Pokémon Black and White 2

I've said it before - whilst the Pokémon in Black and White were lacking creativity at best, the game really made me think about the morals of keeping Pokémon in tiny little balls and using them in fights for money. With this in mind it was with great interest that I delved deeper into the sequel of the most recent addition to the Pokémon saga...

According to my sources the  game is due for release in Japan later on this month, with us Europeans seeing is towards the end of August/early September. The story will begin two years after the end of the previous game and will be in the same region as before - the Unova region. A mysterious icecap has covered parts of the region, leading to new cities and gyms forming to replace the ones that have been captured. There are two new conformed gym leaders - one who appears to be a rockstar of some kind (I would assume he uses electric Pokémon) and another who seems to use water-types. It would appear that Team Plasma are still wandering around and will likely serve as the main villains again. You'll have a new rival and apparently new playable characters too - something which I find highly intriguing. It looks like you can play characters that aren't traditional looking Pokémon trainers. However, it's hard to say. Many of the routes have been altered or changed drastically, making the area a lot different to the previous game, most likely so that it does not appear repetitive. You will begin the game in an area of Unova that was previously unreachable - a town called Aspertia in the South West.

The Pokédex is different too. Instead of starting of with a regional Dex of 150-200 Pokémon there will be 300 available in the region - most of which are Pokémon from other regions such as Psyduck and Mareep. It is the largest local Dex yet - the National Dex is sure to be massive.

There is also a new minigame known as the Pokéwood in which you will participate in the filming of a movie. Seems like an interesting idea. There is also the Pokémon World Tournament which will allow you to battle gym members from previous versions of the game - leaders such as Brock and Misty (I was very pleased to hear this).

Have a quick look at some of the official gameplay - it was unavailable in English but it gives you a good idea.

It's said that it will be released on DS, so those of you fearing that Pokémon would only be on 3DS from now on you can let out the breath you've been holding for the past year or so. Looks like things are going to work.

Whilst there is little information on the game out there, what I have discovered has been incredibly exciting. Being a Pokémon fan from pretty much the beginning, I can see myself buying this game. I love the Pokémon games too much to say no.

Valhalla

To Play or not to play?

I had this written up and posted on Saturday, but the blog decided to rebel and deleted the post from the face of the Earth. It's the problem with owning a computer programmed to think by itself - it tends to do what it pleases when it likes. Anyway, my deepest apologies for how late this re-post is - I will be having words with my laptop.

This weekend, I had the plan of giving you all a DC Universe Online post. I thought it would be a pretty fun post, another MMORPG for you all to sink your teeth into. Not only this, but it would be an adventure for me too as I had never played it. So, I loaded it up onto my PS3 (just for a change) and after a quick installation I started the game and loaded it up. However, I reached the start screen and the patch note bar came up. I saw this as no big deal, it looked fine to me, but lo and behold, it's still patching and it's been nearly two days. Yes, I had to turn my PS3 off at night, but it's seriously slow (another good thing about still using the junk that is AOL) and I reckon you guys won't be seeing anything on DC Universe until next week. That and I owe you another update with my adventures in Skyrim. Thing is, I had to think on my feet for this post. It was late at night, everything was going wrong and I needed a game - fast. What did I happen upon first I hear you ask. Well, it was my 3DS and Super Pokemon Rumble was inside.

Our post for today will be focused on Super Pokemon Rumble and just how awesome it is. I have to say, it's one of the best Pokemon games that they've made, just because it's so different from the classic ones. Don;t get me wrong, I think the classic Pokemon games are fantastic, but this is a welcome break as we Pokemon fans wait for the next addition to the series.

Instead of being a Pokemon trainer, you are collecting wind up Pokemon toys. There are toys to collect from all five generations of Pokemon and so it will be difficult to collect every single one. To see Pokemon from such different generations working together in battle is almost weird as it's something that I, at least, would never have imagined seeing. Anyway, when you begin the game you get a walk through sequence so that you can get a feel for how the game works and collect a few more Pokemon toys (some of the toys you defeat lay on the floor for you to collect) before you enter the wide world of Pokemon toys. Once this level is completed, you find a place called Toy Town where a Lilipup is there to greet you. He gives you a tour of the little town and tells you how everything works before letting you go on with your adventure. He also tells you that the fountain in the middle of the town will revive your defeated toys (which was a relief to me). Once Lilipup is finished  you are free to leave and explore the world.

Outside Toy Town are little areas with huge poles outside. These areas are filled with different Pokemon to battle and collect as well as a Master Pokemon at the end (usually an evolved form of the most common Pokemon in the zone). It's a quick and fun game to play, and every level contains different Pokemon to battle as well as it being possible to collect all the Pokemon in that zone. Once a zone is completed the red lights on top of each pole turn green, signalling that you've completed that level. Don't worry, it's possible to go back in and grab any forgotten Pokemon. In between zones you're able to go back to Toy Town and revive your defeated toys so that you can go onto the next zone without worrying about how many Pokemon you have left.

Once you have completed each zone in the area you will be able to challenge the Battle Royale where you fight around a hundred low level Pokemon and two higher level ones. The Battle Royale is an enjoyable aspect of the game and unlocks the ability to battle Pokemon toys with your friends over Streetpass (or even strangers) which just adds a whole new element to Super Pokemon Rumble. Once you've defeated the Battle Royale you can move onto the next area and complete all the zones there before challenging the next Battle Royale.

For those of you wondering if this game just circles in the loop of completing zones and battling, then I can assure you that there's a storyline too. Shortly after you complete the first set of zones someone will steal the magic of the fountain. Whilst you're still able to use the fountain to revive yourself, the magic is running out and it's up to you to find out just who did it. I can't tell you who stole it because I'm not there yet, but I'm on the hunt.

Battle Royale

Super Pokemon Rumble isn't a hardcore game that requires strategy and thought, if anything it's something fun for an evening when you're feeling a little tired and don;t want to concentrate too much. It's the perfect game for those nights, or days, which ever you feel. Collecting the Pokemon toys is fun, mainly because they have pretty much every Pokemon in existence to collect and the Battle Royale (especially against friends) adds an element of excitement to the gameplay.

As I haven't finished the game yet, my rating could quite possible change, but for now I give it a 7/10, purely for its simplicity.

Valhalla