Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
May 8,2007 - It’s been an incredible decade for Pokémon. Nintendo’s franchise came from out of nowhere in the late 90’s to become one of the fastest and best-selling games worldwide. People have believed this phenomenon was only a fad, but be that as it may, the latest games in the flagship Pokémon series, Diamond and Pearl, are selling like hotcakes and have become the fastest-selling Pokémon game in history. But is everyone truly getting their money’s worth?

For those who are somehow still unfamiliar Pokémon, it’s a “lite RPG” that features a turn-based battle system in which your “party” is made of colorful creatures that you catch and train. Diamond and Pearl, known to many as Pokémon DP, begins by introducing one of the famous Pokémon professors, Professor Rowan. He asks for your name and your gender, and he also introduces you to a youth who will soon be your rival—whom you can name by yourself as well. You start off in little Twinleaf Town, a great place to start your journey. That being said, you don’t have a Pokémon of your very own, so the game will require you to explore for a bit. Sooner or later, you and your rival will leave town and be attacked by wild Pokémon. Luckily, there’s a stray bag nearby that features three Pokémon—all of which are terrific for beginners. Among these three are Turtwig, a grass type Pokémon that looks like a baby turtle; Piplup, a water type Pokémon that looks like a penguin; and Chimchar, a fire-based Pokémon that looks like a monkey. Whichever Pokémon you choose is up to you, but it’s also worth noting that your rival will choose the Pokémon which base element is stronger than yours. So if you chose Turtwig, your rival is going to take Chimchar, since fire is super effective against Grass.

Along the way, you’ll come across the diabolical Team Galactic (this generation’s version of Team Rocket and Team Magma/Aqua), whose goal is to take over the world by capturing the legendary Pokémon considered to be the universe’s originators. Of course, being the hero, it’s up to you to thwart their plans by single-handedly eliminating each grunt of Galactic and eventually taking out their boss through your wits and strengths in plenty of heated Pokémon battles.

While the game itself isn’t just about battling, that’s how you’ll spend most of your hours. The main objective is becoming the Pokémon Champion, which is done by beating all of the eight gym leaders around the Sinnoh region and after obtaining those badges, you head to the Pokémon League and defeat the Elite Four. If there has already been someone who has defeated the Elite Four, you have to beat that person as well. Then you become champion, credits roll, and the game… continues.

That’s probably what has given Pokémon nearly endless replay value over the years. A lot of games, especially Nintendo games, really have nothing else for you to do after you “finish” the game. There is so much to do in Pokémon. You can compete in Pokémon Contests, which rate how cute, cool, and tough your Pokémon are. You can train your main party of six up to experience level 100 so you can compete nationally. You can try to be a Pokémon master by obtaining all of the 488 Pokémon there are to get. There’s lots of stuff to do.

But you’re a Pokémon veteran right? All you’re concerned about is the new features. There’s plenty. By now, Pokémon veterans know all too much about the Pokédex—a device that tracks the nature of every creature and the Pokénav, a navigational tool that makes all your item-keeping and tracking a whole lot easier. In addition to these devices, Sinnoh technology has created the PokéWatch, or Pokétch for short. This device has all sorts of features. Its default features include a pedometer, a digital clock, and a screen to check how all your Pokémon are without checking the menu. In addition to these, you can unlock a whole lot more as you progress through the game. Unlockable features include an analog clock, a map, an Item Seeker (pretty much the new version of the Item Finder), a coin flipper, and a slew of others. It really gives you a sense that this truly is a new game, and not just some old Pokémon rehash.

Games, News, Reviews, Media and More