Skylanders Superchargers
Editors note: Activision provided transportation, lodging, and food for this event.
There is a certain amount of responsibility, as well as pressure, that comes with a franchise that kickstarts a new genre in video games. You become a benchmark, a standard, to which all games that come after you in that genre are judged. Nearly all fighting games are compared to Street Fighter II. FPS games are paralleled with Wolfenstein 3D. When it comes to the budding “toys to life” genre, Skylanders is both the original and the benchmark to which all others will be judged.
Its hard to believe that we are entering the fifth installment of the franchise. This isn’t just a milestone for the franchise, but also for the genre as the number of competing products is constantly growing. This year we have four “toys to life” products available across all of the various platforms: Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Amiibo and LEGO Dimensions. They all have their various strengths and weaknesses, but Activision’s property has, arguably the most pressure on its proverbial shoulders since it is the original and most successful.
In order to maintain their position as the top-dog, the development teams, in this case Vicarious Visions, know that they have to do more than just offer new content. Their goal is to add something truly original and unique with each Skylanders release that alters to overall experience. As you can imagine, this is a big challenge for a franchise that is on an annual release-cycle. Vicarious Visions (and Toys for Bob for that matter), have it down to a science though.
One of the secrets to they use is that children and focus testing is used through every step of development. The team did not just wait until they had a physical or playable product before testing it with audiences, they began seeking feedback from the earliest conceptual stages. This ensures that the target audience pretty much guides the project directly towards what they want to see in the end, resulting in a gaming experience tailor made for the consumer.
With Superchargers, the big addition is the introduction of vehicles. As a huge fan of the franchise, I was extremely skeptical when the original reveal was made. It appeared to me that we were just seeing a new means of mobility through the standard game, which might be fun, but I failed to see how this would advance the series. Now that I have seen and played it firsthand, I have no problem stating that boy, was I ever wrong.
The vehicles that are being added in Skylanders Superchargers and more than just simple means of travel. The development team has put the same love and care into the vehicle designs as they have always done with the franchise’s characters. In a sense, each vehicle is sort of a character itself. None of them have just slapped into this world. Extensive physics testing in prototyping was done with each of the vehicle types.
Land vehicles were studied based on their weight and traction across the various environment types. Buoyancy was taking into consideration when water vehicles were crafted, as were a wide variety of water physics. Each vehicle experience, be it sky, land or air, is drastically different and honestly, each one feels really good. They are all unique in their own ways, both visually and by possessing special abilities and traits that make them stand out from one another. Some are built for speed, others for attack, but hey all serve their own unique purpose.
It was very important for all of the vehicles to be given this much attention and development as they are truly a huge focus of the game. This isn’t just an adventure game, according to everyone on the development team it is an “epic vehicle adventure game”. They wanted to bring the fast paced action and thrills that you get from car chases and dog fights into the world of Skylanders in the truest manner possible. The vehicles and mobility is every bit as important and unique as the colorful characters and environments that make up the world of Skylands.
As has become standard with the series, you'll be able to use any and all toys that you have collected throughout the years. There are no limitations with the new vehicle mechanics; any character that you have can drive any vehicle. This means that Giants, Minis, and even characters with swapped parts can just as easily hop into a boat car or plane as any of the new ones. The vehicles will also include a certain level of customization with modification spots that can be accessed as long as you combine them with their specific matching characters. This is the only difference between using one character with the vehicle versus another
In addition to integrating vehicles into the story mode, the game will also includes full-blown race modes similar to games like Mario Kart. You will be able to take all of your favorite characters and vehicles up against your friends both online and off. This competitive racing mode is almost deep enough to be offered as its own, standalone title. There are six individual courses shipping with the game: two land, two see, and two air. Additional accessory packs will be available down the line that will not only include toys to use on the Portal of Power, but add additional courses to this mode as well.
You can race with up to eight players total. Just like you would expect in a kart racing experience, you'll be looking around for a variety of objects and weapons on the courses to help you get the upper hand on your opponents. Things aren’t exactly like the traditional racers that gamers have experienced. One noticeable change is that collecting weapons from item boxes no longer get stored and used at will; instead, the weapons are fired or deployed as soon as they are obtained. Each character has two different unique attacks that can be used at will throughout the race, however there is an energy bar that fuels these attacks that you have to maintain by collecting power-ups on the course.
Each of the courses that I got a chance to see was extremely detailed and robust; we aren’t talking about rehashed material from the main adventure. They all have their own fair share of shortcuts and major events that alter the overall experience. Each type (land, sea, or air) also had their own respective traits that made them feel different too. My personal favorite was the fact that water races gave you the ability to race both on top of the water and below. It almost came across as it being two separate courses in one, as you would find different obstacles and paths depending on which side of the water you chose to stay on.
There are changes coming to the traditional aspects of the Skylanders experience as well. For example, players will see the introduction of a new quest system. It feels a lot like a typical RPG questing experience where you can stack and take on quests to be completed at your leisure. There is a lot of content within these quests and their related missions. Not only are there those that are built into the game from the start but Vicarious intends on keeping content fresh with daily updates and resets that add new missions. Some of these missions simply provide you with a chance to earn more loot while others serve to introduce the various characters’ backgrounds and allow you to explore their past(s).
In addition to the collectible hats have always brought a certain level of customization to the game, the Skylanders Academy has received a major overhaul as well, which will allow it to serve as the true game hub and allow customization. Once unlocked, the Academy will allow players to access all of the various modes and features of the game. From this one, sandbox-style area, you can set off into campaign chapters, launch into the racing modes (online and off) or just play around and add your own style to the world. Players now have the ability to make their Academy truly their own. All of the legendary treasures that you have been collecting throughout the series can now be used as decorations. There is no limit to how many you can place either. You can do things such as set up your own soccer game in an open area if you find a ball and soccer goals (which are included the new game).
I was completely overwhelmed with just how much there is to do in Skylanders Superchargers. Regardless of the experience that you are looking for, you will find something to entertain you in this massive and ever-changing world. Whether you're racing with your friends, going to adventures with your kids or alone, or even spending time enjoying the revamped version of Skystones, there is always something to do. This is easily the biggest and best Skylanders experience that we have seen to date and I can’t wait until the final version launches later this month.
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
About Author
Guess who's back!!! If you have been here before, you know the basics: lifelong gamer, father, and of course, former certified news monkey. I still consider myself all of those things, just maybe not in the grand scale that I once did. I’ve been blogging on the industry for more than decade now, in some form or another. It wasn't until I landed here at Gaming Nexus that I really dove in head first. Now, writing about games has become what I do for fun (and sometimes work) and something I intend on doing until the day I die (in some form or another).
I'm a huge fan of just about everything you can interact with using a controller, no matter how old or new, good or bad. If you put it in front of me, I will play it (at least once).
