Pokémon Colosseum Preview

Pokémon Colossuem is the long-awaited GameCube installment in Nintendo's Pokémon franchise. The game follows in the footsteps of Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64, which let you use data from your Game Boy Pokémon games to duke it out with friends in full 3D. However, rather than simply serve up a carbon copy update of Pokémon Stadium, Nintendo and developer Sonority Genius have offered up a unique game that blends the familiar competitive aspects of Pokémon Stadium with a full-fledged single-player RPG. The title, released earlier this year in Japan, is effectively two games in one. As a result, it's been wholeheartedly welcomed by fans there. We recently had the chance here to take an exclusive look at the US version of the game to see how it's made the jump to the American market.

Pokémon Colosseum will give fans a full RPG experience in addition to the battling they crave.

While similar in spirit to the Nintendo 64's Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Colosseum features some significant differences that ensure the game offers a unique and engaging experience. The most obvious is the game's focus, which has been broadened to include a single-player component in addition to the expected multiplayer battles. Pokémon Colosseum offers two main modes to choose from--story and battle.

The story mode is essentially a full-blown single-player 3D RPG that has a bit of fun with the now-familiar setup for the Pokémon games. Pokémon Colosseum offers a darker premise that presents an interesting contrast to the typically lighter touch of the GBA games. You'll be cast in the role of a teenaged member of a gang who starts the adventure by staging a spectacular prison break for his two trusty Pokémon, Umbreon and Espeon, from the confines of a gang hideout in the arid Orre region. Shortly after liberating your friends, you'll rescue a young woman who offers up some disturbing information on a mysterious bunch of Pokémon, called shadow Pokémon, that are starting to appear. The new breed of aggressive critters are ordinary Pokémon whose hearts have been closed off, thus resulting in some dangerous--and often uncontrollable--behavior. You'll team up with your new ally to discover just what's creating shadow Pokémon, and you'll also liberate the poor creatures--with the help of your companion's ability to spot them.

The battle mode is a straightforward assortment of multiplayer components and Game Boy Advance connectivity that lets you and up to four friends fight with your roster of critters from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. You'll find two main modes, colosseum and battle now, that feature unique variations. Colosseum will feature solo and gang battles for your participation. Solo battle will offer colosseum battle, which is a sequential duel against eight consecutive trainers in different stadiums that feature different restrictions. Solo battle will also offer "mountain battle vs. 100," which is a pretty brutal survival-style series of battles against 100 trainers that sees you literally working your way to the top of the heap. Gang battle is a two-to-four-player multiplayer game for two or four players that lets everyone pit his or her GBA Pokémon against each other. You'll be able to play as the main characters from the story mode or as the leads from Ruby and Sapphire on the GBA in customizable matches that let you use stock Pokémon in addition to your minions. The battle now game is a quick match you jump into, after just a few choices, for some quick no-nonsense dueling.

Of course, you'll be able to move data back and forth between Colosseum and your GBA Pokémon games.

As you'd expect, Game Boy Advance owners will be able to use data from Pokémon Ruby or Sapphire games during the competitions, and once finished with the single-player RPG, players can trade Pokémon between the GC and GBA. You'll also find a nice selection of secrets and useful items, some of which you'll have to discover and others of which you'll have to purchase with pokécoupons, the game's currency.

As far as gameplay goes, Pokémon Colosseum features two distinct types of gameplay. The single-player RPG uses a pretty typical third-person perspective, with a fixed camera during the segments where you'll be on foot exploring towns. The game doesn't handle like a simple 3D upgrade of the GBA games due to a number of subtle changes to the formula. You'll still travel to different towns to interact with the locals. However, this time, travel between locations is done via an overworld map that lets you highlight a destination. Rather than head there on foot, you'll be treated to a cinematic that features you riding a futuristic set of wheels. As a result, you won't have any random encounters with wild Pokémon. This fits the game's new approach to adventuring, since you won't be catching wild Pokémon on your quest.