Pokemon Black/ White Review

Pokemon Black/White (DS)

The DS is dead. Face it. With the 3DS less than three weeks away, Pokemon Black/White seem like the system is saying goodbye with one final great game.

Pokemon Black and White are all-new. You won't see any old Pokemon, and this is good, as it allows for more strategizing than just re-using your old teams from past games. You start back at Route 1, and it's all new from there. Surprisingly, B/W actually have a story, and it involves Team Plasma, and they delve into Pokemon morality and if keeping them trapped in Poke Balls is the right thing. It's a really touchy topic, and as you delve deeper into the game, Team Plasma attacks you at every team and makes you re-think yourself. It's a nice new twist for a Pokemon game.

Although the story is new, the gameplay isn't. It's tried and true Pokemon formula. You're still a young Pokemon trainer, hoping to rise the ranks, beat the gym leaders, and eventually become the Pokemon master. It's formulaic, but that's because it works. There are significantly new changes to the gameplay, as well. You actually have friends now, and they show up a lot, and you can challenge them and chat whenever you'd like. The battles are basically the same, except your Pokemon move now! New gameplay features include triple battles and rotation battles, and these all offer new strategies than just the old 1 v 1 battles. The Unova Region is one of the coolest regions in Pokemon yet. The cities feel fresh, and all the locations and things to do are really unique. There are also subtle new changes such as the merging of Pokemon Centers and PokeMarts, making for one easy stop for all your needs.

This brings us to the graphics. The game looks great, and there are some phenomenal sequences aboard bridges that really take full use of the DS's hardware capabilities. That being said, the battles look bad, and the Pokemon are downright ugly. They're so uncreative, and have ridiculous names. I know there's only a certain amount of Pokemon that can be made before you have to resort to this, but, come on, these Pokemon are hideous. The same can't be said about the soundtrack, and it offers catchy Route tunes and new city music reminiscent of Diamond and Pearl's tunes.

The multiplayer this time around has been completely revamped, and instead of having a huge building to do all your global trading/battling needs, you have the C-Gear. The C-Gear goes on the bottom screen and you can do almost every Wi-Fi function with it: trade, battle, look at records, you name it. This makes it much easier than having to go to a Pokemon Center, and you can also now trade Pokemon in your PC, instead of having to leave the room and restock Pokemon to trade.

Pokemon Black/White are a refreshing new take on the same old Pokemon formula. They're great for beginners starting on square one, and they're great for seasoned players looking for a new spin.

Pros:
New Gameplay Elements
A story!!
Fantastic Soundtrack

Cons:
Ugly Pokemon
Passable Graphics

Overall: 9.0/10.0