I have almost every pokemon game that has come out for the nintendo handheld consoles, from the orginal gameboy all the way to the ds lite. I have never been dissatisfied with a pokemon game except for maybe the cyrstal version for the gameboy color. i was not planing on buying this game, but i got it as a gift from my cousin, and i am so glad she gave it to me.
The newest generation of pokemon games are called Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Now i think there are also about 500 pokemon in the game, and i thought catching 250 in silver was hard...sheesh. Anyway, this game blew away my expectations with new features and the same old things we love about pokemon games.
Story 9/10
The story has been the same since the original Red and Green. You start out in a small town and must travel all over the new Sinnoh region to become the champion. There are really no differences except the story revolves pokemon Dialga and Palkia and the legendary Psychic trio. In this game you will start with one starter, face gym leaders, defeat an evil team, level up pokemon, go on sidequests, and beat the Elite Four, you know the basics in any pokemon game.
Gameplay 10/10
There are 493 monsters to catch in all, although you will need the Pearl version to catch em all, you can catch about 420 in this game alone. Like very other pokemon game there are eight badges to obtain, i found gym leaders in this game the hardest out of all the pokemon games, which was a pleasant surprise. In the beginning of the game, you receive one of three starters Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup. As you start you get to battle a world of trainers, while along the way growing your pokemon into ferocious marshmallows.
If you are looking for a new pokemon experience this game is not for you since they use the same gameplay formula for every game, and diamond is no different. A couple new features spice up the game, however. The new Poketch is a new feature that takes full advantage of the double screens. You get different add-ons to it that display certain things. It displays stuff like town maps and a screen to see how your party is doing. Also there is a counter, a coin flip mechanism, a note pad and etc, some small quirks that are pretty cool.
A pleasant change is the battling system, its still reminiscent of traditional turn by turn battling system. however in Diamond you now have more options as you direct what the pokemon should do using your stylus. You can still attack, use an item, and run away but its cooler picking the option on the bottom screen with your stylus. It brings a sense of realism lost in other pokemon titles.
Other similarities with the other as is that you again have a rival with a background. This time you rival is actually a friend and not really a "rival" in the sense of the word. He is always one step ahead of you and might rub it in from time to time, but all in all hes pretty cool, the rival pretty much reminds me of may from the ruby/sapphire series and gary from the blue/red series. Also like the other games there is a casino, but now there are more games which i guess is cool, i rarely go there. Also like other games there are side quests like help some kid dig for stuff underground and other stuff like that. The side quests in pokemon are usually used to get special items, raise your pokemon further and such.
Graphics 8/10
Nintendo killed the idea of 2D graphics and made the game in 3D graphics. The game now looks more detailed and realistic than ever before. Everything is 3D in the game, except for the pokemon, whom are still sprites. But the ways the trees, flowers, buildings, people, etc look in 3D will easily make up for it. Also even though pokemon are still sprites they still look very detailed when battling. They probably look the best and most detailed in this game. I also like how pokemon move more during battles, which was something missing from the earlier games. I only wish however the whole game was in 3d and not just most of it, oh well...
Music 9/10
In my opinion, this game has the best music of all the games. There are so many awesome battle themes. The route themes are great and give the experience of going to a new area. I love the new battle music and the new music that you hear wen entering a city or when you are on a new road. Honestly this is the first pokemon game i played with the sound on because of how pleasant the game sounds. Also the pokemon sound the best and most clear in this game, even though a couple of pokemon do have similar and nearly identical battle cries.
DS Features 8/10
The touch screen make battles more fun, you can simply tap the options on the touch screen. The onscreen buttons are pretty large also, so you wont get blind reading small text. The Poketch (pokemon watch) sits on the bottom screen once you get to a certain point in the game. The watch has clock, timer, your party status, notepad, and etc, like i alluded to before. You also use the touch screen for a few more things like for digging for items.
WIFI/Multiplayer Mode 10/10
Wi-Fi allows you to connect over the Internet with anyone else with a copy of either Diamond or Pearl. You're required to have a friend code to battle. To trade there is a station in which you can trade with anyone with the game. Now you can also link up with others whom are near to you without link cables with the power of wifi. This is so much easier than hassling with those retarded cables that did not work half the time. It is actually a pretty cool feature, and you will use it, i guarantee it.
Replay Vale 10/10
Like all other pokemon games you will play this games for hours. I have played for about 52 hours, which is diminutive compared to others who play for thousands of hours. There is so much you can do like catching all 493 pokemon, raising them to level 100, battling and trading with friends, beating the battle tower, beating trainers in the game over and over, and etc. If you lie pokemon you will find yourself playing this game for atleast 100 hours. Pokemon, to me, always had the highest replay value of any the game.
Related Reviews:
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness for GameCube
http://www.epinions.com/content_410601688708
Pokemon Emerald for Game Boy Advance
http://www.epinions.com/content_342138850948
Overall i think this is a must buy. I don't recommend renting since the rental time will probably not give you enough time to finish the game. The game is only 30 dollars so i expect that everyone with a ds gets this game, it is one of the best pokemon games to date period.
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