Oh boy, hearing the name pokemon takes me back. You see, I was one of the lucky ones who were there when pokemon first launched back in the 90s. I used to be drenched in everything that was pokemon. I had the games, the cards and I watched the show like it was some sort of religeon. As I grew up, I moved away from pokemon and moved on to bigger and better things like school, girls, jobs, money and cars. I can't say I ever really stopped liking pokemon, but I guess that liking just got pushed aside and sent to the back of my mind.
Fast forward about 8 years and the Nintendo DS is going strong. Not only has the DS had a successful run with some other Pokemon spin off games like Ranger and Mystery Dungeon, but Diamond and Pearl were huge successes on the DS. The were huge enough that Nintendo and Game Freaks is going back to Sinnoh for another adventure with Pokemon Platinum...
Granted, this is the same adventure you've taken before (in more than one way), is Platinum really worthy of the time investment as the other games?
Please keep in mind that I only scratched the surface of Pokemon Diamond about 2 years ago. Before then, I hadn't played Pokemon since Gold/Silver on the GBC. My word may not be the best but i'll let you be the judge on that...
"The dark beast of the handheld world, pokemon, has returned to take all your time away...AGAIN"
Pokemon Platinum ACTUALLY is an almost identical clone of the two previous games in the series, Diamond and Pearl, where players step into the role of a young pokemon trainer who must rise through the ranks of pokemon trainers while fighting off an evil organization who wants to control the most powerful pokemon and create a new world for themselves.
Not only does Platinum steal the Diamond and Pearl storyline, it also takes the graphics almost pixel for pixel. The art and graphic style are like a combination of the 2D sprites from the old pokemon games and some 3D backgrounds. I didn't really mind the graphics but I can see how someone wouldn't find them impressive. With all the power that the DS has, it is surprising that there wasn't more of a graphical upgrade.
Soundwise, i'm a little disappointed. Not only does Platinum use some updated tracks from older pokemon games, but it seems like it also takes the pokemon sound bites from the original pokemon games. Sure, the new pokemon are given shiny new sound bites. I just find it shocking that Nintendo was cheap enough to use the original sound bites from the old pokemon games. Seriously, nintendo, crappy sound bites from the older games? That is seriously not cool. Once again, with the power of the DS, why couldn't nintendo record some of the actual pokemon voices from the cartoon? Hell, they got pikachu's voice in Pokemon Yellow.
"Platinum is all about the battles...and boy are there a lot of them"
Gameplay wise, Pokemon has stayed the same over the years and that really isn't a bad thing. Heck, if it ain't broke...don't fix it. If you don't know how pokemon works, you really don't have much business reading this review (sorry). Players are given one of 3 pokemon at the beginning of the game and then are thrown out into the world to become the best pokemon trainer in all of the continent.
Players are prompted along their journey to catch as many pokemon as they can, or in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum's case, as many as you are allowed (more on that later).
One thing I NEVER liked about the Pokemon games is that you can't get ALL the pokemon from the one game. There are certain pokemon that cannot be caught in one game or the other. In order to get these pokemon, you have to trade someone with the pokemon you want. Platinum SORT OF corrects this problem by KINDA combining both Diamond and Pearl's lineup. Honestly, I have no idea if they changed this or not because I didn't have much luck finding these pokemon...and I really don't remember what pokemon were missing from Diamond.
It's really hard to keep track of all the pokemon in Platinum because there are well close to FIVE HUNDRED POKEMON to capture. Some need to be traded for, others need to be retrieved from older pokemon games like firered, leafgree, ruby, saphire, emerald, etc.
"Can you tell which pokemon game this is? Yeah, me either..."
The problem with Platinum is that it isn't REALLY different from Diamond and/or Pearl. Sure, there are some new features like the WiFi Lobby, Union Room and the distortion world. Unfortunately, MOST of the new stuff can only be attained VERY late in the game, like the distortion world. There are some new pokemon for Platinum like ROTOM, but you probably won't find most of these new pokemon unless you devote all your time to the game.
As far as RPG's go, Pokemon actually proves to STILL be a competant
It's tough to recommend Platinum to people who have played Diamond/Pearl all the way through. It's really ONLY for the most die hard Pokemaniacs who REALLY need to "catch em all".
Bottom Line: Platinum is almost identical to Diamond/Pearl and the new content isn't REALLY worth buying the game for. THAT BEING SAID, Platinum is still a very competant RPG that will keep players playing for well over 100+ HOURS OF GAMEPLAY. Yeah, that's right, 100+ HOURS OF GAMEPLAY.
