Pokémon Diamond (DS)

Nintendo's cash cow (cash Pikachu?) returns, reminding us that there are some great games buried underneath the hype.
2/18/2008 12:00 AM | 4 Comments | Page 2 of 3

It can take upwards of 50 to 60 hours to make it through the main story, but even then, you're not really finished with the game. There are plenty of diversions of which you can partake during the game or after you've toppled the Elite Four. Ribbons can be earned in Pokémon contests, rare creatures can be discovered in a vast underground maze, and the secrets of Pokémon breeding can be studied.

Although there are over 150 Pokémon to find as you make your journey, defeating the Elite Four opens up the National Pokédex, which allows you to import your buddies from previous versions of the game. In all, the National 'dex adds 300 new beasts to the game, so you'll have to do a lot more exploring to truly catch 'em all.

In addition to the National Pokédex, there's another new item that adds quite a bit to the game. Luckily, you get this one fairly early in the adventure. The Pokétch is a watch-like device that adds tons of touch-screen functionality to the game. Although at first it's simply used to display the time on the DS's bottom screen, upgrades are regularly earned during your quest, increasing its usefulness. You'll get such applications as a calculator, a memo pad, maps, records of recently captured Pokémon, a program that determines type strengths and weaknesses, and more. Once you start using it, you'll wonder how you lived without it.

Of course, one of the biggest draws of Diamond and Pearl is the multiplayer mode, which can be accessed either locally or over Wi-Fi. Battles are obviously a big part of this mode, and going up against a skilled human opponent will usually be much more difficult than facing any computer opponent. Your party had better be carefully selected before attempting to take on other players. Additionally, you can also trade Pokémon with others. As mentioned before, this is crucial to completing your Pokédex.

Thanks to Wi-Fi, you can also engage in the exciting new multiplayer activity, the Global Trade Station. When using the GTS, you can place any monster that you've captured up for trade. Simply choose which one you're willing to give up and select the creature for which you'd like to trade it (although you can only select from Pokémon that you've met in your quest so far). If you're lucky, someone will take you up on your trade in a day or two. The game even uses a globe to keep track of where in the world you've gotten new Pokémon. As you might imagine, it's pretty exciting getting a "foreign" Pokémon. The GTS works the other way, too. By telling it which critter you seek, a selection of people willing to trade for it appears. Be careful when doing this, however. A lot of people post some extremely unbalanced trades. Just remember: It is not a good idea to trade your level 100 Mew for a level 6 Magikarp.

There's a ton of stuff to do in Diamond and Pearl, and once you start playing, the urge to collect those little pocket monsters becomes remarkably strong -- especially if you have an addictive personality. Perhaps the only real flaw with the game is that, gameplay enhancements aside, it looks and sounds a lot like the more recent Game Boy Advance Pokémon titles. Sure, the game's world sports fancy new 3-D graphics, but the character sprites do little to impress. The lackluster sound effects definitely suffer from "last-gen"-itis. Longtime fans may feel like they're treading on familiar turf, but the desire to track down that elusive Spiritomb will probably overpower any feelings of boredom. For those who have been reluctant to give Pokémon a try, this would definitely be a good starting point.