Pokemon Black and White Review

Pokemon Black

I remember the year 1998. I was young and naive, combing through my local Toys R Us store, contemplating what I was going to experience if I found the awesome new game I had heard all about. The original Pokemon Blue version, which totally blew me away. So much so that I, even now to this day still like to insert the old and dusty cartridge into my ancient Gameboy Pocket. The feeling I got when I played the night away catching monsters of all sorts was rivalled by any other game. Pokemon had me hooked like a Magikarp on land, I couldn't leave. Fast track to the present day and the Pokemon series has enjoyed a healthy growth, spawning 4 more generations of games and entertaining millions the world over. While past iterations were always good, they never captured the spark that the originals had. That is, until the latest instalment, Pokemon Black and White on the Nintendo DS.

The template for a Pokemon game is simple, you are a teenager whom sets out on an adventure into the wilderness to pit your monsters against others, proving your mettle by earning Pokemon League badges at gyms. Along the way an organisation is disrupted in their evil ways by your journey, fortunately you are the hero of the day in these games. While generic, it works. The fifth generation, however, actually has a story, while not true RPG quality it is a step forward. I won't give any spoilers, but I will say that there are darker, more mature themes involved than in previous games. Any Pokemon trainer will gladly admit though, that story is not where the addiction lies.

The game play itself is an upgrade on Diamond, Pearl and Emerald, with new additions to the battle mechanics, such as new moves and abilities which allow for a wider range in strategies. In truth, the series is built on “if it aint broke, don't fix it”. This is painfully clear, with the controls being copied and pasted throughout the series, but it works. It allows veterans to jump right back in yet it's a simple layout for all newcomers.

The visuals remind me of stepping into that sand dune on a hot summers day overlooking the ocean. I can see where they are headed but they aren't quite there yet and right now they are suffering for it, much like my red raw feet that day. While it is nice to see the attempts at bringing the series into a true 3d environment, unless pre-rendered, it creates scenes in which you can't help but notice each singular pixel. A great example of this is the revamped battle sequences, while the camera is moving much like an action film, zooming in and out with each attack, it causes the Pokemon or the attacks to become a blur of pixels. Instead of the clear avatars of each Pokemon that has become a staple of the series, we are given what sometimes looks amazing, and other times looks like a heap of watermarked garbage. The backgrounds in the over world, however are something to behold, from the 3d sky scrapers of Hiun City to the unpredictable rain drenched lands of Route 7, the environment is colourful and full of life.

The vibrant sounds of a Pokemon game always delivers, engrossing the player into the universe, Black and White being no exception. From the frenetic chorus of battle through to the peaceful town ambience the music captures each situation. Never mind the fact that there's over five hundred different Pokemon cries heard throughout the game. There isn't much I can say to fault the music, however, some may take the sudden change of music with a grain of salt once your Pokemon's health becomes critical. It is a feature I really enjoyed though as it created a sense of urgency through the fights.

The main draw card of the series over the years has been the implementation and improvement of connectivity and multi player aspects. While the ability to communicate over Wi-Fi was introduced in the previous set of games, it was limited to scrolling through forum after forum for a persons friend code unless you knew them in real life. Gamefreak have found the solution for all the lonely souls who are technically too old for Pokemon. With the introduction of random battling, something which fans believe should have been in Diamond and Pearl anyway the casual gamer is now able to sign onto Wi-Fi and easily start a battle. The Global Trade System returns, but is still plagued by people asking for impossible trades (level 9 Dialga???). There is also a new feature called “Dream World” where you place one of your Pokemon “to sleep” and play various mini-games for special abilities, items and even sometimes new Pokemon.

Gamefreak pretty much pioneered this sub-genre in RPG gaming and have, as a result, become fluent in the creation of their games. There aren't many qualms I have, or at least none that ruin the overall experience. The multi player aspect has been taken to a new level as has the graphical aspect of the games. If I was to point out a certain aspect which does need work on it would be the pixelated game play through the battles. Being such a minor problem in such a beautifully polished game though, we can let it slide.

What Gamefreak have done superb with the fifth generation of Pokemon games is add just enough nuances to recapture the original feel of the games. I enjoyed my journey through earning my badges, and I plan to do even more adventuring as I discover what might be awaiting for me. For a Pokemon fan I strongly recommend that you give this game a chance.

Rating

Story: 7

Game Play: 9
Visuals:8

Audio:10

Multi Player: 8

Overall: 8

Let's Play The Final Fantasy Series

Yes, you have read right. In some terrible flash of brilliant insanity I have decided to do a Let's Play of the whole Final Fantasy series.

Of course this would only include the main console series games (I-XIII), but nevertheless it is still a mighty task which i would like to attempt.

I will only be playing through the narratives of each game, so no end game stuff as of yet, an I will be playing the Playstation versions.

Another noted mention which may inform you of my intentions, I have only ever completed Final Fantasy X.

