At this week’s GameStop Expo, I got the opportunity to play Skylanders: Trap Team, the latest installment of the mega-popular Skylanders franchise. Activision provided a guided, hands-off preview of the game at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to play it there. However, at the GameStop Expo, the game was finally available to play.
The GameStop Expo demo featured an alternate level than the one shown at Comic-Con. The Skylanders franchise is a great gateway game for kids and youths and also families to play together. The concept of toys for Bob’s strategy of mixing action figures into the gameplay is also quite genius.
In Skylanders: Trap Team, Kaos has blown up the Cloudcracker Prison, unleashing all sorts of dangerous villains across Skylands. The Trapmasters must now fight to capture the villains and stop Kaos. In the demo, the player’s chosen Trapmaster is escorting Mags to a pirate island and flotilla called Rainfish Riviera in order to find Mags’ Information Squid. The area is crawling with pirates and bad guys whom the Trapmaster must vanquish. Mags is a cool new character for the game. She is the inventor of Skylands Academy. Unfortunately, she is also very bossy, guides you through the stage and asks you to do everything. However, do not expect her to ever lift a finger to help. Thanks for nothing, Mags.
The Trapmaster has to progress his/her way through Rainfish Riviera and vanquish pirates. There is a mini-boss fight with a Walrus pirate named Brawlrus. After beating Brawlrus, the player gets to trap the villain with a Trap Key. With the Trap Key toys, the player can later summon the trapped villain and have that character fight for you later. The level does have some gates that can only be unlocked by character-specific trap masters. For example, if the gate has an Earth lock, an Earth Trapmaster has to be summoned to open it.
The controls are very smooth and tight. The movement is a bit on the slow side. I wish there was a way for the characters to run, dash or move a little faster at times. The level design is imaginative and a lot of fun. The PS4 visuals look lush and eye-popping. The game is simply a lot of fun to play, and a perfect title for family members to play together.
Fans of the franchise will be happy to know that all previous Skylander hero figurines will be playable for the game. Skylanders: Trap Team will be available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, 3DS, Android and iOS on October 5.
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