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With merchandise filling every playground, it's hard to believe that only a few years ago Activision's Skylanders series didn't even exist. The third game in the billion dollar juggernaut franchise is out this week, introducing new interchangeable SWAP Force toys, and it seems that the quality level has been kept high judging from the reviews.

Metro Game Central has given the game 9/10, declaring SWAP Force to be "an excellent sequel that goes to considerable effort to inject new ideas and fix earlier problems". It's also "one of the best kids games available today", according to the review, which is no small praise.

"Skylanders SWAP Force delivers almost everything fans could want," reckons IGN in its 8.2/10 review. "There are fantastic new characters, a funny story, and a complete disregard for the boring rules that say robots and wizards shouldn't be part of the same world."

Joystiq is also impressed, offering a 4.5 star review. "Fun from start to finish" it says, declaring that the game "outclasses its predecessors in depth and breadth of content. The review also praises the amount of content that keeps the game fresh even after the story mode has been completed. "If you've overlooked the series previously, SWAP Force makes for a great starting point," it concludes, "and if you're a parent, don't be surprised if you find yourself enjoying the quest just as much as your kids."

There's an 8/10 from Eurogamer as well. "Kids will love the mix of the familiar and the new that SWAP Force offers," reads the review. "Most importantly, the game never takes the devotion of these young players for granted, and seeks to reward and challenge them at every turn."

We gave it 8/10 too - you can read our review yourself to find out what we thought!

Skylanders SWAP Force is out on Friday October 18th for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One editions will launch alongside the consoles.