Meaning I will be playing mostly blind, this may or may not cause utter outrage from whoever views my epic exploits of epicness, but regardless I will endeavour to finish.

The videos will most likely be posted on my youtube account, which I will link you to.

Golden Sun Retrospect Review

Golden Sun Retrospect Review

By Tokidok

Golden Sun Dark Dawn was released on November 29^th 2010 to avid excitement and exaggerated expectations from fans the world over. With this in mind I decided to push father time back into his wheel chair and re-enter the realm where Camelot's elemental experience began. This being the original Golden Sun, released in 2001 for the Gameboy Advance.

Conforming with the formula of most console Role-Playing Games, you take on the persona of silent protagonist Isaac, a boy who gets thrust into the thick of a plot to unleash alchemy on the world and in turn destroy it, which he must stop. Along the way he teams up with Garet, Ivan and Mia, each with their own history and reasons for joining the quest. While on the surface Golden Sun screams cliché like my next line, it's the journey, not the destination, which is what truly engrosses the player and urges them to move the storyline forward. Fraught with danger, suspense and excitement I would rate Golden Suns narrative among the best of the hand-held, if not, the collective Role-Playing genre.

The best story in the world, however, would not make up for horrid game. Fortunately Golden Sun delivers in spades a simple, yet engrossing battle and upgrades system. Each of the characters is aligned with one of the four elements of the alchemic world. These elements being earth, fire, wind and water. These alignments are where they derive their magic or abilities from, this is to be called psynergy. While Camelot have, like most any RPG's, inserted the tried and true level-up system, they also have a peculiar addition, the Djinn.

Djinn are monsters that join our heroes throughout their quest. They are found all over the Golden Sun world, each of whom are, like the 4 main characters, fused with one of the four elements. The characters use these Djinn to power themselves (stat’s and new psynergies) up in the element of which the Djinn are derived. The long standing staples of an RPG are still present in terms of customisation of weapons, armour and accessories. It sounds much more complicated than it really is, with Camelot providing easy to follow tutorials for the simple play-through, but also allowing the strategic minded player to explore the many options which are presented

To compare the visuals of Golden Sun to any other hand-held at the time of release would be like comparing your plain old household pet to my shimmering unicorn, it's so far-fetched that you would be quickly put back in your place quicker than my pay cheque at my local bar. Camelot had really outdone themselves with 2d beauty which has, even now, rarely been matched in terms of battle effects. Towns and dungeons are both very high quality in terms of artwork, ranging from the shy little town of Vale to the town of tree's, Kolima.. While the outer world may leave some players wanting, the sheer scope of the map is enough to amaze.

The music in this game was a real shining light throughout the whole play-through, with the narrative and the music being used in tandem to engross the player. Motoi Sakuraba has created music which could be the staple of a series, much like Final Fantasy's orchestral tunes, slightly different, yet oh so similarly effective. A nice addition to the dialogue was the input of sound which can only be described as “simlish”. That being, higher or lower pitched mumbles which add intonation for whom is talking at that point. The audio throughout Golden Sun adds, and in most ways, creates the feeling of an epic, engrossing adventure that is not to be missed.

Camelot have even appealed to the competitive nature of those who choose to play Golden Sun. the multiplayer option allows two players to link up, with the use of a Gameboy Advance link cable, and pit one team of heroes against the other. This feature is absent in many RPG's and it adds a certain personal aspectfor the player and their own game.

Golden Sun is not overly long, and is not drastically short. Being roughly around 30 hours per playthrough it is long enough to hold the players attention but not too long as to drag on, in fact coming to the end of my play-through I began to wish it hadn’t. I was left wanting more, so much in fact that I found it hard not to restart a new game just to find what I had missed out on my first time through.

Like all games, while not many, there are some downsides which could be expanded on. The after game events, which are prevalent in many RPG's are bare. Very bare, in fact there is one dungeon of puzzles and a super boss. There are also the slow frame rates and pixelated images which plague the battle scenes when a lot of graphics are being used at once, although minor it is a detraction from the spectacle you are being treated to. These would be my only detraction from an otherwise great game which has pushed the boundaries of what is possible with the hardware at the time.

To be honest Golden Sun still holds up very strongly against many of the hand-held RPG's in today's “advanced” gaming generation. In retrospect, Camelot made a game which was ahead of it's time in terms of development quality and overall playability for a hand-held. In my humble opinion I believe this is a must have for any RPG lover who is looking for a new universe to dive into.

Scores

Story:8

Gameplay: 8

Visuals:8
Audio:9

Multiplayer:7

Overall: 8/10

Golden Sun is a must have for an RPG hand-held fanatic and a fine pick-up for the casual gamer.

First Post

Hey Peepettes and Peepers I've decided to advance my limited writing skills by creating a blog in which I can write reviews and such and you can mock and mame me for it :).