Skylanders: Trap Team is the fourth game in the Skylanders series and was the iteration released in 2014. It retains the usage of physical figurines to interact with the game via NFC and a "Portal of Power".
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
Once again like the previous game, Trap Team comes only in a Starter Pack, this is due to the new portal which has an additional slot in front for "Traps", a new addition to this game.
The back of the packaging showcases the features of the game and how it generally works.
Trap Team comes with two Skylanders figures, the first one is Food Fight, an interesting looking green guy that shoots tomatoes out as his weapon.
Once again the attention to detail, from the sculpting to the paint application is great.
The other figure that's included is the Trap Master Snap Shot. He is more special in that he is a bigger size and his weapon is sculpted in transparent plastic.
He looks great from all angles and is quite hefty.
As part of this iteration's gimmick, the Starter Pack comes with two Traps, a Life Trap and a Water Trap, their uses will be explained more clearly later on.
Don't forget about the most important peripheral of all, and that is the new Traptanium Portal. It has managed to retain the same thin and light feel from Swap Force, but now the base is clear and there's a "jail cell" in front, with a slot for the Traps.
Of course, the Portal lights up and it looks really good. There's also a speaker which is utilized as part of the game, with another light that will shine on the Traps from below.
Other inclusions include a cardboard stand that holds all your traps if you decide to buy a lot of them.
A poster is included which shows off all the figures, as well as the in-game villains.
Lastly, there are the stickers and cards, nothing special there. Overall though, Trap Team includes more items than previous games.
THE GAME:
Skylanders: Trap Team is the fourth game in the popular series, as part of the toys-to-life genre. You place physical toys onto the Portal in order to "transport" them into the game as playable characters. Trap Team comes with a new Traptanium Portal and the reason why we need a new Portal this time around is the addition of a Trap slot in the front. This Trap slot allows you to capture special villains and use them during the game. This effectively means you have four playable characters at any one time with the Starter Pack.
Furthermore, the Portal now has a speaker which is used quite nicely with the theme of the game, for example, trapped villains will occasionally speak to you during gameplay, especially if you haven't been using them much. Continuing the fantastic support for older figures, Trap Team allows you to use all previous Skylanders toys in the game, although the level cap is still 20 and old Skylanders do no learn any new moves. The game has also changed in that the locked areas in each level requires specific new Trap Masters Skylanders to open, therefore if you want to collect everything the game has to offer, you will definitely need to spend some additional cash.
With all that said, the locked areas in the game which are behind the paywall only contains cosmetic items, extra money and some upgrades which are not essential to completing the game. You will notice that there are a lot of locked areas that you cannot access with only the Starter Pack but each chapter is large enough such that you will not feel shafted at not being able to explore each level completely. Trap Team retains the solid core platforming gameplay of the series. The single jump that your Skylander can do still feels limited and the fixed camera is a minor annoyance.
Trap Team's combination of platforming and combat is really fun. Still, the game does not bring many new mechanics into the series. The main addition is that you can swap at any time between your Skylander and a trapped villain. Once you swap to a villain, a meter starts dropping as you have limited time to use them, but they recharge when not in use. Only specific villains can be caught but you'll be surprised at how many there are (usually two to three per chapter), and even with the Starter Pack, you will manage to capture at least ten villains to play with.
Capturing a villain naturally means a boss battle will precede, and you'll be having a lot of boss battles in the game. Each Skylander have a variety of moves, and many of those are unlocked through an upgrade system. You collect money during your adventures and these upgrades will provide boosts in attack power or extra moves. Each Skylander have two skill paths and you can choose which path to go down to. Defeating enemies will grant experience and Skylanders will level up, these levels and stats are saved into the toy so you can take it and play on another player's game with "your" Skylander.
The best part of Trap Team is the amazing humor. It loves to make fun of cliches in video games, including the ones that the game is currently employing. The humor is spot on and works so well, even the random phrases here and there will give you a smile. The supporting characters and villains have had various degrees of character development and now it is finally shining in all their glory, as each character's quirks and mannerisms are brought to their full potential. The graphics are on par with Swap Force, with the vibrant colors suiting the game and environments are usually fairly detailed.
Trinkets and Hats make a comeback, providing stat boosts. You can use the gold you've collected to purchase more but most of them are found within the game. There are a lot of small areas to explore in each chapter that are hidden away. To be fair, they are not hard to find if you are thorough and don't rush through a level and it feels rewarding. Other collectibles include legendary treasures, Soul Stones which unlock a new move for a specific Skylander and Winged Sapphires which give you a discount on upgrades.
The story is simple and doesn't amount to much more than previous games. A new section of Skylands is revealed and it introduces the Trap Masters, who are more powerful Skylanders. On the villain's side are the Doom Raiders, who were all sent to Cloudbreak Prison. Naturally, they get broken out by Koas and they start to threaten Skylands once again. Travelling across the lands, recapturing all the villains and bringing them over to your side, you will save Skylands from doom. While the plot is not complex, once again, it is the humor that wins you around. There is a hub level which has heaps of things to do. Not only are there additional platforming areas to tackle, there are various minigames.
Minigames include a rhythm game, arena battles, a tower defense minigame and the return of Skystones Smash, which has a different ruleset. Overall, Skylanders: Trap Team is a fantastic game. It manages to keep the magic going from previous games and while it doesn't improve it too much, the new ideas introduced keeps it from going stale. The platforming and combat mechanics remain solid, there is a wealth of stuff to do and the characters are starting to become endearing. Skylanders: Trap Team is highly recommended, even if you only intend to buy only the Starter Pack, it's worth it.
OVERALL:
Skylanders: Trap Team provides a heap of value once again. Sure, you might end up being sucked into the trap of purchasing more figures but even if you play the game using the Starter Pack alone, you get a lot of entertainment and fun which makes it very much recommended.
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