First of all, I've played Giants and absolutely loved that game, but when I first saw skylanders swap force back at the E3 trailers, I admit that it didn't look too appealing. The new characters seemed unoriginal, the swapping abilities boring, and overall just blah. And then this game went on sale, and wanting some of the few cool characters that had to be played on Swap Force. I must say...this is one of the greatest video games I have ever played! I actually got one of the characters (along with the starter figures) that I thought I wouldn't like and was unoriginal (Slobber Tooth)...he's become one of my favorites. The swapping abilities are so much fun! I can have a robot with chicken legs, or a snake with octopus arms. The specific challenges that are determined by the bottom part of the skylander are quite unique and fun to play. The difficulty of the game is interchangeable between three modes, and you unlock a fourth after completing the story mode. The story mode is probably the best in the series. Kaos (up to his old trick again) actually has a sensible plan this time around, and the cut scenes are done very well. The voice acting ranging from an Irish Frost elf to a shark who owns a junkyard...and they are all done splendidly. After you complete the story, there is great replay ability such as time attacks, score modes, and bonus missions to name a few. All skylanders, both past and new, receive an HD upgrade that make them look really cool. The graphic in general are lush and nice to look at. Oh, and all skylanders can now jump, giving collectible finding a new meaning. There are a few gripes I have with the game. One, after you complete the game, every time you return to the hub world, you have to listen to something like "welcome back hero of cloudbreak Isle...so and so has something for you." And you have to listen to it every...single...time, unable to skip. The other gripe is similar, in that every time you start a chapter, there's a cut scene that you have to watch about half of before you are able to skip it. Also, you can never fully complete the game unless you have all eight swap abilities on the bottom part of swap force skylanders, forcing you to by them. So I suggest you plan your money out before buying this, as it can get a little pricey. Besides these very nitpicky things, this is a game that is suited for both young and new, providing easy gameplay or nightmare difficulty, fun and memorable characters, and something that will have you coming back for hours to play.