Pokemon Pearl

Pokemon: Pearl Version (ESRB Rated E for Everyone)
Nintendo, 2007

Genre: Role Play Game, Adventure

Honors:

• Nominated for Best RPG, Won Best Handheld Game, G4's G-phoria, 2007
• Nominated for Children's Kids Vote Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2008
• Best online multiplayer, best RPG awards, IGN's Best of 2007 Awards
• Best Hit Award, Game of the Year Award, Famitsu Game Awards, 2006

Review: Short for "pocket monsters," Pokemon: Pearl Version is one of a multitude of different Pokemon releases that enable gamers with different versions to experience separate quests, encounter some unique monsters, and connect their DS handheld consoles together to share tips and pocket monsters. Usually, the only way to collect all of the pokemon in a given generation is to trade with other players via a link. In older generations of the pokemon series, a cable cord had to be connected to two gameboys and both players had to initiate a trade at a location in the game called a Pokemon Center. With the DS it is possible to use wireless technology to connect to another DS; therefore, with Pokemon Pearl one merely needs to be in the vicinity of another player where there is access to a wireless network. There are two goals to complete in any Pokemon version: 1) Become a Pokemon Master Trainer; and 2) collect every Pokemon that is known to exist in the given generation. An additional option in Pokemon Pearl that is appealing for today's avatar-centered youth is the ability to choose between a male and female as the main character, to name a best friend, and to customize the appearance of the pokeballs that store the monsters.

Opinion: I agree with some of the gaming sites' reviews of this release: it feels like more of a rehash of older Pokemon games, without a lot of improvement with the exception of extended battle scenes from having the dual screens and touch screen, plus better graphics than those of the original Pokemon Blue and Red for Gameboy. The music feels flat and disappointing, as the programmers could have taken advantage of a sound system with a lot more capabilities than those of previous generations of the game. Personally, I thought the newer generation of collectible pocket monsters were not as sharp and impressive as those of previous versions. This is a personal assessment, but I feel that it may reduce the overall popularity of the game, making it more acceptable for younger gamers or less seasoned gamers. Older tweens may think it is too babyish. The gameplay is also very slow: it literally took me over an hour to get through the opening sequence of the game and collect my first three pokemon because the battle scenes are slow, there are a lot of messages on the screen that delay action, and there is a lot of opening dialogue--and that is without accepting some of the characters' offers of advice. Even walking around on the game's map is a bit clunky.

Ideas: