Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are the latest installments of the main series of Pokémon games.
These latest installments won't be winning any awards in the story department. Yet again, players are put in the shoes of an aspiring Pokémon trainer, out on their own for the first time. One thing that never made sense in these games was how the youngsters survived without any help from adults, and oddly, it doesn't seem this installment will explain that. Oh well.
Story was never really what the Pokémon games were about, however. They've (at least the main-series ones) always been about collecting, battling, and trading the various Pokémon, and this installment makes that easier than ever with some truly intuitive controls. Impressively, the game manages to stay a turn-based RPG and use the touch screen, but not make it seem like it is forced. The touch screen is completely optional, as it seems to be in most RPGs on the DS, but the controls on the touch screen are set up so well it actually makes it more convenient to use the touch screen than not to. It makes it hard to simply ignore the touch screen controls, which can be done in most other games. The menu can be accessed with a simple press of the "Y" button, then navigated freely by light touches with the stylus. Attacks in battles can easily be selected in the same manner; they are shown in four boxes, and the
player just presses one to use it. It's very basic, but so much so that it makes it easy and worth using.
The gameplay itself is still pretty basic. Anyone who has played any previous installment will be instantly familiar with the game. Trainers still await you, standing in one place and mysteriously staring straight forward for...well, ever. The battles can incorporate multiple Pokémon in them, which makes for some interesting matchups, but nothing really felt new in the time played so far. Not that this is a bad thing, because these games are made to be similar. The new Pokémon thus far have been pretty unique, except for many, many new "baby" Pokémon and new evolutions. The starter Pokémon seem a lot different than previous games, with a dinosaur-tree looking thing (Turtwig), a fire monkey (Chimchar), and a...penguin? (Piplup). They do seem a lot more diverse choices than the previous games had for starters, at least slightly more diverse than simply different types. Possibly
the best addition is the Wi-Fi trading and battling capabilities that have been reported, but they weren't available to play for this preview.
The presentation is quite good. The graphics are wonderful, as they stay absolutely try to the series while expanding them into the capabilities of the DS. The sound seemed just fine too.
Thus far, the new installments of the Pokémon series follow almost exactly in the footsteps of their predecessors. Series fans will definitely be pleased, and newcomers will find them just as easy as ever to get into.