Recommendation: The real question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you have the time for Platinum. If you do, give it a shot. If you don't, run away...far away from this game.
Fast forward about 8 years and the Nintendo DS is going strong. Not only has the DS had a successful run with some other Pokemon spin off games like Ranger and Mystery Dungeon, but Diamond and Pearl were huge successes on the DS. The were huge enough that Nintendo and Game Freaks is going back to Sinnoh for another adventure with Pokemon Platinum...
Granted, this is the same adventure you've taken before (in more than one way), is Platinum really worthy of the time investment as the other games?
Please keep in mind that I only scratched the surface of Pokemon Diamond about 2 years ago. Before then, I hadn't played Pokemon since Gold/Silver on the GBC. My word may not be the best but i'll let you be the judge on that...
"The dark beast of the handheld world, pokemon, has returned to take all your time away...AGAIN"
Pokemon Platinum ACTUALLY is an almost identical clone of the two previous games in the series, Diamond and Pearl, where players step into the role of a young pokemon trainer who must rise through the ranks of pokemon trainers while fighting off an evil organization who wants to control the most powerful pokemon and create a new world for themselves.
Not only does Platinum steal the Diamond and Pearl storyline, it also takes the graphics almost pixel for pixel. The art and graphic style are like a combination of the 2D sprites from the old pokemon games and some 3D backgrounds. I didn't really mind the graphics but I can see how someone wouldn't find them impressive. With all the power that the DS has, it is surprising that there wasn't more of a graphical upgrade.
Soundwise, i'm a little disappointed. Not only does Platinum use some updated tracks from older pokemon games, but it seems like it also takes the pokemon sound bites from the original pokemon games. Sure, the new pokemon are given shiny new sound bites. I just find it shocking that Nintendo was cheap enough to use the original sound bites from the old pokemon games. Seriously, nintendo, crappy sound bites from the older games? That is seriously not cool. Once again, with the power of the DS, why couldn't nintendo record some of the actual pokemon voices from the cartoon? Hell, they got pikachu's voice in Pokemon Yellow.
"Platinum is all about the battles...and boy are there a lot of them"
Gameplay wise, Pokemon has stayed the same over the years and that really isn't a bad thing. Heck, if it ain't broke...don't fix it. If you don't know how pokemon works, you really don't have much business reading this review (sorry). Players are given one of 3 pokemon at the beginning of the game and then are thrown out into the world to become the best pokemon trainer in all of the continent.
Players are prompted along their journey to catch as many pokemon as they can, or in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum's case, as many as you are allowed (more on that later).
One thing I NEVER liked about the Pokemon games is that you can't get ALL the pokemon from the one game. There are certain pokemon that cannot be caught in one game or the other. In order to get these pokemon, you have to trade someone with the pokemon you want. Platinum SORT OF corrects this problem by KINDA combining both Diamond and Pearl's lineup. Honestly, I have no idea if they changed this or not because I didn't have much luck finding these pokemon...and I really don't remember what pokemon were missing from Diamond.
It's really hard to keep track of all the pokemon in Platinum because there are well close to FIVE HUNDRED POKEMON to capture. Some need to be traded for, others need to be retrieved from older pokemon games like firered, leafgree, ruby, saphire, emerald, etc.
"Can you tell which pokemon game this is? Yeah, me either..."
The problem with Platinum is that it isn't REALLY different from Diamond and/or Pearl. Sure, there are some new features like the WiFi Lobby, Union Room and the distortion world. Unfortunately, MOST of the new stuff can only be attained VERY late in the game, like the distortion world. There are some new pokemon for Platinum like ROTOM, but you probably won't find most of these new pokemon unless you devote all your time to the game.
As far as RPG's go, Pokemon actually proves to STILL be a competant
It's tough to recommend Platinum to people who have played Diamond/Pearl all the way through. It's really ONLY for the most die hard Pokemaniacs who REALLY need to "catch em all".
Bottom Line: Platinum is almost identical to Diamond/Pearl and the new content isn't REALLY worth buying the game for. THAT BEING SAID, Platinum is still a very competant RPG that will keep players playing for well over 100+ HOURS OF GAMEPLAY. Yeah, that's right, 100+ HOURS OF GAMEPLAY.
Recommendation: The real question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you have the time for Platinum. If you do, give it a shot. If you don't, run away...far away from this game.
