Skylanders Trap Team has been one of the two most highly anticipated games this year in my NH Kids home. I have a four year old son who adores the Skylanders and has been excited for Trap Team since I came home from Blogger Bash and told him about it. At the conference I was able to demo the game and meet one of his favorite Skylanders, Eruptor!
After previewing Skylanders Trap Team this summer, I was looking forward to getting this game home. I thought it would make a fun addition to the Skylander Games which include: Skylanders Swap Force, Skylanders Giants and Skylanders Spyro’s Adverture. Honestly though, it wasn’t until I began to review the game at home that I fell in love with it. In my opinion, Skylanders Trap Teams is one of the best family video games currently available.
Here’s why I believe that Skylanders Trap Team makes a great family game!
- Storyline: The Trap Team Storyline is both fun and engaging for young children. The story is not overly complicated making it easy to follow and it incorporates some great characters (especially those villains!).
- The Villains: Skylanders’ villains are a real treat in Trap Team! The Skylanders have the power to not only defeat, but also to capture villains in their Traptanium Traps. In order to trap a villain you place a trap in the designated spot in your Trap Team portal. The villain then becomes contained within the trap and will speak to you, comment on your gameplay, and cajole you into letting him help you out in the game. Another fun surprise is that the villains can become good guys once captured. Each villain also has his own redemptive mission that he can take part in. I love it when a bad guy comes over to the good side!
- The Skylanders: The Skylanders are such fun, each with their own personality. As with all previous games, Trap Team has a new cast of Skylanders to include the new Trap Masters and a fresh crop of Mini Skylanders. Pictured Below are Food Trap and Snap Shot. These two come with the Wii U Skylander Trap Team Starter Pack.
- Minimal Violence: I think that Trap Team does a great job of keeping violence to an absolute minimum. The Skylanders are, of course, charged to defeat and capture a series of villains, which means that the concept of violence is introduced and present in the game. That said, there is no gore, blood or anything else that would make me cringe. The Skylanders each have a unique set of combat skills and their own distinct weapons. For example, Food Trap has a gun that shoots tomatoes. While he may not sound too intimidating, don’t be fooled! Our Food Trap has done a great job at trapping the bad guys with his use of a garden gun. Once enemies are defeated they simply poof away, disappearing. Trap Team also allows you to defeat and capture the villains using Traptanium Traps. I have found the violence to be very minimal and do not think that it would be a problem for younger players (the players in my house range in age from 4-7 years old).
- The Toys! My children love the Skylander toys! At the moment, the Skylander toys are my son’s number 1 most played with toy in my. My children love the characters and joyfully engage them in some good pretend play. Note: Try not to let the kids scratch the bottom of the toys as I do believe that it could affect their ability to work well with the game. We have not scratched one…yet! I will update you when that inevitable day arrives.
While I do recommend this game, there is one fact about the game that I would like to make note of. In order to fully complete the game you will need to purchase toys and traps in addition to those that come with the starter pack. For me this is not a deal breaker. The only thing on my son’s wishlist for birthdays and holidays is Skylander toys. So, over time he will eventually have enough Skylanders and traps to progress completely in the game. That said, I do understand that the need to invest additional funds in Skylanders and traps might not be appealing to all.
I am very grateful to Acitivision for giving me the opportunity to review Skylanders Trap Team. I would recommend this game for children ages 4 and up and believe that it will be one of the most sought after toys this holiday season.
Disclosure: I received product to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.