and as of earlier this week:
Having gone to all the trouble of building myself a DS I'm going to take full advantage of any pokemon games it has to offer. I'm now about 14 hours into my pokemon adventure. I'm taking my time, visiting every house, making sure my team is up to scratch. It ain't easy being a pokemon trainer. The value of pokemon lies within the potential for exploration, using HM's to negate the environment efficiently, hunting out trainers, scattered pokeballs, gym leaders. There's so much to DO, and the fluency in which each event takes place is an exemplary lesson in videogame design, directing the player without ordering or imposing any direct pressure to comply.
The Beef
Part of the reason I seem to be enjoying pokemon Platinum so much is it's very much a return to the basics. Every pokemon games is similar in terms of structure, but Platinum seems like the closest you can get to playing pokemon Red without actually doing so. Every element of the essential pokemon adventure is present. There's your rival, who always picks the pokemon with a Type advantage over your own. There's the Professor Oak type mentor who hands you your pokedex and sends you on your way. There's a mysterious criminal organisation stealing pokemon and trying to capture the most powerful pokemon in the world. There's the haunted tower, the game corner, the bike, the fishing rods (OLD, GOOD, SUPER), the day care center - it all counts, it all contributes to creating a game that is very much a Pokemon adventure. Every time I discover something new I get a burst of nostalgia and gratitude towards the designers. It's a pokemon game for trainers old and new.
One great joy is actually the aesthetic of the game, which works tremendously well. The edges of the screen very gently tilt away away from the center so the plane on which you walk is a very soft sphere, similar to Animal Crossing but not nearly as dramatic. The buildings have received a stunning visual upgrade, and it's actually very impressive walking beneath windmills and towering skyscrapers. The touchscreen isn't particularly useful. It feels a little gimmicky, its sort of like a watch with a load of low-poly apps on it like a calculator. I tend to just put it on the Pokemon Status screen so I can see their health. Meh, I'm sure it has it's uses. In battle you can use it to pick attacks and actions, but I couldnt be fucked to keep getting out the stylus so I just used the buttons. Check out this crazy japanese trailer:
The game plays like every other pokemon game you have played. It's not especially inspired or new, but it does feel fresh. It's a comfortingly familiar romp through a new world. Creating a team which is both strong and unique to the player is great fun. It's very satisfying if you have a specific pokemon you want and you finally capture it. But for me the great strength of Pokemon is it's universal appeal and how easily it is to lapse into intense discussion with Pokemon peers. I know Thordain revels in the oppurtunity to tell people about his Nidoqueen (it learnt SURF apparently...) and the general consensus in the IRC is that Squirtle is the best starting Pokemon. Ever.
The online chunk of Platinum remains unavailable to me at the moment, i'm having some problems with my router. They should be sorted next week when I return to Uni. ZeroCast informs me that it's awesome. I will write an update when I get the chance.
I guess all that remains is to let you know that my team currently consists of:
- Monferno
- Golbat
- Eevee (it's going to be a Vaporeon)
- Scyther
- Luxio
- Likitung
Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep
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