I know, a terrible title, but then i can't guarantee the blog will be any better.Another day brings yet another bargain from those wonderful people at game, but this particular game was not one that i had even contemplated buying until very recently.
A little background information will probably help explain why i ended up buying what has turned out to be a very good RPG.
During the days of the Gameboy colour i "inherited" a copy of Pokemon Silver from my sister, i played it for a while until i got stuck trying to chop down some weird looking tree and until that point i enjoyed it greatly. I put it away and forgot it was there.
Fast forward to a few months ago when i was clearing my room out for the umpteenth time due to a sever lack of space (i'll probably get to that story in another entry by the way). Out of a drawer i recovered my old Gameboy colour and the Pokemon game that i had given up on all those years ago. Both still worked and so i indulged in a little retro gaming. Unfortunately the on board battery used for memory retention was flatter than a pancake so any progress i made was quickly forgotten and i was forced to start over when i turned the system on again the following day. I put the game back in the drawer, took out my DS and forgot all about the land of Johto.
Since i reclaimed my DS from my mother in February (i only managed that by getting one for her) i have been experiencing something of a DS rennaisance. My Japanese Coach, Mario, 42 all time classics and embarrassingly Nintendogs have all gotten a decent play through, but i have kept my eye out for Pokemon since i had my memory jolted by that room clearance discovery.
All of this brings me to this Thursday just gone. Having bought some new clothes from Blue inc and made a very tidy saving into the bargain i thought i'd see what was available in HMV and Game, as is my usual habit. I picked up Kate Nash's new album "My best friend is you" in HMV and then headed off to Game.
I thought i'd have a look for a second hand copy of Pokemon while i was in there and very soon was asked by the sales assistant if i needed help finding anything. Turns out that someone had traded the newly released Pokemon Heart Gold back to them without even opening the box, 25 quid for a brand new game (I had a fiver on my loyalty card too). Nice.
Nintendo and Game Freak have done an excellent job of updating what could just as easily been a lazy port of the original Pokemon an Gameboy with nicer graphics. They have included a few extra touches and features that make it a full fledged DS game such as wireless gaming support a save anywhere feature and most importantly they have implemented the stylus control in such a way that it is almost as though the game should have always been on a system with touch support.
I've also been impressed by the fact that you can play this game almost entirely without touch if you so wish. They don't miss the opportunity to shill their wares either, you're character has their own Wii in their room, and when you investigate it you are informed in no uncertain terms that the Wii is the most popular console in all of Johto. I can't say that bothers me though, since they have obviously put a lot of effort into this game and it shows.
The whole game is both old and new at the same time, the additions of the previously mentioned touch controls and shiny graphics give it a new lease on what has already been a good ten year life, and the new Pokewalker (a tamagotchi that you download your Pokemon to) is a great innovation that not only helps you grind levels in a whole new way but it also promotes activity in kids.
Overall i have to say i'm very happy that i bought this game. Normally i'm not one for ports of old games on new systems, but it's obvious to me that Game Freak have spent a lot of time making this game not only look good but play well and fully take advantage of the new systems features.
Now if you'll excuse me, i have to catch 'em all.
Robinho
No comments:
Post a Comment