GameFreak steps a beloved franchise up a notch
I arguably grew up on Pokemon. It was the first RPG i beat, since final fantasy has always been a little complex for me. I have played every version, despite being 19 now, and i can say that i caught a missing no. so needless to say i am a regretful fan. so i have been honestly asking for a more 3D version of the game for a while now, and the past iterations just have not delivered. Pokemon White changes everything. This is the next generation of pokemon, even before the 3DS.
The story is nothing new, you face a new team of baddies (plazma) and try to get all of your gym badges while trying to catch them all. The new mechanics come through everywere else though. The battle system animates characters as you wait for the opponents next move, from the pokemon messing with things in their hands to them wincing when hurt. it really does add a new dimension to your pokemon, and makes battling that much more involved and fun. Battling can also involve up to 3 pokemon now, and you can also run into two pokemon in the wild, adding new dimensions to random encounters.
Running around the world could be one of the best things about the game. the camera moves down when you enter buildings, giving it more of a 3D perspective, and can get so much that it seems like you are controlling your character as in a 3rd person game. weather effect such as snow and sand also are animated better, flying across the screen as you walk through your enviroments. The season also effects the look of the enviroment, changing from fall to winter to spring to summer dynamically.
I do, however, have some complaints. The starting pokemon are no question lame. the grass is just a lizard, the fire is a pig, and the water is just unidentifiable. No REAL attack animation of the pokemon actually doing the move, which is wanted at least for me.
Overall i would suggest the import, seeing if you know enough kana to get through it (there is a kana only mode which is nice for me). a must buy for RPG and pokemon fans alike