Similar to Colosseum, but little improvements help it out
Positive:
+ a more user-friendly experience than Colosseum
+ Shadow Pokemon concept is much improved in every area
+ familiar faces and places are cool to revisit
+ great music that's catchy and isn't very repetitive
Negative:
- catching wild Pokemon could have been better
- main character feels like a lifeless animation
Pokemon Colosseum didn't exactly get awesome reviews, but I sure enjoyed it. To have a sequel come along a year and a half later was great, and while Gale of Darkness doesn't exactly improve upon the fundamentals of Pokemon, it offers a more user-friendly experience than its predecessor and improves upon the Shadow Pokemon concept nicely.
XD has a good story, but it's not quite as engaging as Colosseum's. It's a bit on the lighter side, but it still has some pretty evil people out to take over the world. You play as a boy named Michael who ends up being a part of a much bigger scheme after simply trying to restore Shadow Pokemon and rescuing an important professor. Like Wes from Colosseum, Michael is a mute and says absolutely nothing throughout the entire game, which is disappointing as it could add a lot to the story. He feels like a lifeless animation because of this, which is pretty sad. The game's quest will take you to many places from the previous game and also to some new ones, and seeing people from the previous story (which took place 5 years prior) is really neat.
Thankfully Gale of Darkness has more than just a decent story and sentimental value; the fundamental Pokemon gameplay is still exactly the same as before, but the Shadow Pokemon concept has been improved nicely. First off, there are several shadow moves. Now you not only have Shadow Rush, but also Shadow Blitz, Shadow Wave, and several others that have various effects. The purification process is also much faster thanks in part to the lower level of the Pokemon you catch, but mostly this is attributed to the purification chamber, which you simply put a Shadow Pokemon into with some other normal Pokemon to bring the shadow meter down. This is a much more efficient way of purifying, and makes the whole thing a lot less annoying. Add almost 100 Shadow Pokemon to the mix and you have a pretty hefty amount of purification to be doing, about twice as much as Colosseum.
Aside from the improvement of the Shadow Pokemon concept, XD has other ways of being a more user-friendly experience than its predecessor. For one, Michael runs a bit faster than Wes did. There is also no other character following you around all the time, and then someone occasionally does, they feel a lot more intelligent than the girl from Colosseum. Being able to save in the middle of a Mt. Battle challenge is a welcome convenience too. Other little things such as battle animations not taking as long and the character running into elevators rather than walking makes Gale of Darkness much less annoying than the previous game.
The graphics of XD seem to be just slightly improved from Colosseum, but not by much. They seem a bit smoother and maybe a bit brighter, but if there is any change at all in terms of quality it's barely noticeable. The battles still feel too linear and unvaried in the animations, but the animations waste much less of your time in this game. One thing that's really good about the visuals is that many of the attack animations are new, namely those of the psychic type, and they do look nicer than before. Overall XD's graphics and animations may be a bit better than its predecessor's, but it's not a change that's too noticeable.
One other thing I do like about Gale of Darkness is the music. It's better than Colosseum's in my opinion, the tracks are much more enjoyable to listen to and they don't get repetitive as quickly. They're fun tunes and sometimes they're pretty epic as well. The sound effects are pretty similar to Colosseum, unlike the music, but the effects work well and fit what they represent.
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is a great game. It presents itself in a more user-friendly manner and offers a lot of Shadow Pokemon to catch and purify in a much more convenient way and offers a great new Pokemon 3-D adventure. Fans of Colosseum should enjoy the game, and if not then oh well, at least I had a good time with it.
Gameplay: 8.0
Graphics: 8.0
Sound: 8.5
Value: 8.5
FINAL SCORE: 8.4/10
+ a more user-friendly experience than Colosseum
+ Shadow Pokemon concept is much improved in every area
+ familiar faces and places are cool to revisit
+ great music that's catchy and isn't very repetitive
Negative:
- catching wild Pokemon could have been better
- main character feels like a lifeless animation
Pokemon Colosseum didn't exactly get awesome reviews, but I sure enjoyed it. To have a sequel come along a year and a half later was great, and while Gale of Darkness doesn't exactly improve upon the fundamentals of Pokemon, it offers a more user-friendly experience than its predecessor and improves upon the Shadow Pokemon concept nicely.
XD has a good story, but it's not quite as engaging as Colosseum's. It's a bit on the lighter side, but it still has some pretty evil people out to take over the world. You play as a boy named Michael who ends up being a part of a much bigger scheme after simply trying to restore Shadow Pokemon and rescuing an important professor. Like Wes from Colosseum, Michael is a mute and says absolutely nothing throughout the entire game, which is disappointing as it could add a lot to the story. He feels like a lifeless animation because of this, which is pretty sad. The game's quest will take you to many places from the previous game and also to some new ones, and seeing people from the previous story (which took place 5 years prior) is really neat.
Thankfully Gale of Darkness has more than just a decent story and sentimental value; the fundamental Pokemon gameplay is still exactly the same as before, but the Shadow Pokemon concept has been improved nicely. First off, there are several shadow moves. Now you not only have Shadow Rush, but also Shadow Blitz, Shadow Wave, and several others that have various effects. The purification process is also much faster thanks in part to the lower level of the Pokemon you catch, but mostly this is attributed to the purification chamber, which you simply put a Shadow Pokemon into with some other normal Pokemon to bring the shadow meter down. This is a much more efficient way of purifying, and makes the whole thing a lot less annoying. Add almost 100 Shadow Pokemon to the mix and you have a pretty hefty amount of purification to be doing, about twice as much as Colosseum.
Aside from the improvement of the Shadow Pokemon concept, XD has other ways of being a more user-friendly experience than its predecessor. For one, Michael runs a bit faster than Wes did. There is also no other character following you around all the time, and then someone occasionally does, they feel a lot more intelligent than the girl from Colosseum. Being able to save in the middle of a Mt. Battle challenge is a welcome convenience too. Other little things such as battle animations not taking as long and the character running into elevators rather than walking makes Gale of Darkness much less annoying than the previous game.
The graphics of XD seem to be just slightly improved from Colosseum, but not by much. They seem a bit smoother and maybe a bit brighter, but if there is any change at all in terms of quality it's barely noticeable. The battles still feel too linear and unvaried in the animations, but the animations waste much less of your time in this game. One thing that's really good about the visuals is that many of the attack animations are new, namely those of the psychic type, and they do look nicer than before. Overall XD's graphics and animations may be a bit better than its predecessor's, but it's not a change that's too noticeable.
One other thing I do like about Gale of Darkness is the music. It's better than Colosseum's in my opinion, the tracks are much more enjoyable to listen to and they don't get repetitive as quickly. They're fun tunes and sometimes they're pretty epic as well. The sound effects are pretty similar to Colosseum, unlike the music, but the effects work well and fit what they represent.
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is a great game. It presents itself in a more user-friendly manner and offers a lot of Shadow Pokemon to catch and purify in a much more convenient way and offers a great new Pokemon 3-D adventure. Fans of Colosseum should enjoy the game, and if not then oh well, at least I had a good time with it.
Gameplay: 8.0
Graphics: 8.0
Sound: 8.5
Value: 8.5
FINAL SCORE: 8.4/10