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Skylanders: Swap Force - Fiery Forge Battle Pack
Score: 80%
Developer: Activision
Device Type: Accessory
Compatible With:


Fiery Forge:

Skylanders: Swap Force - Fiery Forge Battle Pack is one of the first sets for Swap Force that does more than just add another character to your list. In this case, the Battle Pack comes with two characters and a new Battle Arena for the game's Challenge modes.

The Fiery Forge arena is unlocked when when first add the pot of molten metal to your portal. At that point, you and your friends can battle it out in a small but very hazardous location. The Fiery Forge consists of three hex pits with narrow catwalks on the borders of the pits. While you can jump in and out of the pits without issue, you won't want to spend any real time off of the catwalks; molten metal regularly fills up the lower areas and will deal massive damage if you touch it.

While the arena is small, there is a lot of strategy that can come from fighting in it. On the one hand, you can try and stay in the always-safe catwalks, but there is no going around enemies - it will lead to head-on conflicts. On the other hand, venturing off of the safe paths means you will almost certainly take on some burn damage.

As an added bonus, once the Fiery Forge has been registered to the game, you can use it as a magic item. When used in this manner, you have a large cauldron floating over your character's head. When you get near an enemy, the forge tips and molten metal spills out similar to Eruptor's ability.


Bumble Blast:

Bumble Blast
Element:Life
Health:320
Speed:35
Armor:24
Critical Hit:4
Elemental Power:25

One of Skylanders: Swap Force - Fiery Forge Battle Pack's characters is Bumble Blast. This life-type character has several long-ranged attacks that focus on his ability to shoot bees out of his gun. At the start, Bumble Blast has the ability to fire bees one at a time, and if they hit an enemy, they circle the enemy and deal damage several times before disappearing.

Bumble Blast's other basic ability is a loogie of honey he launches at his opponents. Not only does this cause some damage, this honey also attracts bees so you don't even have to point your gun at the enemy for them to swarm to the bad guy. The ability to have the bees go flying at a honey-covered-foe is one of Bumble Blast’s upgrades. Another is a beehive he can launch ahead of himself. This acts as a honey land mine and explodes when enemies approach. Of course, the biggest benefit to this is the fact that you can coat several enemies in honey and the bees will hit multiple targets.

Bumble Blast’s upgrade options include more powerful, bigger honey attacks or more powerful bees. The first option lets you launch bees with your honey attack so that the hit enemy can immediately get assaulted by the bees. This path also adds an armor boost where Bumble Blast oozes honey that can coat and attract bees to nearby enemies. The other route lets the character shoot more bees with each firing and eventually lets you charge up the attack and launch a large queen bee at your enemies.

Bumble Blast’s Soul Gem ability gives him a large beehive on his back. When nearing enemies, this hive will automatically launch bees like mortars.


Features:
  • Fiery Forge Battle Arena
  • Bumble Blast Character
  • Knockout Terrafin Character

Knockout Terrafin:

Knockout Terrafin
Element:Earth
Health:310
Speed:35
Armor:18
Critical Hit:6
Elemental Power:25

Skylanders: Swap Force - Fiery Forge Battle Pack's only possible complication comes with the inclusion of Knockout Terrrafin, and that's really only because he can be purchased individually. The problem is, of course, if you already Knockout Terrafin and want the Fiery Forge Battle Pack, you will end up with a duplicate figure. Of course, the fact that Knockout Terrafin is already a Series 3 repose of a classic character means that nothing is really any different about this particular version of Terrafin once you get him into the game. Sure his pose is different and those massive claws are rather impressive, but the Terrafin you probably have from the previous two games looks and behaves exactly the same as this Knockout version.

Don't get me wrong, Terrafin is a great Earth type character. Not only does he pack a punch, but his ability to dive into the ground and avoid damage, then jump out and ground pound enemies comes in pretty handy, especially against those creepy puppet land mines in the later levels of Swap Force, and it makes him a strong character. Personally, I'm all for collecting the different versions of figures, even if they don't play differently, but then again, I'm a collector at heart; the practical player might not consider getting Knockout Terrafin if he/she already has a previous version - but if you want the Fiery Forge and the standard version of Bumble Blast (there is the Jolly Bumble Blast after all), then he is included.

Terrafin's basic punching and belly flopping attacks increase as you upgrade the character, but you also eventually get the ability to launch out several mini sharks who seek out and latch onto enemies. This character's upgrade paths include faster underground traveling with damage to enemies as you pass or the ability to upgrade your melee attacks. His Soul Gem ability lets him pick up coins and food while underground and he has two Wow Pow abilities. The first lets you go straight from the belly flop to underground again, while the other lets Terrafin attack with both his claws and the mini-sharks while underground. Both are well worth the price for someone who has really maxed this character out.

Bumble Blast and the Fiery Forge are both good items to have in your collection, but if you aren’t looking to add another Terrafin, then the best bet is to pick up the Jolly Bumble Blast to add to your character list and pass on the extra Battle Arena and magic item. If you are a collector like myself though, then make sure you pick up this set instead of buying the Knockout Terrafin by itself.


-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

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