Side challenges are nothing new to Skylanders. In fact, when Vicarious Visions first took on solo development of a Skylanders game, they added more entertainment horderves than either past entry, the most notable being Swap Zones. A somewhat divisive addition, these areas required a Swappable Skylander with a special ability to access, and tasked players with challenges related to such. One of which was the Speed ability, granting passage to a sprint track where one had to jump ramps, collect coins and avoid bashing their ankles. It rings familiar to those that have now seen footage of the new land vehicle segments of SuperChargers.
Land vehicles seem to have particular importance in the new Skylanders, indicated by the game's exclusive reliance on them to finish the story mode. Sky and Sea vehicles hold a less prestigious position, relegated to optional side detours that either get you bonuses like treasure, and/or set you on an alternate path. It's fitting given VV's experiments in Swap Force, but it's strike one for long-time players of the series, who would rather the game emphasize the tried and true jump-and-brawl recipe that had been a staple thus far.
Gameplay is only one side of the Skylanders coin, however, and all those vehicle segments mean vehicle toys to go along with them. They take up half of the 40 new toys we know of so far, and while they're treated very similarly to Skylanders, with upgrades and elemental assignments and so on, they are, undeniably, not Skylanders. That means less actual characters to go along with this new installment, and given that half of those 20 characters are overhauls of previous ones, that actually means that only a quarter of the 40 collectibles are, in fact, totally new Skylanders. An astoundingly small number given the precedence the series has set.
As discussed in part one, it's understandable they went with fewer toys this time around, and it's a welcome decision by most fans. That such a large portion of them are dedicated to a totally left-field gimmick is what some of them find irksome though. From my perspective, it's not a problem if the gimmick is executed with enough skill and polish, and judging by early footage, it seems that's the case. This isn't a rail gunning sequence from Trap Team, or the inner tube riding segment from Swap Force. These are fully realized, fast and frantic experiences that seem to deliver both in terms of excitement and variety. It's not treated second-fiddle to the core gameplay, and the commitment is shown in the fact that roughly half the game will be spent doing them.
If driving of any sort isn't your style, you won't likely be converted regardless of how much information or footage comes out. You also won't be coaxed by the realization that traps are all but useless in the game, and that's one complaint I can understand. While I didn't personally go out and buy over 50 different traps, there were a number of hardcore enthusiasts who did, and this presents a problem. Those dedicated collectors who hunted for every last plastic crystal they could find are finding their sacrifice sneered at, and it's easy to see why it's so upsetting.
Trap Team represented the most expensive entry in the franchise, and it was due in large part to those colorful little totems. There were far more of them than villians available, leading many to believe Activision was gearing up to make them a long-term inclusion. While there is a cursory nod to their existence in SuperChargers, with a trap port in the new Portal of Power, unlocking villains in Skytones Overdrive, and adding weapons tied to the trap's element, there's no support to play as the villains, or to trap new ones. You won't hear the villains talk inside the Portal anymore (a blessing to some), and they won't even light up. Even the fact that Kaos has returned seems to shrug a shoulder to all those players that trapped him in an energy prism of unlimited power just last year.
Dropping traps like a bad habit hurts a bit, but it isn't a game-breaker to people who see the potential in SuperChargers. VV's skill shown in Swap Force's polished visuals and sound, intricate environments, and fun flowing level design are a hopeful reminder that SuperChargers will be an improvement over Trap Team in all the areas that really count. Videos of just one level of the game don't reveal much, but they hint at fast action, and show that they've dropped the out-of-control damage rates of Trap Team back to their old levels. Hopefully the more conservative numbers will add some needed balance to how each Skylander plays, allowing some characters that felt oddly anemic in Trap Team to better hold their own.
It's also a strange, though welcome decision to allow every Skylander a license to drive any of the new vehicles. It was stressed in interviews that this means Giants, Trap Masters, Minis, and even Skylanders that just outright have missiles for hands will still be able to get behind the wheel and steer....somehow. This will either produce highly comical results, or end up looking weird and kind of glitchy, supposing you can even see the character. Obviously it will be less of an issue in submarines or helicopters where the glass dome is completely obscured. It's speculated by some that a couple of the Skylanders that have their own rides might have to hop off to get into a vehicle, meaning Fright Rider will just have to tether his poor skeletal ostrich to a fence post until after he's had his fun.
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| A quick 'n dirty artist's interpretation of said insanity |
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