Upon arriving to the studio, journalists were greeted by the friendly staff of Toys for Bob, alongside the team from Activison, who gave a personal tour of one of the most beautifully designed studios that we have ever seen. A studio's work area says a lot about the people that work there, and Toys for Bob was a casual, fun workplace that radiated all of the passion flowing strong within its walls. Rooms were decorated in various themes which included a Tiki room and even a space that resembled a full ship that was ready to cast off into the sunset with a huge mast in the center of the room. Besides the fun room themes, many of the offices were personalized with individual charms and touches and wallpapered with colorful fan drawings of monsters that the team had received from children all around the world. Almost every desk had a pet bowl by it, because the company actually allows employees to bring their beloved pet to work! It was truly a great experience and it was very easy to feel right at home with the kind staff at Toys for Bob and comfortable surroundings.
The day started off with a presentation by Toys for Bob Studio Head Paul Reiche III who gave everyone a run-down of how the company came to be and how it has progressed over the last several decades. The studio was founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III & Fred Ford with the organization now having over 22 games under their belt. Activision bought the company in 2005 and Toys for Bob started work on the Sylanders series in 2011 with Spyro's Adventure. After meeting the studio heads and Executive Producer Jeff Poffenbarger for Toys for Bob, it was easy to see that they truly love what they are doing, and they surround themselves with other employees who feel that exact same love and passion for toys and gaming.
We will be giving you more insight into the game and Toys for Bob crew with exclusive interview coverage to follow with:
- Dan Neil: Audio Director
- Paul Yan: Director, Animation
- Alex Ness: Chief of Staff, Toys for Bob
- Robert Leyland: Principle Engineer
- I-Wei Huang: Director, Toys and Characters
In this article, we would like to introduce you to the various characters of Skylanders Trap Team before we get into our full hands-of coverage of the game in Part 2. While we only got the chance to try out a select assortment of characters at the event, it is easy to say that the toy creations in Skylanders Trap Team are sturdy, beautifully painted and high quality which means they will stand up to multiple play sessions with your family and children.
Some of the new Skylanders Trap Team characters includes Snap Shot (Water), Food Fight (Life), Gearshift (Tech), Torch (Fire), Wallup (Earth), Wildfire (Fire), Chopper (Tech), Jawbreaker (Tech), Krypt King (Undead), Gusto (Air), Head Rush (Earth), Bushwhack (Life), Kaboom (Fire), Deja Vu (Magic), Fist Bump (Earth), and Lob-Star (Water). Players will also be able to enjoy a special series of Skylanders to play in Skylanders Trap Team that includes:
The biggest new addition in the Skylanders series with the release of Trap Team will be the villains and the ability to trap them. The new baddies are led by Kaos and the super villains: Gulper (Water), Chompy Mage (Magic), WolfGang (Undead), and Chef Pepper Jack (Fire). The regular villains, but still badass, are Shield Shredder (Life), Chill Bill (Water), Shrednaught (Tech), Broccoli Guy (Life), Grinnade (Fire), Buzzer Beak (Air), PAIN-Yatta (Magic), Sheep Creep (Life), Brawlrus (Tech), Masker Mind (Undead), Brawl & Chain (Water), Bruiser Cruiser (Tech), Cross Crow (Water), Hood Sickle (Undead), and Bomb Shell (Magic).
Skylanders Trap Team has the potential to become one of the best releases in the series yet with its creative design and gameplay. It looks and plays fantastic! The innovative character designs and the ability to trap villains in the game has really added an extra layer of immersiveness to the title for current and next-gen consoles. Skylanders Trap Team is fun, exciting and pure magic! Ready for more? Read Part 2 and Part 3 of our hands-on preview of Skylanders Trap Team as we dive more into the gameplay, mechanics, and more.
For now, check out this new footage from Skylanders Trap Team of the Kaos Doom Challenge!
To learn more, visit the official Skylanders Trap Team website.
About Skylanders Trap Team
Skylanders is redefining the Toys-to-Life phenomenon with yet another ground-breaking innovation, Skylanders Trap TeamTM. In previous Skylanders games, we brought physical toys to life inside the game. With Skylanders Trap Team, we are reversing the magic by bringing characters out of the game, into physical “Traps” that kids can take with them, effectively bringing Life to Toys.
Skylanders Trap Team introduces a ground-breaking innovation that lets Portal Masters “trap” the most wanted villains in Skylands and then play as them in the game in the battle for good. The game offers an unprecedented new addition to the game’s play pattern in the form of Traptanium Traps. When this new type of toy is placed directly into the Traptanium PortalTM, Portal Masters can “capture” a variety of special villains from the game and magically transport them from Skylands into the real world.
