During the preview event at Toys for Bob for Skylanders Trap Team we had a chance to play the tablet version of the game that is launching alongside the bigger consoles. Having played a bit of it, and listening to some of the staff talk about the features, I can honestly say that it challenges the like of the Xbox 360 and PS3 for what this game can be. Sure, this is a pretty amazing statement to say the least, but I think that it is true. For reference sake we played the game on the current iPad Air. It should be noted that the game is playable on the iPad 3 and up, the iPad Mini with Retina, and on various Android tablets from Samsung, Google (e.g. Nexus) and the Kindle Fire HDX as well.
One of the great things about the tablet version is what is included in the retail package. Not only do you get the game, but also you get a portal, some figurines, a couple of traps, and a controller. The portal has a notch in the side of it where it can hold a tablet upright like a TV. It’s a neat feature and something that many will overlook as a great feature. As for the controller, I admit that I was somewhat skeptical about using a controller designed for a tablet, but I have to say it is pretty good. It designed in a Skylander like motif and has twin analog sticks, a d-pad, along with a full set of face and shoulder buttons. I found that after a minute or two I didn’t even realize it was a smaller controller designed for a tablet. It stores neatly in the bottom of the portal for portability (hey, that almost seems like a pun or something).
Gameplay wise Trap Team for the tablet is feature for feature the same as the console versions. That means you’ll have the same number of levels, same story, and same gameplay experience that people playing on consoles enjoy. Interestingly enough, the fine folks at Toys for Bob have also considered the fact that the amount of storage on a family’s tablet may vary from a little to a lot. With that in mind, you have the option to put the whole game on your tablet or parts of the game. You can even load level to level. This way parents don’t have to worry about the game taking up all the memory of the tablet. Personally I think that is a great option and something VERY smart to implement.
What is really cool is that you can turn off the included controller, which runs on Bluetooth low energy, and pull the tablet out of the portal and use the virtual controls on the tablet screen. They work quite well. To add further portability, should you have to ‘hit the road’ and travel without the portal, you can play the game in “instant-on-the-go” mode. Here the game puts two predetermined characters in the game level and you can play it in the car, on the bus, or on the plane. When you get to where you are going you can then sync back up with the portal and put your own skylanders in the game right where you left off when playing with the two predetermined characters. It seems that they have thought of everything here.
The level we played was called Time Town. As the title suggests it was based on clocks and clockwork. It was full of gears, platforms, and steam clocks. Of course the goal was to get from A to B, but solving puzzles, searching for items and fighting enemies is thrown into the fray as well. I am not going to lie here; it was identical gameplay experience to the console version I had played prior to getting onto the tablet. My jaw literally hit the floor as I played, as the visuals were pretty much on par with the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions with lighting and special effects, lots of stuff going on screen, as well as a generous draw distance. Oh, and did I mention that there is a full complement of voice acting too.
As with the Xbox One version I previewed I used the new Trap Masters and the Skylander Minis. Those damn skylanders looked great on the iPad Air screen jumping, breaking items, punching enemies, and firing their weapons. And for those wondering, the game is also compatible with ALL the Skylanders figurines out there, from the original Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, Skylanders Giants, Skylanders Swapforce, and of course the upcoming Trap Team. That is a lot of characters available for use in a tablet game. Each character’s stats continue to upgrade and save to the figurine as well, so you can your favourite character in the console version or the tablet version with no problem.
At the end of the day I have to say that I was more than impressed with the tablet version of Trap Team even though we were just given a snippet of the story. Given the quality of the visuals, the full voice acting, and all the control options available, how can one not go wrong? Personally, I think what Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions has done with the tablet version of the game has the possibility to change the face of portable gaming as a whole. To have console quality visuals and gameplay like this on a tablet is pretty amazing and shows what a developer can do with this genre on the ever-growing tablet market.
