about each level too – huge elemental gates accessible only to Skylanders with certain abilities, from climbing to flying. And there are even some gates that can only be opened by SWAP Force characters sporting two distinct halves such as fire and water.

"SWAP Force is a fantastic introduction to the world of Skylanders for me and I’ve no doubt I’ll now be tempted to pause to look at those shelves of toys when I’m next in my local store, with a possible purchase in mind."

This really is a fantastic game; funny, addictive and great for kids and adults –with plenty to keep everyone occupied. Saying that, the Starter Pack isn’t cheap and you’ll soon realise that there are plenty of sections that can only be accessed if you buy additional characters. You can literally see the paths and treasures that lay beyond the gate but unless you have the required type of Skylander, it will remain firmly locked. It’s a clever ploy and I now fully understand how Activision has amassed such significant sales.

SWAP Force is a fantastic introduction to the world of Skylanders for me and I’ve no doubt I’ll now be tempted to pause to look at those shelves of toys when I’m next in my local store, with a possible purchase in mind. This is a game that provides great entertainment, longevity and oodles of replayability… but be prepared for some incessant nagging from your children to buy more figures!

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

It’s currently the third entry in the Skylanders franchise which started with Skylanders: Spyros Adventure, although it serves as a video game entity the Skylanders franchise shares the stage with a line of toys that are required to fully experience the game. It’s also going to be the first game in the franchise that’s going to drop in North America before it arrives in other regions. The previous two instalments of the game arrived in Australia before all other territories.

The game is already available on the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii-U and Xbox 360 as of October 13^th 2013 in North America, October 16^th 2013 in Australia and October 18^th 2013 in Europe. The game will also be launching on PlayStation 4 on November 15^th 2013 in North America and November 29^th 2013 in Europe. It will arrive to a worldwide release for the Xbox One on November 22^nd 2013.

• 1. Development
• 2. Gameplay
• 3. Story
• 3. Characters
• 4. Levels

Development

The development of Skylanders: Swap Force relies heavily on technology and gameplay mechanics that have already been employed in the previous two entries in the franchise, Skylanders: Spyros Adventure and Skylanders Giants. One of the key features of the Skylanders games is their implementation of real world objects that come in the form of ‘Skylanders Action Figures’, small models that are designed to look like in game characters. These small figures could be purchased separately or bundled in with the game.

The way the models worked alongside the game was a stroke of genius, but at the same time it relied on basic technology that was used to good effect. It relied on a form of NFC (near field communication) that worked alongside a RFID chip (radio frequency identification) that was placed inside each model. The players placed the model next to a portal that communicated wirelessly with the RFID chip inside, this would relay the appropriate information to the console and bring the corresponding character into the game.

The game even goes as far as to allow for two models to be used simultaneously, this enabled both versus modes and co-operative gameplay modes. Something that angered fans (and rightly so) was that although their beloved purple dragons name and likeness were being used as the games driving force, the game was actually designed for a younger audience that had no idea that Spyro the Dragon was in fact his own video game entity, thus dividing the fan base.

The developers managed to bring aboard the legendary composer Hans Zimmer who had previously worked on critically acclaimed, academy award winning films such as Disney’s The Lion King, Inception and even the Batman’s ‘The Dark Knight’ Trilogy of movies. The game is nearly always sold with a couple of heroes, but it’s one of the first games to go to retail with starter sets, similar to how trading card games get starter (booster) sets.

These starter kits include a copy of the game, a handful of the game’s characters and portal of power that brings them to life for you. Also included is a poster that would show the entire swap force (the game’s characters) trading cards and internet codes for extra content. Developers shipped different versions of these starter sets to various retailers giving players and parents alike the option of shopping at their preferred retailer, or elsewhere depending on what they were looking for.

Gameplay

Skylanders: Swap Force relies very heavily on the same gameplay mechanics of its predecessors. Players use the portal and the models NFC/RFID capabilities to bring their characters to life, the main change this time though is the manner in which they interact with the game. Each Skylander hero now came in two parts, a top and a bottom half.

