Pokémon Black (Nintendo DS) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Few series in any form of media have garnered the mass following that accompanies the Pokémon series. At over a decade old, it continues to go from strength to strength with the number of fans increasing massively with each new generation of the creatures. And it's not often that those fans are treated to multiple generations of games on the same handheld but due to the popularity of the DS, Nintendo and Game Freak have done just that and brought the next brand new region and it's collection of brand new Pokémon to gamers as one of the last big hurrahs to the DS before the 3DS takes over. Is this the big step forward the series has been looking for or does it stick too closely to tradition?

Gameplay

Another Pokémon game and another tale of a plucky kid who is gifted one of three starter Pokémon by a professor studying the creatures and their origins, this time called Professor Juniper, and heads out into the world to collect data for the Pokédex as well as taking on gym leaders in the hope of eventually becoming the champion. On a basic level, Pokémon Black feels very familiar with its story and even when the evil Team Plasma and the mysterious N are introduced, things never appear to stray from the tried and tested. Yet, while becoming the champion and stopping Team Plasma and N becomes the main draw of what is going on, there is an underlying story here which shows some maturity for the series, with the themes of slavery and liberation making up much of the subplot. It sets out to provide a mature turning point for the series but it's not played on enough to hit the true captivating notes it could have been, falling well behind the usual setup. It still provides a more interesting setting for this new game.

Set within the Unova region, the game will have you visiting all sorts of varied locations, such as a sandstorm hit desert, a large metropolis, an electricity filled cave and many others, in hope of catching every one of the new Pokémon included this time around and beating all 8 of the gym leaders. Gyms this time around have seen a noticeable improvement over previous games, with each now including a puzzle element which needs to be solved to reach the leader. This has been explored in previous games but here, the developers have shown their ingenuity and created some fantastic gyms and puzzles that really take the mundane out of the usual gym trawl.

Mechanically, gameplay remains very much the same as it has been, with turn based battles in either 1 on 1 or 2 on 2 variations making up the majority of what you'll experience. It hasn't changed much since the last titles, adding in some new abilities for the new Pokémon as well as a slew of new and interesting moves, and still provides a heavy level of strategy for those looking to put together a fierce team of pocket monsters capable of taking on any conditions. This time around, however, attempts have been made to add some further variety to the battles, with 3 on 3 and rotation battles now having been added to the fray. The former is pretty self explanatory, with 3 Pokémon from each participant entering the fray for battle and who they can attack being determined by their position, but the latter provides some genuine ingenuity by again having 3 on 3 battles but restricting which Pokémon fights by placing them on a rotating field, limiting action to 1 on 1, and affording you the opportunity to turn the board to utilise a different Pokémon. It takes some getting used to but is an interesting change for the series and genuinely fun, and they appear much more frequently in Black than the standard triple battles.

156 new Pokémon have been included in the game this time around, 3 of which will become available at a later point through events. The variety goes beyond of previous games providing you with a vast number of creatures with unique abilities and attributes which make them worthy of a place on your team. Even as you near the end of the main story, you'll still be finding Pokémon capable of earning a seat on your team and it shows some great effort on the developer's behalf to have created such a fresh set of characters and have them nearly all of such a high standard for using in teams. It'll at least mean that you'll find plenty of variety in the teams your friends will possess. From the get go, these 153 new available Pokémon will be the only ones you'll have access to until you beat the Elite Four, after which you can transfer your library of monsters from the other DS games, putting everyone on a level playing field and definitely making it feel like playing the originals all over again. Version exclusives are still in place, but this has of course been extended further in Black, providing the Black City area for the end game which hosts a bevy of trainers with rare Pokémon to be seen.

Online connectivity has also taken a step up this time around, with a much more robust set of options included alongside the already in place Global Trading Service for trading and battling thanks to the new C-Gear option, which makes it easier for connecting with friends either locally, through wireless or the in-built infrared, or online. A word of warning though, it does eat away at the battery life so it's best not to leave it on all the time. Still, it adds further to an already extensive and thoroughly enjoyable package which will keep you playing for an extremely long period of time.

