Pokemon: Act Zero

[Aussie Ben]

So I've been playing Pokemon Black (got my seventh badge last night, yay!), and boy does this game have a massive tonal shift, as far as Pokemon goes. The main plotline has the latest evil gang, Team Plasma, questioning people about how the Pokemon themselves feel about being captured and used - which is a pretty reasonable question, actually. And some of these Pokedex entries, man. Yamask is perhaps the most terrifying of them all:

Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.

SOMETIMES THEY LOOK AT IT AND CRY. Blimey. Nothing like capturing the ghost of a human, then forcing it to fight for the rest of its afterlife against electric mice and fire dragons. And when you get bored of it, you send it to PC Box purgatory on a whim.

Overall though, I'm enjoying the game a lot - it's gotten rid of a lot of the niggling problems I hated about the old Pokemon games. You can reuse TMs over and over so you don't have to agonise over which Pokemon gets that move and Doctors and Nurses are strategically placed in dungeons so you don't have to trek all the way back to a Pokemon Center if you're in trouble. A cool new feature is the possibility of an instant capture when you throw a Poke Ball - very rarely, you'll here it go "PSSSSHHHEOOOOWWW" and the Poke Ball shakes once and catches it. It's such an awesome feeling when it happens.

Also the fact that the old Pokemon are completely unseen before you finish the game really helps make it feel as though it's a "new" game. It really does feel like you're playing Pokemon for the first time again, with each new Pokemon and evolution being a totally new discovery for you.

Has anyone else been having a go of the new Pokemon games? Have you been enjoying them at all?

[colinp]

I'm waiting for my copy to come in through the mail. Love the idea of running into only all new pokemon for the entirety of the main game!

[miffy495]

I'm very tempted, but didn't have enough left over from this paycheque. I'm certainly considering it in two weeks when I get my next. I'm wondering what the difference between the two versions is this time though, as I've heard it's more significant than usual. Any tips on what to get?

[Aussie Ben]

Well, I have Black, so get white! Haha.

There's apparently two different areas to visit. In Black, you get a city (of the FUTURE) called, Black City. In White, you get a special forest called White Forest, which makes no sense at all. There's more version exclusive Pokemon there. And of course, in Black you get one super special Pokemon, while in White you get the other one.

Aside from that, I'm pretty sure that's all the major differences.

[miffy495]

Man, that city does sound more appealing to me. That may help decide. I've got two weeks until my next cheque to think it over anyway. Thanks for the tip, Ben!