These halves can be separated and joined in different combinations with other heroes, thus changing the manner in which that character can be used. All in all, these combinations number 256. Each character has one of the 8 modes of transport, be it wings or legs for example, this further affects the gameplay because only the right bottom half can enter a specific area of the game. Each character has specific abilities that allow them to both tackle the game differently thanks to different combat styles as well as opening up new paths thanks to the different means of getting around.

Story

The story is something that has never been the central focus of the Skylanders games and in Skylanders: Swap Force that is no different. The game opens up with the Skylanders home world being seized and assaulted by the bad guys going by the name of Evil Kaos and it’s up to the Swap Force to get it back. The story is mainly told through a series of cut scenes, and from there its standard platforming goodness.

Characters

The list of Skylanders does nothing but grow larger and more diverse with each iteration, so you can expect more characters to arrive further down the line.

• Dark Wash Buckler
• Dark Blast Zone
• Dark Slobber Tooth
• Dark Ninja Stealth Elf
• Dark Mega Ram Spyro
• Battle / Adventure Packs
• Wham-Shell
• Smolderdash
• Bumble Blast
• Flashwing
• Countdown
• Warnado
• Grim Creeper
• Star Strike
• Core
• Roller Brawl
• Grim Creeper
• Scorp
• Slobber Tooth
• Star Strike
• Dune Bug
• Bumble Blast
• Zoo Lou
• Fryno
• Smolderdash
• Wind Up
• Countdown
• Punk Shock
• Rip Tide
• Scratch
• Pop Thorn
• Swappable
• Wash Buckler
• Freeze Blade
• Magna Charge
• Spy Rise
• Free Ranger
• Boom Jet
• Blast Zone
• Fire Kraken
• Rattle Shake
• Night Shift
• Hoot Loop
• Trap Shadow
• Stink Bomb
• Grilla Drilla
• Rubble Rouser
• Doom Stone

Levels

The levels in Skylanders Swap Force take on their usual visually pleasing and lovingly designed aesthetics this time around, but are somewhat more varied than previous entries.

• Mount Mighty
• Cascade Castle
• Mudwater Maze
• Rampant Ruins
• Jungle Rumble
• Iron Jaw Island
• Molteyville Mansion
• Twisty Tunnels
• Serpant’s Seashore
• Boney Beach
• Winter Windmills
• Frostfest Forest
• Mesmeralda’s Manor
• Fantasm Fortress
• Kaos’ Kingdom
• Motherly Mayhem
• Cloudbreak Core

Skylanders Giants builds upon the breakthrough fundamentals of the first game—merging the physical and virtual realms with an innovative line of cross-platform toy figures that have “brains,” which players everywhere can magically bring to life in the world of Skylands. This next installment of the franchise features a variety of new characters, new challenges, a thrilling new story-driven adventure, and advanced integration across console, handheld, mobile and online.

***Please note this walkthrough was not uploaded by GamingBolt.com.

Special thanks to Youtube user SpyrosKingdom for uploading this walkthrough.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions in the comments section below.

Without further delay, lets get started!

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3D will have tons of new features, including “Coaster Story”, which pulls tutorials and park challenges together, the vaunted first person view from the rollercoaster (which will now be in 3D), a gyro sensor which allows people to look around the park by tilting the 3DS and more unlockable content.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3D will be October 16th 2011 and published by Atari Inc.

The void left by Diablo III leaves the door open for a slew of clones to hopefully capitalize. Heroes of Ruin is one such clone, a surprisingly fully featured online game released on the Nintendo 3DS by Square Enix. It plays great and provides for a great dungeon crawling experience on a handheld, one that is unmatched on any other handheld on the market so far, but it strays a little too close to its inspiration and fails to actually be compelling in its own right. When a game’s biggest bullet point is that it’s a Diablo clone, you know it lacks an identity of its own.

That’s not to say Heroes of Ruin isn’t a good game- it is. There’s a lot it does right, and a lot of firsts that it accomplishes, including being the first great dungeon crawler on a handheld. Most importantly, Heroes of Ruin’s online functionality is impressive. We’ve heard that theoretically, the 3DS provides for a great, unified and seamless online experience, but this is the first that we get to see it in action. With drop in/drop out online multiplayer, with strangers or with friends, with voice chat and negligible lag, Heroes of Ruin is the 3DS’s killer app as far as online enabled titles go.