Controls

As you'd expect, the controls haven't changed since the last mainline Pokémon games on the handheld. It's simply a case of if it isn't broken, it doesn't need fixing. As such, if you've had any experience with the games over the last couple of years, you'll be instantly familiar with how the game plays and there'll be little to no time before you get stuck in. Even those who are starting out with the series for the first time will find the game extremely easy to pick up and play as the button layout and usage is exactly as you'd expect, with the d-pad covering movement and the face buttons controlling running, interactions, menus and using your hot linked items. The shoulder buttons also see some use at times, helping with navigating through sub menus. Of course, there is optional touch screen controls for menus and battles but it's never really necessary or an improvement over the standard controls as they just work so well, but the option is there for those that want it and it does work extremely well.

Graphics

At first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking little has changed visuals with this new entry into the series. The game still mixes both 3D polygons with 2D sprite work to create the region and characters and while the over reliance on pixel sprites for characters models is beginning to show its age, the developers have flexed their muscles in terms of creating areas with polygons and it is with the 3D and the general design work that the game has taken big step forward visually. Large detailed cities, forests, towers and extensive bridges cover the Unova region and each area, including the excellently design gyms and their puzzles, looks fantastic and definitely plays to the strengths of the hardware. It's not quite the best 3D work on the console, but the amount of effort and time which has been put into creating the vastly varied locations so that they don't simply look like they've had a palette swap is truly remarkable and bodes well for future titles. There are some slight frame rate dips as a result of the improved 3D visuals but they're short lived and barely noticeable.

Aside from the step up in 3D work, the 2D work has seen a touch up in terms of quality, at least for the Pokémon. The characters walking around the various locations don't quite look as good as they should, and their look isn't helped by a dynamic camera which likes to shift around to show off the 3D work making them look extremely pixellated. The Pokémon themselves fair much better, although some of the bigger ones definitely suffer from pixellation, and have extended battle animations which look unnecessary at first bit definitely fit in well with the overall design the more you delve into the game. The overall design of the 156 new creatures added this time around is also of a very high standard and while there are some which look odd, they're a very small minority in comparison to a generally well conceived and executed collect of creatures.

Sound

It might not have taken a giant step forward, but there has been a noticeable increase in the quality of the music accompanying your exploits in the game. The music sounds just that bit clearer and crisper this time around with a wide variety of styles at play throughout, from more relaxed sounds to aggressive and upbeat tunes which punctuate the battles, and on the whole it all sounds great. There are even some remixes of classic tracks from earlier Pokémon games included which will definitely hit the nostalgia factor for long time fans of the series.

Unfortunately, while the music has taken a step forward, the sound effects remain firmly planted in the dated category, with the cries of the Pokémon being nowhere near the quality of the rest of the audio package and definitely resulting in some moments where you'll reach for the volume control. It seems strange that effort was put in to improve one area of the audio but not another and slightly detracts from the overall package.

Dual screen

The game utilises the two screens just as it did in previous DS iterations of the series, with the main gameplay on the top screen and menus on the touch screen, with optional touch screen controls available to use for navigating them. It doesn't break the mould in that respect but the developers have pushed further with the dual screen use by housing the C-Gear on the touch screen when walking around the field, allowing seamless access to all of the game's wireless and infrared functions for setting up trades, battles or having players enter your game. As a result, there's much better use of the screens this time around.

Final comments

Creating a new entry into a much loved series which not only stays true to tradition but also easily manages to make additions which make the gameplay feel remarkably fresh isn't an easy task but the developers have managed perfectly here with Pokémon Black. From the new battle ideas to the much improved online capabilities to the entire ensemble of new Pokémon, the game ably finds that sweet spot in creating something which feels just as fresh and new as the original games did all those years ago. There are still some small areas which could do with a bit of modernising but as it is, this is undoubtedly the best entry in the series since the original Gold and Silver titles and a definitely worthy of a purchase.

Pro: Gameplay remains highly strategic and entertaining, new Pokémon are superb in variation and usability, the best online options of as DS title yet
Con: Some slight frame rate dips, sound effects are getting seriously dated
Final score: 9

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