The Skylanders are back for another go-around, and this time,
they’ve brought a new dynamic to the series in Skylanders: Trap Team. Let’s take a look.
Release Date: Oct 5, 2014
Consoles: Numerous – See Bottom of the Article
Rating: E
Genre: Action-Adventure
Skylanders: Trap Team is the newest addition to Activision’s huge universe, and after giant figures and body swapping, what would be next? How about trapping using your own fellow supervillains’ powers against them?
The biggest draw to Skylanders: Trap Team this year may just be the new Portal that comes with the game and the system that goes along with it. The new Traptanium Portal contains a speaker, and the name “Trap Team” describes your new heroes who must “trap” the supervillains released after the events of Swap Force. 
Once captured, the villains end up in elemental trap crystals (2 are included with the starter kit as shown on the left) where you can use their powers in the upcoming levels. The Portal speaker allows them to joke and communicate with you between levels. There are more than 2 levels in the game obviously, so you will have to swap skills in the dungeon, or purchase more crystals to have access to more skills simultaneously. As always, more figures of Trap Team members are also available for purchase if you want to expand your army as well.
For the first time ever, there are different variants of the Skylanders within this game. Normal and Dark versions of Skylanders exist, as well as updated versions of previous heroes, and little mini Skylanders. The Trap Masters, however, are the key ingredients to this game, capable of going places and doing things crucial to the game that only they can access. They will be your go-to characters in this game far and away.
Some of the ideas are ones you’ve seen before. Perhaps most famously, the Mega Man games have allowed you to use vanquished foes’ powers on upcoming enemies. None of this, however, has been done in the Skylanders universe and the added element of continued interaction with the other supervillains will keep the kids in stitches for hours. For old Skylanders fans, you’ll be thankful that despite the addition of the new Traptanium portal, all of your old figures and their tricks are compatible with the game. That in itself means some 175 other Skylanders can be mixed into this year’s universe for added gameplay.
Game-wise itself, the graphics have been tweaked again, and the next gen platform owners especially will see how well and how close the digital thing looks to the real thing. Stages are colourful and well shaded, similar to last year’s offering, and the game itself is a working cartoony masterpiece. The soundtrack as always promises to be as quirky and silly as it’s always been, and the characters themselves will always be charming and downright nutty. Skylanders has never been the most serious series, and Skylanders: Trap Team doesn’t do anything to sway that notion.
As always, the Skylanders franchise is geared more toward a younger audience, though there’s a pretty hot collector demographics for some of the convention exclusives or promos. This has always been a fun series to get the kids into, and the portability of the Skylanders and the fact that their stats and powers are stored in chips on the figures themselves means they can pack it up and take it to a friend’s house to continue their battle action. With this year’s edition coming out in early October, it means that there’s plenty of time for you to pick it up for the holidays. Be aware, however, that this year’s game (because of the new portal and extra pieces included) does carry a little bigger of a price tag ($10 more) than previous versions.
Skylanders: Trap Team is now available for the following consoles.
Standard Edition for PlayStation 4
Standard Edition for Nintendo WiiU
Standard Edition for Tablet Devices
Standard Edition for Nintendo 3DS
Standard Edition for Nintendo Wii
Standard Edition for PlayStation 3
Then there’s the Dark Edition Starter Park which includes an extra trap, and 3 Dark Skylanders
Dark Edition Starter Pack for Xbox One
Dark Edition Starter Pack for PlayStation 4
Dark Edition Starter Pack for Nintendo WiiU
Dark Edition Starter Pack for Nintendo Wii
