Skylanders: Trap Team

Genre: Action-RPG / 3D Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: Activision Blizzard

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Review:

Note: Are you confused by all this “Toys to Life” stuff? Check out eShopperReviews’ helpful guide here!

Skylanders: Trap Team is a family-friendly Action-RPG with 3D Platformer elements released in 2014 on mobile devices, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, and Wii, with an entirely separate game with the same title released on Nintendo 3DS the same year. This is the fourth game in the Skylanders franchise, the series that started the “Toys to Life” craze that has largely died out by 2022, save for Nintendo’s own Amiibos, which continue to linger on. Much like Amiibos, Skylanders figurines have NFC chips in the figurines, which can be read by a “Portal” device that connects to your Wii U via a USB port.

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Getting Started

For those wondering about what additional toys/gadgets/doodads you’ll need to get to enjoy this game, know that in order to play this game, you need to get a Wii U-compatible Skylanders Trap Team Portal. This includes portals made for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 platforms (not the 3DS, Xbox 360, or Xbox One platforms though – those won’t work). Trap Team is unique within the Skylanders series in that only a Trap Team portal will work with this game.

You will also need at least one compatible Skylanders figurine (this game only works with Spyro’s Adventure, Giants, Swap Force, Trap Team, and Eon’s Elite figurines) – Different figurines have different abilities, and some types of figurines are required to access certain areas or get bonuses in some areas, but no specific figurine is required to play the game.

In addition, Traptanium Trap figurines are required to capture some enemies, although this is entirely optional.

Adventure Pack figurines from Spyro’s Adventure can supposedly be used to get bonus items in the game, though I haven’t been able to test this.

Finally, if you want to play this game’s multiplayer Co-Op, you’ll need at least two Skylanders figurines.

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Playing for the Right Team

Trap Team’s new figurines come in three different varieties. Firstly, you have standard Skylanders figurines that work much the same as any Skylanders figurines do. Then, you have new Trap Masters figurines, identifiable because the figurines are holding tinted clear weapons. And finally, there are the Traptanium Trap figurines, translucent figurines shaped like a weapon or symbol. On their own, none of these are all that impressive, especially compared to Giants’ LightCore figurines or Swap Force’s magnetic two-piece Swap Force figurines. However, the Trap Team Portal makes clever use of built-in lights and speakers to give a fun effect when you trap enemies using Traptanium Trap figurines, helping to sell the illusion that the character in question really is trapped within the figurine. It’s a nice touch that gives a unique effect when playing the game, but this does mean that the actual figurines themselves aren’t quite as impressive.

If you’re just here for the game and aren’t interested in the toys, know that Skylanders: Trap Team features a presentation that’s about on par with the former high-watermark in the series, Swap Force, and may in fact edge out that game visually. As always, the series’ signature excellent 3D character designs and animations are on full display here, as are the highly-detailed areas and impressive setpieces that made Swap Force such a visual treat. However, making things more impressive are improved water and lighting effects beyond even what was in Swap Force. It’s not quite as big a step over its predecessor as Swap Force was, but it’s still the best-looking game in the series up to this point.

And of course, once again, topping all of this off is a wonderful orchestral soundtrack and some absolutely fantastic voice acting from well-known veterans like Richard Steven Horvitz and Patrick Warburton.

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Caught in its Own Trap?

After Swap Force refined the series up to this point, Trap Team strikes me as somewhat scatterbrained. The core gameplay featuring Action-RPG and Platformer elements is still quite good, but this game’s decision to introduce not one but two distinct new figurine types seems excessive. And while players can still play through the game in its entirety without using any specific Skylanders figure, you’ll often confront enemies and be told to use a Traptanium Trap figurine to capture them, pushing this element of the game in your face just a bit.

Beyond this, the gameplay hasn’t changed much here. I don’t really know what else to say that I didn’t already say in my Skylanders: Swap Force Review.

Well, okay, there is one other thing. This time around, the multiplayer competitive mode is gone. In its place, there are a few other game modes – Arenas, which apparently doesn’t unlock until after completing the single-player campaign, and Kaos Doom Challenge, a game mode that plays like a cross between standard Skylanders gameplay and a Tower Defense game. This mode is actually pretty fun, though it’s no replacement for the multiplayer competitive mode.

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Should You Join the Team?

Skylanders: Trap Team fails to make the same sort of impressive leap over its predecessor that Swap Force did before it. It’s still a great-looking game that plays well, but the added figurines and mechanics this time around slow down the pacing somewhat, and the missing multiplayer competitive mode is a big disappointment. Having said that, this game is still a no-brainer if you’re a fan of the Skylanders franchise, as it’s still one of the better games in the franchise. However, if you’re looking for the best entry point in this franchise, Swap Force is a better bet.

tl;dr – Skylanders: Trap Team is the fourth game in this Toys-to-Life series, a family-friendly Action-RPG with Platformer elements much like the previous console entries in the series. This entry in the series marginally improves on some elements of its predecessor, but also drops the ball in some areas, such as its multiple new figurine types and lack of competitive multiplayer mode. It’s still a solid entry in the series, but it’s not quite on par with Swap Force.

Grade: B

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