Pokémon Pearl

I never seem to understand why all these Pokemon games play exactly the same as Pokemon Red and Blue...Well, outside of being an elaborate money making scheme by Game Freak and Nintendo. See, the scheme goes like this - make 2 versions of the exact same game, then make a more complete version the next year or 2, then repeat with every new generation of games. Don't forget to make maps different and alter the poses of all the Pokemon for the next generation of handheld games! God forbid they try something...different...What is different? But honestly, why is it that Diamond, Pearl and Platinum play exactly the same way that Red and Blue do? The formula worked at its full potential in Crystal; why must there be more of the same 7 years later? There is nothing more to add to the system, maybe aside from a few useless gameplay elements like contests and poffins...you know, like people actually give a rat's ass! The core gameplay is essentially the same, and the additions are half-assed...

THE GOOD:
-Good Graphics for a DS
-Tons of New Pokemon
-Over 470 Pokemon now
-Wi-fi Battling and Trading
-Many in game events such as Pokemon Contests, Cooking Poffins, etc.
-New Evolutions of some Pokemon
-PokeNav (an Updated Pokedex with all your tools and gadgets
-Good Music
-Touch Screen Controls are well done
-Great Replay Value
-Chat via Wi-fi
-Deep Strategy for more intense players
-Hours of entertainment
-Migrate Pokemon from your Older Games
-Underground World (Complete with Secret Bases and Silly Items)
-Day and Night has returned

THE BAD:
-For Serious Players looking to train EV's and such, it becomes a little tedious. But of course you know this already.
-Once you migrate your Pokemon from previous games, they are stuck there.
-The Story isn't really different from the rest of the series. There's bad guys, you stop them, the world is saved,...

THE GOOD:
Graphics, Pretty good mini-games, more than a whopping 470 Pokemon to catch, and simply, BATTLING!

THE BAD:
Repititive Sequences ex. battle attacks etc. We all know what to do, so let's skip all the text and get on with it! Takes a lot of heart to actully learn how to use a certain pokemon. Not a lot of customization options.

SUMMARY:
Yes, it's pokemon alright. Its the same as the others. Catch pokemon, get a much larger collection, then show them off. Whats new about this is it has wi-fi collection so you can oblitherate another person's team so you can show off your skills! If you have pokemon battle revolution for wii, you can trade the pokemon from this game to it! It is worth the $30.00 or $40.00 you bought it for.

Graphics/Presentation - 4.1/5.0 - Its a DS game, so you expect the graphics to be cartoony bit-sized nuggets, but when you start playing, you'll realize that the graphics are breathtaking, looking at the...

THE GOOD:
+ Great 2D-3D visuals
+ More than 100 cool new Pokémon
+ Good soundtrack
+ A lot of replay value
+ Wi-Fi!
+ Nice touch screen controls...

THE BAD:
- ...however the touch screen isn't used enough
- Too easy
- Ninty have to change the Pokémon storyline a bit

SUMMARY:
Finally, a PROPER Pokémon game on the DS. After all the first DS Pokégames, this is the real deal. So can Pokémon Pearl earn the Poképrize of being just as good as the previous GB and GBA installments? Lets take a look...

GRAPHICS

Pearl Version has a clever crossover of 2D and 3D visuals.

Pokémon Pearl, thanks to the DS graphics system, produces a lovley 3D cartoony style of graphics. These visuals are a major improvement of the previous flat versions (no offense to them) and everything looks spot...

THE GOOD:
Great graphics for a DS game
Plenty of replay value
The only Pokemon game to feature over 400 Pokemon that can be captured.
Wi-Fi is now available so that you can chat, trade, and battle with other trainers from around the world

THE BAD:
The game isn't that difficult to finish, which can be a letdown in some cases.

SUMMARY:
As the next new installment in the Pokemon series, Pokemon Pearl introduces all the classic aspects of all the previous games, as well as entirely new ones. This time around, you explore the Sinnoh region, which is home to a variety of Pokemon that are only native to this particular region. And speaking of Pokemon, there are 100+ new Pokemon that are waiting to be captured so that they can be studied to learn more about the mysteries that surround them.

Like in the previous series, you can choose the gender (it doesn't matter which one you choose, the storyline will be...

The entire world is on your shoulders. Using creatures with Mystical like Powers, you must befriend and defeat the syndicate calling themselves Team Galactic. You begin by your rival telling you that your going to go look for a Red Gyarados at your local lake. You then meet Professor Rowan, although you didn't yet know that. Him and his helper, Dawn or Lucas will accidentally forget their breifcase. This case holds the three Pokemon, the Water Type Piplup, who is a small Penguin, the short Fire Monkey Chimchar, or the Grass Turtle Turtwig.The Pokemon you choose will accompany you through your adventures in the present and the days to come.

Team Galactic has plans to destroy the world, and craft a new one. They intend to use a Red Chain made from the Mystical Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, and then use it to take command of the deity, Palkia. He and Dialga crafted the Sinnoh region. Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic intends to use Palkia to his own benefit, and craft a new...

THE GOOD:
- The graphics
- Wifi battling and trading
- Night and day is back
- A large map
- A slightly longer story line
- Many new Legends
- The new style of contests
- Use of 2 screens (Because it is the first pokemon game of its kind on Nintendo DS)
- Many pokemon before and after you beat the elite four to catch.
- The Underground
- Migrating pokemon from old games
-Many small extra features

THE BAD:
- Lack of new pokemon
- Slower saving
- Since it is now on Nintendo DS, it cannot battle or trade with any other games besides diamond. (And Pokemon Ranger to get Manaphy)

SUMMARY:
Pokemon has been one of the most popular games on hand held consoles for years. Pokemon Peal is the newest edition to this collection of games, and is the first of its kind to be on Nintendo DS. This change has been very successful, and sales skyrocketed days after the game was released in the US.