Mini-Review: Pokemon Diamond(Nintendo DS)

Genre: Roleplaying/Collection
Rating: Everyone - cute and cuddly animals, cartoon menace

Pokemon Diamond was released along side Pokemon Pearl and the only real difference between the two versions is that one has a different legendary Pokemon than the other. I chose Diamond simply because I liked the look of Dialga the Pokemon on the cover of the game.

Another Pokemon game another handheld. The formula is simple; capture the animals of the game world known as Pokemon, train them, and battle them to become the champion Pokemon trainer of the land. Pokemon has always been the perfect introductory RPG style game. Capture a cast of characters that suit your needs, train them in battles to teach them new moves, and grow them to new forms. While the mechanics are simple the game is fairly long and with more than 150 Pokemon to capture throughout the game there are multiple ways to play. With the advent of a new handheld, the DS, Pokemon has moved into the wireless age. Battling other real people over the Internet adds an edge to this new Pokemon incarnation.

After completing the game it is possible to acquire every single Pokemon that has ever existed. This adds another layer of play to the game through trades and is a nice bonus for those who have played and completed previous Pokemon adventures.

Not much has changed with these new Pokemon games. They are basically the same games you’ve played numerous times before except for the fact that there are new areas to search and Pokemon to acquire. If you’ve never played a Pokemon game before then this is the perfect time.

Graphics - 8…artistic, new flair of 3D is welcome, not much of an update from previous games and really doesn’t push the DS at all

Sound - 8…nice tunes to hum along to, sound effects are dragged in from other Pokemon games with no update

Gameplay - 8…basic RPG style gameplay that is very familiar and not distinctive from past Pokemon games, huge roster of Pokemon and moves will keep you playing, wireless multiplayer modes can be exceptionally fun

Value - 8…30 hours of play for the main game and then a near unlimited number of hours collecting the over 480 Pokemon

Overall - 8…another engaging and most importantly fun Pokemon game, just don’t expect anything new gameplay wise