No, it's not with its story that Skylanders SuperChargers impressed us the most. We know the song: Kaos has imagined yet another Machiavellian plan to seize Skylands, and the Skylanders will have to join forces once again in order to restore peace in the kingdom. In fact, the surprise is primarily visual. Trap Team had already upped the ante by displaying graphics filled with color and razor-sharp. SuperChargers drives the point home and masters the effects with a certain insolence. You only have to stroll through Glade of horseflies to realize it, Library of rogue mages not being bad in its genre either with its 2D levels. On the whole, the realization has the mouth even if there is to complain about some animations and the modeling of the characters which is not always at the top. But with this permanent fluidity and the cut scenes that punctuate the key moments, there is enough to make the little darlings dream, the core target of Skylanders. What amazes children are obviously the figurines that can be played after having placed them on the Magic Portal. Skylanders SuperChargers introduces twenty characters, knowing that some of them are actually a reissue of old glories. This is the case of Terrafin (which becomes Shark Shooter Terrafin), Stealth Elf (Super Shot Stealth Elf) and Eruptor (Lava Lance Eruptor); while Spitfire, Stormblade, Dive-Clops, Thrillipede or even Fiesta are among the real new heroes of SuperChargers. Note that if the approximately 300 figurines from previous episodes are compatible with the game, the reverse is of course not possible. In contrast, the portals released so far seem to work with Skylanders SuperChargers; that of Trap Team at least. Also note that the game is, for the first time, available for download. As a result, the miniatures contained in the physical starter pack appear directly in-game, and you just need to have an old portal to use those you already have. Practice.
In fact, the surprise is primarily visual. Trap Team had already upped the ante by displaying graphics filled with color and razor-sharp. SuperChargers drives the point home and masters the effects with a certain insolence.
After these clarifications, let's keep in mind that the main novelty this year is the arrival of land, water and air vehicles. There are also 20 of them, they are subject to the same rules as the figurines: their characteristics evolve over the course of the adventure, they can be assigned to elements (Darkness and Light among others) and the data recorded remains specific to each of them. them. As there is always a trick somewhere with Skylanders, each character can be associated with a particular device to boost the stats of the pair, in addition to giving it a more aggressive look. A vicious way to trick fans into getting the full figures and vehicles, though in the end the starter pack - which contains a Magic Portal, Spitfire, Super Shot Stealth Elf and Hot Streak - is enough to torch the game. After all, it all depends on the level of difficulty at which you play. If having several Skylanders can be useless in Beginner, it is however vital when playing in Nightmare. When a hero kneels down, one of his companions can take over so that you don't have to start the chapter again from the beginning. And then, the game is less conciliatory than its predecessors. Opponents are tougher and not all bosses drop their pants. In times like these, having several characters with different profiles allows you to adapt to the enemies: Shark Shooter Terrafin's missiles will be invaluable in certain situations, while it will be better to beat down Kaos' minions with the angry fists of Spitfire in others. Add to all that the much more consistent puzzles, and we get a Skylanders SuperChargers that strikes a perfect balance between exploration phases - the level design has undeniably gained in depth despite the fixed camera - and beat'em all style sequences.
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
Although the driving of the vehicles is arcade, we feel that the developers of Vicarious Visions have made sure that the maneuverability differs according to the machines. Nothing too crazy, but it's a subtlety that deserves to be highlighted. Whether on the ground, on the water or in the air, the priority is to recover as many cogs as possible in order to then increase the sturdiness and power of the mount. By taking one path rather than another, there is also a way to flush out upgrades through which you can modify the handling, weight, maximum speed or acceleration of the device. In short, everything has been done so that these phases break the linearity that the series could not get rid of. Nevertheless, we regret that it is not yet allowed to visit the levels in the order that we wish, whereas the way in which the world of SuperChargers is structured lends itself perfectly to this. Anyway, around Chapter 20, Pandergast comes in to unlock the Diddy Kong Racing style races that sounded like a no-brainer since the game was announced. Since a comparison is necessary with the title of Rare - and Mario Kart if you care -, we do not achieve the same degree of precision in terms of control and the items are puzzling. An hourglass to slow down competitors, winged boots to scrape a boost, a potion to repair damage suffered, a triple shield to protect against enemy attacks; Yeah, we've seen much better, especially since the objects activate as soon as we pick them up. From a tactical point of view, it's not terrible. Even the stock of projectiles regenerates on its own after a few seconds.
Since a comparison is necessary with the title of Rare - and Mario Kart if you care -, we do not achieve the same degree of precision in terms of control and the items are puzzling.
Too bad, because for the rest, the races of Skylanders SuperChargers do the job: shortcuts on each circuit, the possibility of playing online or in split screen, cooperation (one pilot who holds the steering wheel while the other swings the cartridges); Vicarious Visions rather got it right. Ah yes, there are also the "Boss Pursuit!", "Evil Cup" and "Mirror Cup" modes which are there to vary the pleasures. These are not automatically available and require the purchase of an air, land or sea race pack to be accessible. "Boss Chase!" is quite nice and allows you to measure yourself against the golgoths of the single-player campaign, with two ways to defeat them: cross the finish line in the lead or smash their vital bar to pieces. "Coupe Maléfique", for its part, is roughly a sort of mini-championship made up of four races, while "Coupe Miroir" invites you to take the same circuits but in the opposite direction. This desire to leave nothing to chance can be found in the gameplay mechanics which, not to mention genius, make the effort to renew themselves from one world to another. In Land of the Living Dead, you will have to deal with the whims of gravity, while in The Kingdom of Clouds, it is the clouds that you will have to dissipate to see more clearly and avoid the precipices. There is also Captain Cluck's HQ where you can enlarge and shrink objects, as well as La Clairière des taons in which you feel very tiny. In addition, it should be noted that if the phases on board the vehicles are for the most part optional, completing them makes it possible to increase the overall level of the Master of the Portal, knowing that there are 75 in total.
NEED TO UNLOAD?
The interest? Benefit from permanent powers such as a greater number of XP for each enemy killed, more powerful attacks for this or that element, or even a higher gain of gold coins. Speaking of gold coins by the way, they are essential to access new moves via a skill tree. Honestly, we could write a dictionary on all the extras and other bonuses offered by Skylanders SuperChargers; From side quests to Magic Hats, Wish Stones, Emblems, Overloaded Challenges and Skytones, completing the game 100% is a real mission. Finally, we almost forgot to mention the two stars of the game, Bowser and Donkey Kong, who are entitled to a figurine in their likeness to lend a hand to the Skylanders. Since these are Nintendo characters, by rotating their respective statuette, it can act as amiibo on Wii U, 3DS and New 3DS. A crossover that is sure to make you smile, when you know that Shigeru Miyamoto and his collaborators did not believe in the success of the license when the project was presented to them a few years ago. Two billion dollars in revenue later, the awakening seems very late.
