Skylanders developer, and originator, Toys for Bob were kind enough to host a preview event to see the next incarnation of the Skylanders franchise, aptly titled Skylanders Trap Team. Having the chance to tour the studio and talk to different facets of the development team proved to give a bit more insight into what has gone into the development of the 4th chapter in the game’s history.
For those that have been living in the Stone Age, Skylanders is a “toys-to-life” game where you place toy figures on a portal and they come to life on screen and in the game. It is as simple as that. Given that the game is a yearly series, it’s up to the developers to come up with something new each year to keep the game fresh. This year is no different, and after sitting with various members of Toys for Bob it’s clear that they have worked hard to make this happen.
First off, Skylanders Trap Team keeps much of the same in such that you are once again fighting evil and saving the world of Skylands. Kaos is back yet again, but this time he has enlisted some new “legendary” villains called the Doomraiders who he breaks out of a legendary prison called Cloudcracker Prison. Coincidentally it is made of Traptanium, which of course is a legendary material. Phew, that’s a lot of legendaries isn’t it? So, when Kaos broke these villains out he blew up much of the prison, and in the course small pieces of Traptanium fell to earth in the form of Traptanium Traps. Kaos thinks that he will work with these villains; however, they want nothing to do with him and have their own agenda. So, as a Portal Master, it’s up to you to wrangle in these villains with the new traps at your disposal.
Trap Team comes packaged with a new portal. This portal allows you to put a new feature, traps, into it and you can now trap most wanted villains in the game. This is where the new “twist” comes to Skylanders. During certain sequences you are able to trap the villains into the crystal, and once you do they become part of your stable of playable characters. What is neat about this is that you need only have the trap in the portal, and you can tag team between the main regular Skylander you are using, and the villain who is now on your team but in the crystal trap. It’s a neat little mechanic and switching between characters is as easy as a press of a button.
Part of the magic of Trap Team is when you actually capture one of the villains. You can actually hear them get captured on screen and transport to the portal in front of you. The sound is that of them leaving the TV and ending up in the crystal. What is also really a nice touch is that whoever the character is in the trap, they will talk to you through various points of the game. When sitting down with the some of the sound team I was amazed to hear that they recorded thousands of lines of dialogue for those trapped in the crystal. It is definitely a neat feature and something that brings more magic to the game.
The main level I demoed was called Chef Zeppelin. It required me to fly about in the air; however, I was only in control of the gun of the vehicle I was flying in so it was an “on-rails” sequence. Still, I was shooting enemies down, firing on enemy cannons, and trying to take out other enemies who were running around on the zeppelin. Once I had completed that part of the mission I was dropped on board to fight through various enemies, find a few secrets, trap a character, and play Trap Team’s included card game. It was a nice mix of things to do and I found myself switching through a few of the new Trap Master characters as well as the new playable Skylanders Mini characters. The level provided variety and gameplay that seemed very well balanced for those deciding what they want and don’t want to do.
Given that this is a preview, I won’t delve too much about the presentation. That being said, it is worth noting that the visuals are once again amazing, as the game continues to feel like an interactive computer animated film. The levels seem to go off endlessly into the distance; they look imaginative and colourful too. As for the sound, everything is top notch, from the incredible amount of voice acting to the music. In regards to the latter, it is perfectly timed in each level, as the beat seems to be timed with some kind of action on screen. Trust me, you can sit and watch as action of the game’s environments happens and it is in sync with the music.
As for the new trap master characters, they look good. They are well designed and have some great new features such as weapons and special moves. I think everyone will have that one special Trap Master that they will really love to use. Oh, and for those worrying, the game is once again backwards compatible with all existing Skylanders figurines, so by the time everything is said and done, and Trap Team launches, there will be in the neighborhood of around 200 plus figurines to play as. Hows that for value?!
Skylanders Trap Team looks once again like a game that should provide a huge amount of fun and enjoyment for the whole family, from little kids to the bigger kids who love platforming, and of course it should be fun for adults too. We here at COG can’t wait to play the final retail version in a few weeks and we hope to have our review up for you around the time the game launches in October. As a side note, although this game was reviewed on the Xbox One, it is available for all platforms out there, including the Nintendo Wii.
