Skylanders Swap Force features modular toys

Skylanders Swap Force game will debut during northern autumn, hailing from a new development team and featuring toys which break into swappable parts.

Joystiq reports series developer Toys for Bob isn't behind this one; Activision stablemate Vicarious Visions, which has produced portable and mobile Skylanders tie-ins, has stepped up to the plate.

Skylanders Swap Force features 16 new figures which split into top and bottom sections. Putting these halves together in various combinations results in a customised character on-screen, and different legs and torsos have different properties in various environments.

Kotaku has images of the swappable characters. The new game also supports 32 standard figures; 16 are new and the remainder are updated versions of existing characters. It's not clear if the game will support existing figures and portals or require new investment.

Skylanders: Swap Force is due in northern autumn on 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360. Beenox is developing the Wii version and n-Space is behind the 3DS release. It';s the third Skylanders game in as many years.