Skylanders SWAP Force: Fiery Forge Battle Pack and Tower of Time Adventure Pack Review

Skylanders SWAP Force released earlier this month to give fans of the toy and video game crossover a great new experience across all major consoles. The new title added plenty of great new features to make it one of the most addictive releases in the series and the best family friendly game we've tried all year. To learn more, check out our Skylanders SWAP Force review. To go along with the new release of the game, Activision also announced the release of additional figures and game expansion packs available outside of the game's starter pack. The Fiery Forge Battle Pack adds an additional two characters to use in-game and an additional Battle Arena called the Fiery Forge.



Terrafin is the first character included in the Fiery Forge Battle Pack. Terrafin is a powerful Earth elemental Skylander that originated from The Dirt Seas. The shark creature mastered the fighting styles of boxing and uses powerful punches and as up close melee attacks to pummel his enemies. Terrafin also has the ability to burrow beneath the surface and land surprise attacks on unsuspecting enemies or unlock a number of other punishing punches and burrowing abilities to put down his foes. Terrafin is a good character for getting in close to attack without very much strategy needed to master the character in combat.

Terrafin hails from The Dirt Seas, where it was common to swim, bathe, and even snorkel beneath the ground. But a powerful explosion in the sky created a blast wave that turned the ocean of sand into a vast sheet of glass, putting an end to Terrafin's duty as the local lifeguard. Not one to stay idle, the brawny dirt shark found himself training in the art of boxing, and not long after, he was local champ, earning treasure by competing in local battle arenas. Fighters came from all around to challenge him, but it was a chance meeting with a great Portal Master that led him to give up his title for a greater purpose.

Bumble Blast is the second character included in the Fiery Forge Battle Pack, and this special Life elemental creature is armed with a very handy bee hive gun. Bumble Blast descended from the Radiant Mountains to join the other Skylanders and help get rid of Kaos for good. Bumble Blast has a variety of good attacks to use at range while shooting bees that sting and hurt his enemies. Bumble Blast is a solid character can help in a variety of enemy and boss encounters where getting in close and battling isn't the best strategy, so he is a good character to combine with Terrafin to give players a good choice for any battle.

Bumble Blast started life as a humble beehive in the Radiant Mountains, where for ages the bees made the most sweetest, most magical honey in all of Skylands. When Kaos heard about this "super honey", he wanted all of it for himself and soon launched an attack on the peaceful Bees. But when his minions arrived to plunder everything the bees had created, they were met by Bumble Blast. He alone had been home to the bees and considered himself their protector. Using the power of the magic honey, Bumble Blast valiantly battled the evil minions, who felt his powerful sting that day. Afterward, Bumble Blast roamed Skylands as a protector of nature, where he soon joined with the Skylanders.

The final piece in the Fiery Forge Battle Pack is the Fiery Forge--a battle arena that allows players to face off with their leveled up Skylanders characters to see who has the best figure. The battle arena includes many different modes of play including a strict one versus one battle mode, a sports game called Sky Goals and a challenge mode to see who can collect the most Skygems in a short amount of time. The Battle Arenas can be a lot of fun, but Skylanders SWAP Force is definitely more enjoyable in cooperative multiplayer in the game's main campaign, so we prefer the Tower of Time Adventure Pack slightly over the Fiery Furnace Battle Pack for our money, but both are well worth purchasing to further expand the Skylanders SWAP Force experience.

Score: 9 out of 10

The Tower of Time Adventure Pack is the second expansion pack available for Skylanders SWAP Force. The contents of the pack gives players a brand new world and storyline to explore in the Tower of Time. The world introduces all new puzzles for the game that change the appearance of the world between morning and dusk. The player must make it through the level to stop a time paradox caused by a crazy chicken boss named Cluck. The new world looks impressive and features great design that incorporates great puzzles and challenging platforming sections to make the Tower of Time one of the best chapters we played including all of the main missions from the Skylanders SWAP Force story mode as well.

Pop Thorn is a really useful character for almost any enemy encounter. The bouncy puffball descends from a race of Pufferthorns and has strong attacks that allow him to shoot homing thorns that lock-on to nearby targets even when running away from enemies. Pop Thorn also has abilities that allow him to puff up and shoot out big gusts of wind that deal damage and knock back enemies that attack hits. The Wind elemental is a strong character despite being one of the most harmless looking creatures in the new Skylanders SWAP Force set.

Pop Thorn hails from a race of creatures known as Pufferthorns. Often considered one of the cutest creatures in all of Skylands, they are generally quite timid and puff out sharp spines when scared. It is this ability that long ago led to the unfortunate legacy of being used as combs by giant trolls everywhere, being the sharp spines are perfect for brushing out tangles from their long, matted hair. But not long ago, one Pufferthorn took a stand. Tired of his race being used for nothing more than good grooming, Pop Thorn used his naturally thorny abilities to stand up and fight back against the giant trolls. Soon after, Master Eon made Pop Thorn a Skylander. And to this day, no trolls dare to comb their hair.

Two additional items come with the Tower of Time Adventure Pack that give special in-game boosts for characters when activated on the Portal of Power. The Sky Diamond can be activated to gain additional in-game currency. Each enemy defeated will drop a valuable gem worth 20 coins to purchase additional content in-game. The Battle Hammer is also a useful item that, when activated, places a magical hammer above enemies that land attacks on enemies to help deal damage quicker. Both items help progressing through the Skylanders SWAP Force storyline much easier, but they really aren't necessary for a game that is already pretty easy for most gamers. Some Skylanders fans will want to pick up the pack to unlock the Sky Diamond and purchase more in-game items much quicker.



Skylanders SWAP Force is already a great game, but the Tower of Time Adventure Pack and the Fiery Forge Battle Pack add plenty of great content fans of the series will want to pick up to see all the game has to offer. Combined, the two expansion packs offer three new characters, a new Battle Arena, a new storyline chapter and additional in-game items. The Tower of Time Adventure Pack is the best of the two expansion packs, but players really can't go wrong by picking up either new release. The Tower of Time Adventure Pack contains what is probably the best character in either pack and one of the best new characters in the entire Skylanders SWAP Force game and a brand new storyline that adds additional hours of gameplay for players that are looking for new areas to explore and conquer in the game. Pick up both the Tower of Time Adventure Pack and Fiery Forge Battle Pack at your local video games retailer today!

Skylanders SWAP Force is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $74.99 and can be purchased for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November. Skylanders SWAP Force is rated E by the ESRB for Cartoon Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Skylanders SWAP Force website

Game Features:
Offline Multiplayer 1-2
New Tower of Time World and Fiery Forge Battle Arena
New Missions & 3 New Characters
Online Leaderboards
Trophy/Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: Vicarious Visions
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 (reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii & Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 13, 2013

Score: 9.5 out of 10

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