System: Nintendo DS/DSi
Publisher: Nintendo
Category: Adventure
Available Now

  “Gotta catch’em all” was the slogan that started the series. Released in 1996, by Nintendo, the Pocket Monster series, better known as Pokémon, was made available for the original Game Boy system. 14 years and four generations of Pokemons later, Nintendo brought out the fifth and the newest generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. These two games are remakes of the original Pokemon Gold and Silver released in 1999. Released on the Nintendo DS, these two games offered a lot more then the original games ever did.

  Like most of the Pokemon games, the story is simple. A boy or girl decides to go on a journey with his or her brand new Pokémon to defeat all the gym leaders and conquer the Pokémon League; also, stopping the bad guys on the way. This game, much like the original, has the semi-disbanded Team Rocket, the bad guys, trying to resurrect their former glory. Also, it features all 16 gym leaders from the two regions, Johto and Kanto, like the original Pokémon Gold and Silver Version. This game sill features Red; the original character player gets to play as in Pokemon Yellow. The members of the Pokémon League did not change and the sequence of events in the game did not change, but that’s where the similarity with the original ends.

  The new games features updated graphics, thanks to the capability of the DS. The game functions much like the Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum that was also released on the Nintendo DS: the battle system, display, and control; however, unlike in the previous games, where the menu control still relies on the 8 buttons of the DS, the menu has now been completely integrated onto the touch screen and everything is but a press away. With this kind of integration it is extremely easy to play through the game with just the touch screen without ever having to press any button but the directional pad. The greatest part is the fact that for the people who prefers to use the button control compared to the touch screen, everything is still accessible with a few button press, it would just be a bit more work to get around the system.

  One of the great features of this game is the addition of all post game possibilities. This game contains every single legendary Pokemons from the GB/GBA games that could have been obtained without the need of event. Also, all the starters from Kanto and Honen regions can be obtained through the story, however every person can choose one, and the rest will have to be obtained through trading with friends. Battle Frontiers, originally introduced in the Emerald game, is also available in this game. The Battle Frontiers are a series of 5 different challenges the player can take on. Otherwise, the greatest replay value to this game is the sheer amount of Pokemon available to be obtained through the game. All 493 Pokemons will become available to be obtained once the player defeats the Elite Fours the first time around, and obtains the National Pokedex.

  As compared to the original game, most trainers the player will battle in the game are relatively stronger. Between the first time the player challenges the Elite Four, and when the player finish collecting all 16 badges and challenges them again, they will grow a few level stronger with the introduction of a new 6th Pokemon to their team, which was never done before. Most gym leaders now has a stronger team, updated skill set, and some even have new Pokemons replacing the original ones they had.

  The Pokewalker accessory is a very interesting addition to this game. Much like the original Pokemon Pikachu pedometer, the Pokewalker bundled with the game is a step counter where the player can transfer any Pokemon into it and take it with them. As the step count goes up, the walker will gain Watts, 1 watt per 10 steps, and the watts are used to activate the radar, which allows player to search for wild Pokemon, battle it, and catch it right on the walker. Players can only obtain random items through the walker, and when the walker links up with the game again, the player will gain all the items and Pokemon obtained on this stroll. There are multiple areas where the Pokemon can take a stroll at in the pokewalker, and as more watts are obtained, more will become available. The last great thing about the Pokewalker is that after a certain amount of steps, the pokemon that is being carried in the walker will level up by 1 level when it is transferred back into the main game.

  This is a great game for fans of the series, it combined everything there is to love about all of the Pokemon games, and combine it all into one single game. Also, with the addition of the Pokewalker, there are a lot of things to do even after the main game is over.

**Written by Benson Chen