Pokemon HeartGold/Soul Silver

Pokemon HeartGold/Soul Silver (DS)

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are the 6th series of Pokemon adventures. These are a remake of the original Gold and Silver for GBA, which has been called the best Pokemon games ever created. Gold and Silver brought much more to the very full Pokemon table, adding not only full-color graphics, but also gameplay elements you wouldn't think of living without today, such as the cycling clock and daily events.

Pokemon HG and SS follow the same structure of every Pokemon game. Become a Pokemon trainer and battle up the ranks, beating 8 gym leaders and becoming the champion. You all know the formula, and this time around it's no different, providing many hours of beefy gaming. If you played Diamond and Pearl, you'll see no difference in the graphics here, but compared to the original Gold and Silver, they are a major upgrade from the once boxed houses now to full color vibrant cities. In addition to a greatly-needed graphics update, HG and SS provide remixes of everyone's favorite tunes, and these will be in your head forever, which is a good thing.

So, if this is a remake, what's all new? Well, in addition to the revamped graphics and sound as mentioned above, HG and SS bring everything from previous Pokemon games and blend it together into a big fiesta of Pokemon extravaganza. So, you've got favorites such as the Safari Zone, Battle Frontier, but also new places from later games such as the Pal Park and the Global Terminal, a place solely for Wi-Fi trading, battling, and videos. Also, back from the original are the day-to-day events such as the bug catching contest or random people giving you items on certain days, and these are very welcomed back. Also new to HG and SS is the Pokeathlon, a big dome north of Goldenrod City where you and 3 of your Pokemon participate in stylus-based events. This wasn't possible in previous Pokemon games, and it's a lot of fun.

Of course, I can't end this review without mentioning the Pokewalker, a brand new, HG and SS exclusive device, which lets you transfer a Pokemon over to the Pokewalker, and level them up and play with them in your real life. It also functions as a pedometer, and Pokemon level up by walking. You can also find Pokemon and items, and meet up with other Pokemon on other Pokewalkers. The Pokewalker is not just an excuse to get outside, but it's also a deep, fun way to take Pokemon with you wherever you go.

This is a long quest, spanning two regions, 16 badges, and over 450 Pokemon to collect. If you want to collect 'em all, we're talking a very, very lengthly quest. Also this game has a high replay value thanks to the Wi-Fi functionality and day-by-day events.

Pokemon HG and SS aren't just great remakes to the games everyone grew up with, but they're also a great way to get newer players into the world they may have never experienced. 10/10