New Pokemon fails to evolve

New Pokemon for Nintendo DS is just the same old story.

By Chase Koeneke

Published April 2, 2009

I love Pokemon. Always have and always will. I remember seeing the 1998 commercial of all those crazy creatures getting onto that bus -- and wanting that game so badly. I remember getting the blue version for my birthday, ripping it open and getting frustrated with leaving my virtual house (stupid monochrome graphics.) I remember playing it for hours on end and eventually getting all 151 creatures (yes, I even snagged Mew at a Toys 'R' Us event.) I remember the Saturday morning cartoon shows and collectible card games that ended up getting banned at my elementary school.

Pokemon was my life. But even with its kiddy flair and obvious money-sucking scheming, the actual games were really good. No matter your age, Pokemon Platinum continues that tradition.

For those who have never played a true Pokemon game before, here's a rundown. Pokemon is a role-playing game, meaning you are leveling up to learn new moves and fight stronger opponents. What makes Pokemon stand out is that instead of leveling your character, you're leveling the creatures you capture. Basically, it's virtual cockfighting with magic. Except legal. The game is turn-based and follows a rock, paper, scissors-style of play (water beats fire, fire beats grass, grass beats water) except that it's more like rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock because of the 17 different types of creatures in the game. The complexity is compounded with the knowledge that some creatures have two types at once and can learn attacks outside of their type, making Pokemon a wonderfully strategic franchise.

Pokemon Platinum is an updated version of Diamond and Pearl much in the same way that Pokemon Emerald was an update of Ruby and Sapphire. In lieu of any new features in terms of actual game play, Platinum is more about adding some plot and a few new features to make for the best Pokemon game yet.

First, the user interface has a new coat of paint, which makes things much easier to read and isn't quite as blindingly bright as Diamond or Pearl. The new story does a much better job of helping new players into the complex game play with mini-tutorials at different points in the game, but these will frustrate veteran trainers. But the big new features are the Battle Frontier and Vs. Recorder. The Frontier is actually a feature that has shown up in a previous entry to the series, but has disappeared until now. It houses four arenas to truly prove how much of a hardcore Pokemaniac you are, each testing you in different ways.

Unfortunately, the prizes you get for winning in these arenas are not satisfying and the whole thing comes off as a bit tacked on. The Vs. Recorder allows you to save and download battles of yours and others. While it's an interesting concept, watching a turn-based battle play out is really boring if you're not actively participating in the action.

When it comes down to it, Platinum is practically the same game as what it's updating. This is the ultimate version of Pokemon, but if you already own Diamond or Pearl, there is little to no reason to give this a purchase. And for those of you who haven't played a Pokemon game before, try out Pokemon Fire Red or Leaf Green for the Game Boy Advance before diving into Platinum. Those games are amazing ports of the originals and are the best of the series in my opinion. Platinum is great when judged on its own merits, but when viewed as a whole, it's only saturating the market.