Pokémon Platinum (Nintendo DS) - Review by Chris

Introduction

The Pokémon franchise continues to be an ever popular one, with new movies, television shows and other forms of paraphernalia seeing a consistently steady flow of releases. One particular area where the franchise continues to prove extremely successful is in the games industry, where the games manage to sell in the millions. As has become tradition, the inaugural games in the generation are being joined once again by a third title, with Diamond and Pearl now being completed with Pokémon Platinum, which aims to provide an altered storyline and some new content to make it worthwhile. But is the prospect of catching them all still as lucrative as it was?

Gameplay

The main story has seen little in the way of change over the generations of Pokémon titles outside of a few subtleties and once again, Platinum revolves primarily around a character who dreams of befriending his own Pokémon and when he or she does, they set out to become the Pokémon Master, conquering every Gym leader and trainer on the way to the top. The differences between the prior two titles, Diamond and Pearl, and this one are slim but this time the sub plot looks to a new leader within the Team Galactic organisation hoping to capture and manipulate Pokémon for no good so as to destroy the region of Sinnoh, and ultimate the world, as it currently is and remake it to suit his ideals. It's nothing all too uncommon for the series, as previous titles have used a similar sub plot, but the main difference here is in the Pokémon who Team Galactic are trying to get hold of and where it is.

As per usual, you'll obtain your starter Pokémon from the region's Professor and after the initial confrontation with your friend and new Pokémon rival, you'll head out into the world to take on the game's 8 Gym leaders so as to gain access to the Pokémon League and battle the Elite Four for a chance at stardom, all the while obtaining Pokémon to fill out the Pokédex you've been given. The majority of your run through to the confrontation with the Elite Four is exactly the same but additions and changes have been made to a few of the battles, with roster changes for some trainers and Gym leaders, while some of the Gyms themselves have seen some drastic makeovers making the fighting to reach the leader a little more interesting.

Obviously, the sub plot will grab hold of the main storyline at around the same time as it did in Diamond and Pearl and it is at this point where the game shows some added ingenuity. With Team Galactic out to catch the Pokémon Giratina, you'll have to head into the Distortion World to prevent them from getting their hands on the legendary creature. The Distortion World is a place of floating platforms and vertical walls that you'll have to traverse to your ultimate confrontation and it is certainly one of the more interesting twists in the franchise in recent memories making for some great puzzle moments. And while this area signals the end of the main sub plot, there is a continuation after completing the Elite Four which extends the run time and definitely adds a little more depth to the game's completion.

Other additions this time around come in the form of some new mini-games for playing over Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection with friends and the return of the Battle Tower from Pokémon Emerald, this time sporting multiple event types for you to get stuck into after you've beaten the Elite Four. There's certainly a good helping of new content to differentiate Platinum from the previous games but ultimately, the core mechanics have remained virtually unchanged, with battles still going ahead as they have always done, albeit with a heavier focus on 2 on 2 battles this time around, and while it would have been nice to have seen a little in the way of change, it's still the Pokémon ethos that many love to play.

The online and wireless multiplayer options remain as heavily centred as always but this time they've seen a little in the way of a streamline to make them slightly more accessible. The trading network remains as prominent as ever and the talk of oncoming downloading of event items into the game means that those hard to catch legendary Pokémon which you'd only be able to get hold of at events are now much more accessible for all.

Controls

The controls fall to the traditional button based settings, with all major movements and selections coming through these means. It still works well and the option to use the touch screen for selecting attacks and items in battle as well as for management of your Pokémon in your personal PC space is also provided but purists will feel that sticking with the buttons is the best setup, but really they both work well interchangeably. The only area where the controls are let down is when it comes to movement of your character. The original Pokémon titles and all preceding ones have stuck to an up, down, left and right setup for movement but given how far we've come since those origins, the character movement feels extremely outdated, making getting places unnecessarily longer than they should be if diagonal movements were incorporated. It's something everyone will be able to get over but it is getting to the point where it really needs to be changed and brought into the modern era.

Graphics

Platinum continues the use of 3D and 2D seen in the prior DS Pokémon titles and while it looks decent enough, the graphics remain virtually untouched from Diamond and Pearl, although there has been a slight improvement to some of the 3D work. Sprite work for the characters and battle animations are of a good quality but they're surpassed by some of the more seminal work on the console that has come from the likes of Square Enix. The battle animations in particular still lack any form of intensity and while there are certain moves that do fill the screen with effects, it's taken little in the way of a step up from the Gameboy Advance games and is starting to show its age a little.

The 3D work has seen a little improvement, smoothing out some of the edges but it remains largely the same. Some of the new mini-games utilise 3D visuals and they look good but again, much like the entirety of the game, they are far from impressive in the wake of other more impressive titles on the console. The games were never about the visuals though, but even without any improvements Platinum still has its own charm and the use of a darker story does come through at times in the graphics to make a pleasant looking game.

Sound

Just like the graphics, the music has seen little to no change from that which appeared in Diamond and Pearl. If you've played those games, expect to hear the exact same tunes in towns and battles as well as the same sound effects for attacks and for the Pokémon themselves. It's no bad thing as the sound was good enough to be worthy of a carryover, and bodes enough character and charm to make the experience worth a listen, but it would have been nice to have heard more fresh material than what the game brings to the fold. Even with its charm, the game is something which can be played without the music and bears very little on the gameplay.

Dual screen

As already mentioned, the option is there to make use of the touch screen for battles but purists will ultimately opt for the traditional button controls, but both work well. The touch screen is used well throughout the game though, with the Pokétch and its apps being manipulated through the touch screen, and only this, as well as certain mini-games making use of it. With the main action taking place entirely on the top screen, both screens are put to good connective use.

Final comments

Pokémon Platinum is almost identical to Diamond and Pearl, with a few changes to the story and some extras thrown in for good measure. As a result, those having experienced the other two games may not want to shell out again for what is essentially the same thing yet even hardnosed gamers experienced in the realms of Pokémon won't be put off from taking another step into the Sinnoh region and attempting to once again catch'em all. But really, Platinum is for newcomers and for them, it provides a fantastic and lengthy experience punctuated by a plethora of gaming options, online and off, that will last for months to come. As expected, Pokémon Platinum is the definitive version of this generation just as Yellow, Crystal and Emerald were before it.

Pro: Same gameplay that we've come to love over the years, huge amount to do, online options are more streamlined and work superbly
Con: Some of the presentation is starting to look dated, controls still restricting on movement
Final score: 8.7

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