It’s a bit tragic, then, that as bold and daring as the game gets in its approach to online, its actual game design is conservative almost to a fault. Heroes of Ruin is a Diablo clone through and through, and it will never be mistaken for anything else. It’s got the same cooperative driven, loot centered, hack and slashing dungeon crawling role playing design as Diablo. Also, unfortunately, like most Diablo clones, it lacks that game’s atmosphere or charm, being stuck with a relatively generic visual and audio design.

The visual presentation further takes a hit because graphically speaking, the game is just not that impressive, belying the impressive technical accomplishments of this game otherwise. The character models are all simple and stiffly animated, the environments are low textured and low poly, and the frame rate tends to dip dangerously a bit too often for my liking. The game looks on par with a launch era PSP game at times, but more often than not, it comes off as a mid cycle PSOne game. For 3DS games, it is often said that the screenshots don’t do its games any justice, and that they have to be observed in motion on screen. Heroes of Ruin looks as unremarkable on screen as it does off it.

For all of its graphical failings, though, Heroes of Ruin remains an addictive game to play. It might be an uninspired Diablo clone, but if so, at least it is an excellent one. There are multiple classes, each with its own hook, each uniquely balanced, such that each player will probably have his own differentiated favorite, and online matches will probably never end up with parties that have two or more of the same character type.

While the single player portion of the game leaves much to be desired- the short, six hour long campaign is devoid of any challenge, the story and the characters are absolutely forgettable, and even the game design stray a bit into being banal. Heroes of Ruin is a game with some unremarkable design at best, and it feels that way when played alone.

Happily, then, it’s a game that offers the option to be played multiplayer, both local and online, with or without friends, and it does so with style. Although the suite of options that it provides is pretty much standard for the genre, it is unprecedented for a handheld game, and for a handheld dungeon crawler. In that sense, being just as good as the standard actually works in Heroes of Ruin’s favor, because it is literally setting the standard on handhelds.

A lot of Heroes of Ruin’s fun comes not from the game design, which, as stated, is lacking- the enemies are embarrassingly easy, and the less said about the game’s attempts at puzzles, the better- but from just the sheer fun of playing with someone else. Taking enemies down won’t take too long, and exploring the world isn’t much of an incentive, since it really is quite generic. However, the sheer fun of just working with someone, and collecting loot, upgrading armor and weapons, is enough to keep you returning to the game again and again, looking past its no small list of flaws every single time.

It’s a game that takes on itself to do a lot, and it doesn’t always succeed. It’s really fault it for having ambition, though it is easier to fault it for not having the execution to match its ambition. Its generic visuals and gameplay setup might not really be indicative of this, but Heroes of Ruin is a game with a lot of heart.

This game was reviewed on the Nintendo 3DS.

One of the toughest trainers out there as seen on The Biggest Loser Television Show, Jillian Michaels is now ready to come to your home to get you in shape. Her latest title Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure actual makes it fun to get in to fit shape considering you will be lead by the tough training of Jillian Michaels.  She has had other titles before but this one is exclusively for the Xbox 360 Kinect and will only cost you $39.99. Check out the trailer above, some screens from the game and the full press release below.

Edison, New Jersey—November 8, 2011—Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, announced that Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure ships today exclusively for the Kinect™ for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Developed by N-Space, Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure brings a unique exercise experience into your living room with an empowering workout that includes lifestyle tips from one of America’s most passionate trainers.

The latest iteration of the Jillian Michaels franchise that has sold more than a million units, Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure takes your fitness routine beyond a classic workout, turning it into a true adventure through a mission-based journey set in a lush jungle environment. The high-energy motion-based experience offers intense, results-oriented personal training that you could only expect from teaming up with Jillian to achieve your fitness goals.

Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure features include:

• Core Exercise Modes:
• Fitness Adventure Mode – featuring over 50 predefined circuits filled with freeform-style action (running, climbing and jumping) and plenty of surprises all set in a unique jungle temple environment.  Reach for those bonus medallions along the way for extra points.
• Fitness Training – Select from ten predefined circuits with 12 exercises each that have been handpicked by Jillian to give you the best results based on your personal goals.  Or create and save a custom built circuit by choosing from any of the exercises within the game.
• Social Integration: Check out how you stack up against your friends’ performance in the online leaderboards.  Keep up the great work because Jillian will monitor the boards and honor the best performers on her Facebook page.
• Stats and Fitness Calendar:  Review your performance on completed workouts and preview or change upcoming scheduled workouts in your training plan. See the number of Adventure Levels, Training Circuits, and Single Exercises completed, calories burned, and how much time you’ve put into each.

Developed by N-Space and produced by Microprose, Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure on Kinect for Xbox 360 is rated E for Everyone and available now for the suggested retail price of $39.99.To watch the launch trailer and find out more, please visit Jillian’s official site at http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fitnessadventure.

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About Empowered Media

Empowered Media, LLC operates the Jillian Michaels wellness brand.  Co-founded by Jillian Michaels and her business partner, Giancarlo Chersich, the company operates as life architects whose sole mission is to inspire individuals to empower themselves to seek healthier, active lives.  The products marketed are part of the total life solution platform created by the Jillian Michaels philosophy.  America’s premier health and wellness coach, Michaels is a New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur and co-host of the syndicated daytime series The Doctors.  Michaels is also a passionate advocate, fighting to invoke important changes in all aspects of health and wellness.  Michaels’ newest bestselling book, UNLIMITED: HOW TO BUILD AN EXCEPTIONAL LIFE, is available now wherever books are sold.  For more information about Jillian Michaels please visit www.jillianmichaels.com

About Majesco Entertainment Company

Majesco Entertainment Company is a provider of video games for the mass market.  Building on more than 20 years of operating history, the company is focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented video games on all leading console and handheld platforms as well as online, social networks and mobile devices.  Product highlights include Zumba® Fitness, Cooking MamaTM, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Hulk Hogan’s Main Event.  The company’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: COOL.   Majesco is headquartered in Edison, NJ with offices in San Francisco, CA, Bristol, UK, and a social games development studio in Foxboro, MA.  More info can be found online at www.majescoentertainment.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/majesco.

About Microprose (formerly Interactive Game Group, LLC)

Microprose (formerly Interactive Game Group, LLC) is a company producing and acquiring video games and other interactive entertainment properties, whether packaged media, online or wireless. Created by Frederic Chesnais, former Chief Executive Officer of Atari Interactive, Inc. with a decade-long experience in acquiring, financing and licensing intellectual property rights in the video game industry, I2G is developing and financing a portfolio of video game properties, joining forces with the best studios, publishers and distributors for each project on a worldwide scale.  I2G has recently been renamed Microprose, thereby reviving a brand with a long-term history in the videogame space.

Check out this brand new walk through video for Heroes of Ruin, due for the Nintendo 3DS.

Heroes of Ruin challenges players to carve their own adventure, joining forces with other heroes through seamless drop-in/drop-out co-op multiplayer or venturing forth alone. Players will enter an ever-changing world where danger waits around every corner.

Make your self heard in the comments below.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is a contemporary James Bond experience featuring HD visuals and realistic environments running at 60-frames per second, akin to today’s elite action games. Additional to the legendary story campaign, the game introduces the brand new ‘Mi6 Ops Missions’ — new, distinct levels separate from the campaign that span the varied environments from the story and challenge players to complete different Assault, Elimination, Stealth and Defense objectives.

The game will be published by Atari and out by next year.

Features:

– View coasters in 3D
– Touchscreen controls
– Several coaster design options including suspended, hydraulic, wooden, steel and inverted
– Other rides such as monorails, prebuilt kiddie rides, carousels and county fair-style attractions
– Give parks themes such as haunted house and others
– Handle ride construction and park maintenance
– Hire and manage staff, this includes janitors, mechanics and more
– Multiple modes such as Coaster Creator and Sandbox
– Built-in tutorials
– Coaster Story mode teaches you how to do everything through a series of scenarios and tutorials
– In-game adviser will help identify in-part objectives and show players their progress

Stay tuned for more updates on GB.