Skylanders: SuperChargers E3 2015 Preview
The Skylanders franchise was really the franchise that made the Toys-to-Life video game genre accessible, efficient and profitable. Without Skylanders, I doubt that Disney Interactive would have followed suit with Disney Infinity. Even Nintendo has joined in with the current Amiibo craze. However, Toys-to-Life really was perfected by the Skylanders franchise. The franchise receives its next installment later this year with Skylanders: SuperChargers. The franchise has gotten so big that even Nintendo is getting a piece of the action with the appearance milestone Nintendo icons Bowser and Donkey Kong, who will get their own dedicated Skylander figurines and vehicles for the game. Following Skylanders: Trap Team, the latest edition of the franchise features vehicles as the new gimmick. So, for the new game, players will be able to not only switch out characters, but the vehicles they can ride throughout the game. During this year’s E3, I got the chance to personally demo the PlayStation 4 version of the game.
One great aspect of the Skylanders franchise is that the games are perfectly age appropriate for young kids, and the games are great for kids and parents to play together. It appears that Skylanders: SuperChargers will be no exception. As with previous games in the franchise, players can use a Portal of Power to interchange Skylander warriors and their vehicles. The new SuperCharger warriors each have their own personal vehicle. However, the SuperChargers are allowed to use different team members’ vehicles throughout the game. In short, vehicles can be mix and matched, but the vehicle can only reach its true potential by its specific SuperCharger driver. In short, a SuperCharger will have an additional attack that he or she can use in a personal vehicle. The vehicles are not available in every area, but the game will prompt you when a vehicle can be utilized, similar to trapping the bad guys and using them as allies in Skylanders: Trap Team.
The developers on hand would not go into too many details on the plot of the game, but I was informed that the evil portal master Kaos would be at it again as a general menace to the Skylands. Based on release materials, Kaos has returned and unleashed something called The Darkness. Hey, that sounds a lot like the plot of Destiny, where Guardians battle an ancient evil called the Darkness. I hope the return of Kaos means that Richard Horvitz will be back spouting more Invader Zim-isms and catchphrases for Skylanders: SuperChargers later this year.
The gameplay is what we have come to expect from previous Skylanders game. The style is very animated, colorful, cartoony and vibrant. The stages allow players to test out some of the new some of the new SuperCharger warriors and their vehicles, including the Hot Streak. From the looks of what was on display, there will be a great variety of vehicles for the game, including aerial, land and water vehicles. Vehicles were also used to progress through certain stages. At one point, you essentially have to gain momentum on a car through a half-pipe area to open a locked door.
One particular issue with the gameplay that has not been fixed is the speed of the Skylander characters. The Skylanders still cannot run or move faster. I understand this is a game designed for kids, but it is sometimes a tad annoying that the controls cannot make the Skylanders break out into a run or move faster to get from place to place. It would be nice to have something to speed up the gameplay or the time it takes for Skylander characters to move. Aside from that, controls were very strong and responsive. Basic attacks and melee combat are back. I am assuming there will be upgradeable attacks and skills similar to previous installments, though there was not really much to try and experiment with in that area for the E3 demo.
In the demo, my favorite new character to play was Shark Shooter Terrafin. As a shark fan, I was ecstatic to finally see a Skylander who resembles an anthropomorphic shark who shoots missiles. Another playable character for the demo was Spitfire, a flame spirit who resembles a dragon and sort of resembles Spyro the Dragon. His vehicle, the Hot Streak, was also playable for the demo, and Activision was giving away a special convention exclusive version of the toy at the event.
Personally, I think the inclusion of platform-exclusive crossover characters for the game is an excellent move that Activision should exploit more often. If Bowser and Donkey Kong are exclusive to the Nintendo platforms, then Activision should get Xbox and PlayStation exclusive characters on board as well. Characters such as Ratchet, Clank and Crash Bandicoot would be perfect cameo characters for this game on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 3. For Xbox, the exclusive characters should be the likes of Banjo or Kazooie, who would fit right in for a Skylanders game. It does not seem so far-fetched. Nintendo has Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, Namco’s Pac-Man and Capcom’s Mega Man all available as guest characters in Super Smash Bros. In addition, each of those characters received their own Amiibo figurines. As a huge fan of the old-school Crash Bandicoot series, I would love to see Crash get his own Skylanders figurine. He would be an amazing addition to this game for the PlayStation 4. I realize Activision did this because they have a “good partnership” with Nintendo, but I see no reason a deal cannot be made with Microsoft or Sony for their own consoles. Business is business, and there is money to be made in this case.
Skylanders: SuperChargers looks like another fun, new installment for the franchise. It never ceases to amaze me how Activision mines the franchise for new concepts and ideas. I wonder how long Activision can keep it running; but at this rate, Skylanders does not seem to be running out of steam at all. Skylanders: SuperChargers is due out on September 20. The game will have a massive multi-platform release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, the Wii U, the 3DS and iOS. Bowser, Donkey Kong and their vehicles will only be playable for the Nintendo platform versions of the game.