In Skylanders Trap Team, Kaos continues his ongoing quest to rule over Skylands. He has discovered the location of the legendary Cloudcracker Prison -- a fortress built entirely out of the magical substance TraptaniumTM and home to Skylands’ most nefarious villains. 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. Now it’s up to Portal Masters to recapture all of the escaped villains using powerful Traptanium Traps and defeat Kaos before it’s too late!
Each Skylanders Trap Team character and villain has a unique personality and power that kids will want to play with again and again in both the real and game worlds. The Skylanders franchise continues to bring imaginative characters to fans, such as Lob-Star, who uses his powerful Traptanium Throwing Stars to serve up defeat to anyone who threatens Skylands; and Pain-Yatta, a giant piñata who can barf an endless supply of candy that sweetens any battle!
KEY FEATURES:
- Toys to Life, Life to Toys – Players will experience an exciting new level of Skylanders innovation through the Traptanium Portal, a new ring of magical energy which reverses the magic of the toys to life category by letting players bring digital characters into the physical world. A built-in audio speaker allows players to magically hear the unique voices of the villains travel from the game into the real world Trap, and vice versa. The Trap also lights up in sync with the villain speaking, adding even more magic to the experience.
- Two Ways to Play – In Skylanders Trap Team, you can play as a Skylander or capture Skylands’ most wanted foes and unleash them for good. It’s up to Portal Masters to find these villains and capture them inside the new Traps that transport the villains into the real world via the Traptanium Portal. Once trapped, players can return the villain to Skylands as a playable character. This exciting new play pattern gives fans the option to switch between playing as a Skylander hero or a villain at any time, creating fun and unique “tag team” gameplay for both the single player and co-op experience.
- Elementally Designed Traps – Themed Trap designs add variety to the collectible Skylanders Trap Team experience. Each Trap is elementally aligned, letting players capture villains who fall under that element. For instance, when Portal Masters explore the world of Skylands and encounter a water villain, they can insert a water Trap into the Traptanium Portal to capture that villain, as well as bring that villain back into Skylands as a playable character who helps in the fight for good. If players don’t have the correct Trap for a villain they encounter, the defeated villain will be held in a Villain Vault at the Skylanders Academy, where Portal Masters can keep track of the foes they have captured. When the player buys the correct Trap, they can transfer the villain from the Vault into the Trap in order to play as that character. With each new Trap added to their collection, Portal Masters unlock an exciting world of possibilities!
- New Cast of Characters – A brand new group of Skylanders, known as Trap Masters, lead the charge armed with their oversized crystal weapons in the fight against more than 40 most wanted villains and returning nemesis Kaos. The game introduces more than 50 new playable Skylanders heroes, including:
- New Trap Master Skylanders
- New Core Skylanders
- Reposed, fan-favorite Skylanders
- New fully playable Skylanders Minis
- New Playable In-Game Villains
- Exciting New Adventure – Skylanders Trap Team features an all-new adventure-filled story with fun and interesting new characters as well as returning franchise favorites. The game delivers a diverse and dynamic, story-driven gameplay experience, filled with adventure, combat, puzzles, mini games such as the new Kaos Challenge Mode, activities, platforming, and drop-in/drop-out co-op play -- all set within a variety of lush, compelling environments. Seasoned fans can also play Skylanders Trap Team with their entire collection of 175 forward compatible characters from Skylanders SWAP ForceTM, Skylanders GiantsTM and Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure.
Publisher: Activision Publishing, Inc.
Developers:
Toys for Bob (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)
Beenox (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, 3DS)
Vicarious Visions (Tablet)
Launch Platforms: Nintendo Wii, Wii U, 3DS, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4
Also on:
Apple iPad 3rd Generation, iPad 4th Generation, iPad Mini Retina, iPad Air
Kindle Fire HDX (7” & 8.9”)
Google Nexus 7 (2013)
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro (8.4”, 10.1”, 12.2”)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S (8.4”, 10.5”)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014), Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
Release Date:
October 5, 2014 (North America), October 10, 2014 (EU)
October 2, 2014 (APAC)
MSRP:
$74.99 – Skylanders Trap Team Starter Pack
$99.99 – Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition Starter Pack
$14.99 – Individual Trap Master toy
$9.99 – Individual Core Skylanders toy
$13.99 – Skylanders Minis Two-Pack
$5.99 - Individual Trap toy
ESRB Rating: E10+