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The hugely popular 'Skylanders' figurines will soon work on tablets

The hugely popular 'Skylanders' figurines will soon work on tablets

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Fourth game in the series launches on Android and iOS tablets in October

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Skylanders: Trap Team, the fourth video game in the series that allows players to scan NFC figurines and turn them into playable characters, will be launching on tablet for the first time on October 5th. The new version will come with a Bluetooth controller and a special stand that will allow you and your money-sucking offspring to play with real-world toys in a video game arena. Previous entries in the Skylanders franchise, which has both captured children's hearts and ravaged their parents' wallets since the first game launched in 2011, only saw launch on consoles.

In addition to the controller, Trap Team's Tablet Starter Pack comes with two small plastic toys, and two "traps." The two toys can be placed on the Bluetooth stand to transfer their likeness into the game. Players can also buy — or bug family members to buy for them — more hero characters in figurine form. The game's villains can also be captured by using the bundled traps, and players can switch between good and evil avatars at will.

The Starter Pack comes with a Bluetooth controller and tablet stand

Publisher Activision says the tablet Skylanders was built alongside the console versions, and will be "one of the first AAA experiences of its kind on the platform." To Activision's credit, Trap Team is punctuated by constant flashes of light, color, and sound as imported characters perform their trademark attacks, but the tablet version The Verge has played is impressively smooth. Come launch, it'll be playable on iPad, Kindle Fire HDX, Google Nexus 7, and a set of Samsung Galaxy tablets.

The inclusion of real-world toys and bulky Bluetooth accessories bumps Skylanders: Trap Team above most other tablet games in price: the Starter Pack will be $75 when it launches in North America in early August. Couple that with the game's purchasing model, in which many new heroes are unlocked by buying their physical likenesses, and Skylanders has a more intimidating entry fee than most games. Figurines ranging between $15 for new "Trap Master" toys, $10 for regular Skylanders, and $6 for the traps. But concerned players with an existing collection of Skylander NFC dolls will be pleased to hear that their old toys will work with the new game. See screenshots of Trap Team below.

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