Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 continues the Pokemon franchise saga, now boasting WiFi and new worlds to explore.
Graphics: I can say I'm seriously disappointed, again. C'mon, Nintendo, you can do MUCH better than this. GBA styled graphics, again? We are in the DS generation, the Pokemon GBA era is over. We're in 2008, and Nintendo haven't explored the full potential of the DS in MD2. I was expecting something like Diamond/Pearl, but this...? Oh well, 6/10.
Sound: Eh, the SFX aren't that bad and the music is somewhat decent. It's a better follow up of the previous game. I can't really say much about anything else here. 7/10.
Gameplay: Ok, you are a human, and you were transformed into a Pokemon (which the test will determine which of the 16 starters you are, plus your aura).
Then you pick your partner, and start out in the world of MD2. You get to be a member of Wigglytuff Guild, and they basically give you jobs to do and, you'll be guessing already, that will be exploring Mystery Dungeons. Be it to get an item that a Pokemon has lost or just beat a boss, you'll explore these MD to the full (if you want), and each time you enter, the cave will change. The power of randomize, eh?
Well, the battles are simply A to attack, move to target and/or run, and L+A to store your special move. You gain exp. when you beat the Pokemon, which will contribute to leveling up, and consequently learning more and better moves. Nothing that is particularly new, just more of reinventing the wheel.
I give a 7/10 here.
Replay value: Well, it does have WiFi this time around, so that's an extra point for replay value. It's actually the first game to ask you for your real email address so it can tell you when Friend Rescues occur. I assume this has something to do with your friends' games (maybe when they pass a dungeon or something). Nevertheless, it will send you a confirmation email with a pin that I assure you receives perfectly on Hotmail, so that's a plus.
I don't think there is a lot of replay value after this, because the dungeon get boring and monotonous after some time. 8/10 here, however.
Resuming, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness is a reasonably good sequel to the previous games released a couple of years ago. Nintendo invested in WiFi and lots of new dungeons to explore, and that made some people happy, but the graphics and sound leave quite a bit to be desired. Plus, it's only fun the couple of times around, as you'll find yourself bored if you play this game too - and unless you're a diehard MD fan, I don't see you replaying this game.
I personally only recommend this if you really are a fan of these kind of games. Also, this is NOT a sequel to Diamond/Pearl.
Nintendo tried, and almost got the "formula" right, but not quite yet.