Be sure to check out our extension coverage of Skylanders Trap Team, including Kevin’s preview of the console and tablet versions, his PS4 review, Nathan’s PS3 review and Tablet review, and my 3DS review!
I still remember when I received Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure for review for the Xbox 360 in 2011. I had never heard of the game before holding the Starter Pack in my hands and I had my doubts. But I was ultimately very impressed and would be again two years later with the third installment, SWAP Force. Wow, I thought to myself after playing SWAP Force, how the heck are Activision and Toys For Bob going to top this?
Several months later, details about Trap Team started to get released. We sent our own Kevin Hudson to Cali to get some hands on time with the new Skylanders and also talk with the devs. The idea of having new physical toys for each of the elements, called Traps, was pretty cool, and would also mean changes to the Portal of Power accessory, too (now called the Traptanium Portal). Plus, add the Mini Skylanders (which I’m actually not a fan of, they seem like an arbitrary spin-off series) and new Trap Masters and now you’re talking some series new content. Kaos’ Doom Tower, and perhaps the biggest draw, being able to play as captured villain characters, add to what is yet another full-fledged iteration of Skylanders that separates itself very clearly from the previous titles.
But that separation isn’t so much that it feels like a completely different game. In some ways, that’s great — it’s under the Skylanders banner, and with three games already released, to great success I might add, you don’t want to rock the boat too much. And that the physical toys from 2011 on up still work, their character levels and all, is awesome and a true tip of the hat from Activision and Toys For Bob to the consumer. Gameplay remains very familiar, perhaps just a little too familiar to more seasoned gamers, and this is where my concern for the Skylanders franchise is really at right now. Four years in a row now I have experienced first hand that the basic formula of using physical toys and bringing them to life with reliable tech can work, so long as some new innovative characters and new “gimmicks” (sounds too harsh of a word, but gets the point across) are introduced. But is the game design changing enough from year-to-year?
It likely depends on who you ask — in my case, I look forward to a new Skylanders release, but at some point a few months later I’m content with whatever characters and progress I have made, and the toys get shelved until the next version. For a younger audience, the primary target of these games, it’s quite possible the product is fresh enough to be almost like starting over each year. Regardless of which side you fall on, you can’t fault the quality of the hardware — the Portal and toys simply work, and while it might seem like a moot point, anyone who enjoys gadgets or tech toys as a hobby knows that a lot of times, things don’t always work at first, or even months later (hell, the same can be said for videogames). Provided for this review and the 3DS version were several of the Trap toys and about seven of the new characters, including Funny Bones, Food Fight, Barkley, Gusto, Jaw Breaker, and Torch, all of whom have exquisite design and visual appeal. These toys looks fantastic and their build quality seems as sound as ever. They make for great desktop/office decoration, and kids can’t help but want to play with them.
So Toys For Bob, with input and help from Activision and Beenox I’m sure, continues to get the physical aspect done proper, four years in. As for the game itself, Beenox has done a fine job as well. Again for older and seasoned Skylanders players, it might not feel like quite enough of a leap (remember it took until SWAP Force came out to allow the players to jump) from last year, but, a couple of hours in and the appeal of the Traps really shines through. Kaos Doom Challenge is very evident well before even that; you can actually jump right into this mode from the Main Menu if you choose (as well as the Battle Arenas), and what you’ll find is an addictive series of 100 challenge levels (split into groups of 10, requiring Skylanders with a certain Level, on up to Level 20, to play) that are designed around the idea of basic tower defense against waves of Kaos’ minions. The goal is to protect a special treasure chest from these enemy waves. Besides being able to use your army of Skylanders, you can also call upon your trapped villains for temporary aid, and setup different turrets. The turrets can be powered by any element as long as you use a Skylander of said element to build them. Turrets that survive a wave are upgraded to be more powerful for the following wave, but should you fail to repair a turret in time, it’s gone. In between waves there is a Build Phase in which you can make any adjustments you wish, and it’s at the player’s discretion as to when the next wave starts.
This accessible, kid-friendly design is a staple of the series. But, make no mistake, as you move up the ranks of Doom Challenge there is in fact a real challenge introduced. I also noticed that the in-game combat seemed slightly more difficult than last year, although nothing too extreme. As Kevin notes in his review, using the trapped villains is key because not only are their attacks potent, but they don’t have an HP meter. Villains do have a cooldown meter though, and by that I mean you can call upon them instantly by pressing LT, use them as you see fit, take whatever damage you may, and when that meter is empty you are switched back to your Skylander and a meter in the HUD (as well as an aural queue from the villain) will let you know when they’re usable again. Interestingly, when your trapped villains take damage, their usage meter gets dinged appropriately, shortening the time you have to use them.
Trapping villains in the first place straight-forward, assuming of course you have the right physical trap toy (if you don’t, you have to skip the trap, although you can try again later). There are a few dozen villains to discover throughout the story, after battling them you are given the opportunity to place the trap toy in the slot of the new Portal of Power. Doing so causes it to be ‘read’ into the game instantly, and you get a nice animation that shows the villain becoming trapped. Simultaneously, you hear the villain speak, and hearing them transition from your TV speakers to the speaker inside of the Trap portion of the new Portal is really pretty cool. Of note, you can adjust the volume of the speaker inside the Portal anytime from the pause menu; I found it necessary to turn it all the way down to 20%. This was more because the Trap is actually pretty close to my screen and the volume on it is quite loud by default. There is also a small ‘pop’ sound, very much like you might hear in a push-to-talk / walkie-talkie from the Portal as the character gets ready to speak. Thinking back and looking at my notes, it doesn’t seem that this sound happened every time, but it happened enough I noticed. Fortunately the trapped villains don’t talk too much, but when they do, it’s quality voiceover work just like the rest of the game boasts, and often humorous, another great element to the Skylanders franchise.
The audio package is an integral part of what is, in really all aspects, a great presentation. Visually, I will say that I wasn’t as blown away by this Xbox One version as much as I remember being by SWAP Force on the PS4 last year, but it’s still a great looking game. It just didn’t seem to have quite the sharpness or resolution, that “Pixar” sort of quality that I felt last year’s version had. However, the colors and creative designs of objects and NPCs as well as the little extra details like birds flying around the Skylanders Academy (i.e., your home base) were noticed and appreciated.
One relatable gripe? I wish I had, or at least could toggle, the ability to have a free-look camera. The camera is still out of your control and while it never creates a technical problem, I kept finding myself pressing the right stick in a vain attempt to rotate the camera one way while I walk in another direction. And since I mentioned it here (and forgot to earlier), walking is unfortunately the right word here, because you cannot sprint (you can in the 3DS version oddly enough). The inability to speed through (not skip, but speed-up) dialogue is a small complaint too, because I don’t want to outright skip these moments (in part due to the humor), but I would like to be able to zip through them by reading instead of having to wait for the spoken word. Before hopping off the soapbox I would add that it would be nice to be able to switch between your last maybe three Skylanders figures without having to constantly, physically, go to the Portal. Obviously this could open up the door for consumers to share Skylander toys easier and sales would be lost, so that’s not likely to happen, but having to physical change out the toy on the Portal every time, and wait for a few seconds for the (admittedly cool, but still…) animation to play gets old.
Fortunately, on the whole, Trap Team does not feel old or even stale. Let’s get to the summary…