QCF: Skylanders: Super Chargers

 don’t make it a habit of comparing video games franchises to movie ones, but in this case, I couldn’t help but feel that the contrast that came to mind was an appropriate one to make—are any of you familiar with the Rocky series? I mean, I would hope you all are, but even if you’re not, there’s one fact about the franchise that’s universally known by the general public; the number of sequels it has, and which ones are the good ones.

It works out when it comes to setting the tone for this review because I think the movies, and their respective role as sequels within the continuity of Rocky help serve as a definitive allegory to the Skylanders series of video games.

The original Rocky is Spyro’s Adventure, and Rocky II is fairly comparable to Giants, Swap-Force is just barely up to par with Rocky III, and Trap Team is the same Magnum Opus for the series that Rocky IV is.

The latest entry to the series that pioneered the Toys-To-Life genre in video games is Super Chargers, Vicarious Visions’ second contribution to the franchise after Swap Force, and much like the aforementioned comparison, it’s a lot like Rocky V.

Super Chargers is an unnecessary sequel that hardly adds anything to the Skylanders formula, only working to show its age, and dwindling sense of appeal instead.

The irony behind the Super Charger’s fall from grace is that it stems from the main mechanic it’s rests its foundation of gameplay upon; the vehicles.

Each iteration prior in the franchise showcased a specific gimmick that the core gameplay would harmonize with, in a way that felt organic to its overall scheme of design. Be it Giant avatars and their size, or playing the mad scientist role of mixing up the strengths of one hero with another—each gimmick introduced this new hook that changed up the formula, while still keep the other familiar yet fun elements in the package.

The vehicles however, don’t act as an extension to the SKylanders formula, it actually drifts away from it, and as a result, makes for an experience that lacks what made the Toy-to-life gameplay feels so dynamic and engaging.

The main flaw comes from the fact that the portions involving the flamboyant mobiles are section off into their own parts, and are only accessible when you initiate those segments within the stage.

 It may not seem like a huge drawback, but this limitation restricts a degree of agency that you have with experimenting with different toy vehicles and how they work in-game, which arguably in itself is like, the biggest selling point to any Skylanders game. What’s more is that these components don’t even play as an extension to the characteristics that define the gameplay that the Toy based-RPG is famous for—working to play as a palate cleanser to it instead; which the gameplay honestly didn’t need.

The vehicle gameplay itself between each individual mode of transport is varied enough, with car portions switching between third-person racing sections to the conventional Skylander overhead camera for the combat heavy areas, Sea faring also operating in a similar tone, only swapping the third-person view with 2D side-scrolling, and air mode operating very similarly to StarFox’s All-range mode. The feature itself isn’t necessarily flawed, it’s just a bit bland in contrast to the previous iterations, especially last year’s Trap Team.

Driving a car is a weird exchange between on-rails shooting and isometric Twisted Metal for kids, hitting the seas is usually an odd mix between everything you hated about side-scrolling underwater stages, and isometric Twisted Metal for kids on waves. Sadly the most compelling to play of the three is the air mode; largely because it liberally lifts a majority of its dynamics directly from Nintendo’s flagship aerial space-shooter, excising all of the more complex mechanics to keep in tone with simple maneuvering of course—scaling back all the more engaging aspects of the design in the process.

There are a number of qualities that help redeem the air of insipidness that the gimmick permeates, and actually makes the concept of throwing automobile into the mix a little more appealing. The first being the actual Super Charger element itself; while any one collectible hero can enter any vehicle that you have placed on the portal, matching the mobile with its corresponding toy warrior will grant a boost of stats and health to Skylander and machine alike.

Since the usage of the proverbial character chariots are restricted to designated points of the level, the motivation to experiment different pair-ups with hero and vehicle are a bit stilted; so the Super Charger feature somewhat rectifies this flaw, by offering ulterior rewards to players making dutiful choices on what’s placed upon the portal.

Players can also level up their vehicles with collectible gears that function like the experience spheres from fallen foes, spending them as currency at the garage housed at the Skylanders Academy on perks like speed, and handling. Much like the wearable hats that can be collected as equipment for the skylanders to wear, there are various parts scattered through the stages of the game that be modify your vehicle, and a large majority of them being specific to one vehicle, customizing both their performance and appearance when applied at the garage. Finally, like the figures themselves, all upgrades are physically stored into the toy mobile, emulating the same sort of satisfaction earned out of personalizing the figures, only not as potent.

You can also race them, but considering the controlling and maneuvering for each vehicle are so homogeneous in contrast to other family racing games on the market, the whole endeavor is pretty superficial, and largely forgettable.

Much like the elemental gates from the prior titles, the vehicle sections also dictates the accessibility of the content that can be explored within the level, and because there’s only three different varieties of transports and nothing beyond that like element type or any of that.

Out of all the Skylander titles, the investment towards buying new toys for Super Chargers is much easier on the wallet than it ever has been before.  Granted, there are smaller collectibles that later into the game that do require certain elements of vehicle to earn, but the payoff is mostly inconsequential to the causal player, and serves as a great incentive for dedicated Skylanders fans to collect all of the new trinkets that this sequel has to offer on store shelves.

In short, this new feature is competent to a degree, and admittedly serviceable in terms of performance, but it falls short of adding anything that’s significant to the experience that fans identify with Skylanders because how restricted and limited it is.

Maybe that Rocky V comparison wasn’t entirely fair because Super Chargers isn’t terrible, it’s just a really disappointing joint when you stand it up against the glory of all of the other titles—it’s just inches out in being an okay game in its own right.