Skylanders SuperChargers
Activision
Available for most consoles
Four stars
What do kids love as much as – if not more than – action figures? Things for their toys to drive. Whether it’s a convertible for Barbie or a tank for GI Joe, no toy box is complete without a car, plane or boat for your dolls to cruise around in.
So when Activision announced it was adding vehicles to this year’s edition of its blockbuster Skylanders franchise, the universal reaction was “Of course”.
Who wouldn’t want to ride shotgun with Spyro, Gill Grunt, Jet-Vac and the rest of the gang as they burn rubber all over the Skylands?
Skylanders SuperChargers doesn’t completely reinvent the series. As usual, the starter kit comes with toys – this time, two characters and a car. When you place the plastic figures on a platform connected to your console, the characters come to life on your TV screen.
Most of the time, your Skylanders run around doing typical Skylander things: collecting treasure, solving puzzles, fighting monsters.
Some scenarios, however, require a vehicle, so you need to place one of the model vehicles on the platform before your character can get behind the wheel.
The mission might involve racing as quickly as you can down a track, grabbing jewels and power-ups. Or you could be thrown into a demolition derby against a fleet of enemy-controlled jalopies. The automotive insanity is nicely integrated into the overall storyline, and there’s enough variety from one course to the next that you never feel like you’re stuck in traffic.
You can beat the 10-hour solo campaign with only the characters and car provided in the starter kit, although there are frequent side missions that require air or water vehicles. Those go for US$16 (Dh58) a piece, and I’d recommend buying at least one of each – you don’t want to miss the aerial dogfights or seafaring adventures in SuperChargers.
That need to invest in more toys to get the full benefit from the game will draw the usual complaints, but SuperChargers is actually less demanding in this way than previous Skylanders instalments.
The vehicles, like the characters, specialise in eight different elements – fire, magic, tech and so on – but you can see most of what this game has to offer with just a handful of the little plastic figures.
And this game does deliver a huge amount of play for your cash. Beyond the main story, there’s a fighting arena, a collectable card game, daily challenges and assorted ways to decorate your home base.
And, of course, there’s racing, with dozens of events for each type of vehicle. In short, even if you don’t want dozens of action figures cluttering up your living room, there’s enough stuff in SuperChargers to keep most players busy until next year’s edition.
If you do love collecting those interactive toys, rest assured there are plenty of new ones available – Nintendo fans will surely want to grab the Donkey Kong and Bowser figures. They’re almost as much fun to play with even if you aren’t plugged in.
artslife@thenational.ae
