A new year, a new Pokemon game. This time however the stage had been set for a game that top all the others, revolutionizing the series. I knew this would not be the case, and didn't mind it at all. Pokemon has been a part of my life since I first began playing games when I was 9, so more of the same addictive monster collecting and battling formula was what i wanted. I went to my local Gamestop for the midnight release, and got caught up in all of the excitement. When the game was finally in my hands i couldn't wait to play what would probably be the best entry to the series since the 2nd generation(Gold and Silver are in my opinion the pinnacle of the series).
Weeks later and I still haven't beat the 8th gym leader, and every time i turn the game on I have no desire to play. Have i burned out, have i finally had enough? I don't think that's the case. Critics have lauded this as the greatest game the series has to offer so far, I wholeheartedly disagree. While there have been improvements made to the games mechanics and GUI, Pokemon Black and White lack the magic that made the greater games so wonderful.
One of the things I loved so much about Gold Version and particularly the 3rd generation games(ruby and sapphire) were the locations you visited along your journey. Every city felt distinct and had a charm of its own that made it memorable. A city with a giant Buddhist tower(Bellsprout Tower) or a town made of connected tree houses. Black and White's Unova region is dull, none of its towns or cities being at all memorable. The Giant city you encounter is perhaps the only memorable one, largely due to the fact that navigating through it and its strange use of 3d(which totally doesn't work for the Pokemon control scheme)is a monumental pain in the ass. The Pokemon of the Unova region are the least attractive designs in the entire series, making even the lesser of the first gen look like creative masterpieces. Much like the towns they lack personality or charm. I have still only trained up 3 pokemon since started, all the others being to dull or ugly for me to even consider them.
A major gripe I have with the latest entry is the almost complete omission of the need for HM's. While gamers have often complained about the requirement to use these moves, the adventure feels much less epic without them. Remember the first time you used dive in Ruby or Sapphire version? That was a very cool mechanic that made the quest feel much larger in scope. Being able to travel between routes without having to sacrifice a move spot on one of your Pokemon is great in concept, but the omission of water routes really hurts the game.
While I appreciate the attempt at making a solid storyline this time around, the way this tale is told is very dull and feels like a pretentious way to basically cause all of the same events to happen throughout the game. Without reading the stilted dialogue this would appear to be the same game as before.
Overall I enjoyed the game, but for all its fancy improvements it is still not the best game in the series by a long shot. Disagree? Tell me why.
Pokemon Games Ranked(worst to best)
Diamond&Pearl(gen4)
Black&White(gen5)
Red&Blue(gen1)
Ruby&Sapphire(gen3)
Gold&Silver(gen2)
Weeks later and I still haven't beat the 8th gym leader, and every time i turn the game on I have no desire to play. Have i burned out, have i finally had enough? I don't think that's the case. Critics have lauded this as the greatest game the series has to offer so far, I wholeheartedly disagree. While there have been improvements made to the games mechanics and GUI, Pokemon Black and White lack the magic that made the greater games so wonderful.
One of the things I loved so much about Gold Version and particularly the 3rd generation games(ruby and sapphire) were the locations you visited along your journey. Every city felt distinct and had a charm of its own that made it memorable. A city with a giant Buddhist tower(Bellsprout Tower) or a town made of connected tree houses. Black and White's Unova region is dull, none of its towns or cities being at all memorable. The Giant city you encounter is perhaps the only memorable one, largely due to the fact that navigating through it and its strange use of 3d(which totally doesn't work for the Pokemon control scheme)is a monumental pain in the ass. The Pokemon of the Unova region are the least attractive designs in the entire series, making even the lesser of the first gen look like creative masterpieces. Much like the towns they lack personality or charm. I have still only trained up 3 pokemon since started, all the others being to dull or ugly for me to even consider them.
A major gripe I have with the latest entry is the almost complete omission of the need for HM's. While gamers have often complained about the requirement to use these moves, the adventure feels much less epic without them. Remember the first time you used dive in Ruby or Sapphire version? That was a very cool mechanic that made the quest feel much larger in scope. Being able to travel between routes without having to sacrifice a move spot on one of your Pokemon is great in concept, but the omission of water routes really hurts the game.
While I appreciate the attempt at making a solid storyline this time around, the way this tale is told is very dull and feels like a pretentious way to basically cause all of the same events to happen throughout the game. Without reading the stilted dialogue this would appear to be the same game as before.
Overall I enjoyed the game, but for all its fancy improvements it is still not the best game in the series by a long shot. Disagree? Tell me why.
Pokemon Games Ranked(worst to best)
Diamond&Pearl(gen4)
Black&White(gen5)
Red&Blue(gen1)
Ruby&Sapphire(gen3)
Gold&Silver(gen2)
