Game Review: Pokemon Black / White Version 2

Platform: Nintendo DS / DSi / 3DS / 3DS XL

Price Range: £24.99 -£34.99

Age Rating: 3+

Genre: Adventure

Useful Links: www.pokemon-gl.com

Design:

So the yearly game in the Pokemon franchise hits the shelves today in the shape of Pokemon Black / White Version 2 and it shows early promise to be one of the biggest handheld games of this year, especially as it is the sequel to one of the biggest and most interactive Pokemon games of the past 17 years that they have been in production. As usual it starts out just the same as the other Pokemon games before it, the player choosing a starter Pokemon and being asked to complete a Pokedex by a Pokemon Professor and then setting out on a journey to do so. It wouldn't be Pokemon without the ever present bad guys trying to free, enslave or liberate Pokemon and the notorious and slightly odd Lord N making a return from Pokemon White. The player finds that to progress through the game you have to beat gym leaders throughout certain cities and towns throughout the Unova region in which you live, all this can feel a bit too similar if you have played previous Pokemon games but this familiarity does work well as it gives veteran players a sense of comfort and brand new players a sense of ease to begin the game, rather than just being thrown in at the deep end with no explanation of the Pokemon universe or it's inhabitants. Pokemon White 2 continues it's player interactivity from the previous game by giving players access to exclusive content through the Pokemon-GL website where you can play through the 'Pokemon Dream World' to gain new Pokemon and items once you progress far enough through the game. Nintendo 3DS owners also get a special treat this year with the Pokemon Dream Radar (available on the Nintendo e-Shop)  making use of the system's cameras to collect 'Dream Orbs' and capture Pokemon that can be instantly transferred to your save game.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is just the same as ever with the player starting off by choosing a simple starter Pokemon choosing from either a Fire, Grass or Water type to start them on their adventure. You then progress to collect as many Pokemon as possible through either catching them in the wild or through WiFi trades. New towns and items are frequently stumbled upon and different Pokemon live in different environments and at different types of day meaning that you will have to do some serious exploring and trading to really catch them all. The game plays out in a simple progression process, defeating gym leaders enables you to command Pokemon up to specific levels and use certain abilities, all of this mounts up to your ultimate task of challenging and defeating the 'Elite Four', a combination of trainers who are the best in Unova. The combination of both the Pokemon-GL website and the 'Dream Radar' for 3DS users makes for a fully enjoyable game and makes capturing all the more entertaining. The only downside with the gameplay aspect is that at times you can get a bit lost in particular areas and with the storyline, especially if you haven't played the previous game in the series, character references and story plots do tend to link together and without prior knowledge of the story it can feel as though you are missing out.

Presentation:

The classic presentation of a Pokemon game returns with a touch screen menu on the bottom screen and all the action displayed on the top screen. Areas of Unova look stunning especially towns and cities which have taken the model of previous versions by making buildings solid and more 3D looking. When battling the Pokemon on your team do look rather pixelated however the opponent's Pokemon do not, it's a problem that has been present in the past two games and one that Nintendo has yet to sort out which is a bit of a let down especially when they have made it such a good quality game. You can't help but feel that a little bit more attention to detail wouldn't have done much harm. The music soundtrack brings back the usual catchy themes that work well with situations that arise, for example when coming across a Pokemon or battling an opponent the music changes to give the game a much more dramatic feel. Pokemon games always seem to try and achieve the best possible outcome when they present themselves however as I mentioned earlier the graphics do tend to be overlooked from time to time.

Summary:

Personally I really can't put this game down, I must have played every Pokemon game that has been released so far and for some reason the similarity between them never seems to get old. If you have ever played a Pokemon game before then you will enjoy this one, similarly if you haven't played one before then pick it up and give it a play, if the story starts to put you off then don't give up just try to catch as many Pokemon as you can and defeat as many trainers as possible. As a bit of a hint as a way of saying thanks for reading make sure you check out the 'Mystery Gift' option in the main menu, you may get a pleasant surprise if you connect to the Nintendo WFC, that's all I'll say for now.

Ratings:

Design: 9.4

Gameplay: 8.9

Presentation: 9.0

Overall : 9.1