Title: Skylanders Trap Team
Format: PS4(reviewed), PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360
Release Date: October 5, 2014
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Toys for Bob
Price: $74.99
ESRB Rating: E
The latest addition to the Skylanders franchise has made it's way to store shelves, and if you're wondering what to get your kid for the holidays, look no further.
Story and Presentation:The narratives in these games have always been geared towards kids, and Trap Team does the same that Swap Force did, provide a funny and lighthearted adventure with a number of interesting characters for you to meet. The game once again revolves around the villain Kaos who has blown up the walls of Cloudcracker Prison and freed some of the most dastardly enemies to date. It is up to the player or players to help defeat all these villains and once again bring peace to the people of these mystic lands. The story is well-written and voiced with some really amusing humor thrown into the mix with a couple of funny innuendos for the adults who are playing along with their kids or younger siblings. Granted the writing doesn't rival anything you may see on TV, the story is perfect for keeping it's younger audience interested throughout. Graphically, Skylanders Trap Team is a good looking game on the PS4 with some beautifully designed environments that resembles an old school Saturday morning cartoon. Both the Skylanders and enemies are well animated and the environment compliments the intricate character designs. The voice acting is over the top but quite professional and the sound effects and graphics really enhance the overall gaming experience of this current Skylanders game. In the end, I got exactly what I expected in terms of the game's presentation.
Core Gameplay and Multi-player:Of course, each new installment of Skylanders is accompanied by a new line of collectible figures, and Trap Team continues that trend with its over-sized, translucent plastic weapon-wielding “Trap Master” characters. The player characters are really cool, but the villains are much more memorable. It’s clear early on that Skylanders: Trap Team developer Toys For Bob focused much of its attention on the game’s villains. To “trap” a villain in the game, players must first defeat the enemy character and then insert a shard of Traptanium corresponding to that villain’s element class. Once trapped, villains offer a steady stream of advice, criticism, and random observations about the player’s on-screen activities, using the portal’s speaker. It's a cool new feature that helps the game differentiate itself from the previous game. The commentary could have been just annoying, but it's actually very entertaining with each villain offering a different perspective on what's going on at that particular time. Skylanders: Giants and Swap Force both gave players the option to use characters from their existing collections to play through most of each game’s story campaigns, thus minimizing the need to have the newest toys. Trap Team puts a lot more restrictions on what toys you need to have, and I think it hurts the game a bit. This game especially forces you to open your wallets a bit more than usual, so if you have kid that becomes addicted to it, be prepared to spend a lot more cash. Even if you don't want spend the cash, there are still plenty of modes for you spend plenty of time in.
Final Thoughts: Skylanders Trap Team is a solid addition to the series, and even though you will have to cough up bit more cash than usual to get the full experience, the game is still worth picking if you are a fan.
+Simple, Heartwarming Adventure
+Solid Writing
+Nice, Clean Visuals
-Starter Set Doesn't Come With Enough
S&S Rating: 7.5/10
