Skylanders Trap Team
© 2014 Activision, Inc.
In the beginning (2011), there were just Skylanders; a pioneering concept that let you "portal" your physical toy into a video game. Here's the original concept when it was first announced at the New York Toy Fair http://youtu.be/BvqGPLkQOFE The toy/video game idea had been tried many times before, but unsuccessfully (you can hear a note of skepticism in my voice, in the above video). Skylanders (which obviously inspired Disney Infinity) was successful because both the toys and the video game were good enough to stand on their own merits. The video game was adapted from the older Spyro franchise. In addition, the hardware was cross platform and didn't require batteries. You could just plug it and play it. Over time, Skylander kits have included Giants, Battleground, Swap Force and this latest bundle, called Trap Team. Trap Team brings the characters out of the game, into physical “Traps” that kids can take with them. In the story, Kaos (the bad guy) continues his ongoing quest to rule over Skylands. He has discovered the location of the legendary Cloudcracker Prison -- a fortress built out of the Traptanium that is the home the Skylands’ most nefarious baddies. In an attempt to build his own army of foes, Kaos blows up the prison, releasing the most wanted villains and blasting shards of Traptanium to Earth in the form of Traps. Skylanders Trap Team introduces a new “trap” for the bad guys. When this new type of toy is placed directly into the portal, the Portal Masters can “capture” a variety of special villains from the game and transport them from Skylands into the real world. The portal has an audio speaker that allows players to hear the voices of the villains as they move from the game into the real world. The Trap also lights up in sync with the villain speaking ("If you look closely, you can almost see the villain trying to escape from inside the Trap.") You can play either as a Skylander, or capture Skylands’ most wanted foes and unleash them for good. Once trapped, players can return the villain to Skylands as a playable character, creating a “tag team” game dynamic. Content includes 50 playable Skylanders, new adventures with "combat, puzzles, mini games, activities, platforming, and drop-in/drop-out co-op play." Seasoned fans can play Skylanders Trap Team with their entire collection of 175 forward compatible characters from Skylanders SWAP Force, Skylanders Giants and Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. Created by Toys for Bob (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii) or Beenox (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, 3DS) for Activision. Release Date October 5, 2014.
$75, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Teaches: social play, problem solving, logic, math