Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Been there, done that"

Pokemon. It's just one of those words that you bring up and there's either a whole bunch of ridicule or a whole bunch of people wanting to trade/battle with those miraculous creatures. The ever-so-classic franchise does its traditional dance, and makes a third game in the fourth generation. The result? Pokemon Platinum. Possibly one of the many Pokemon games that'll confuse you if you're a newcomer to the series.

Remarkably enough, it's still not boring, no matter what happens. You'd assume that the same repetitive formula would just be boring by now, but no, it's not. But, that is what makes Pokemon great.

Anyway, Pokemon Platinum is centered around Team Galactic and their plan to - what else? - take over the world using Pokemon. Which Pokemon, you ask? Dialga and Palkia. In Diamond and Pearl, Team Galactic uses only one of those Pokemon (depending on the version you own). But, using both, they summon a Pokemon that can potentially consume the entire world: Giratina, the main Pokemon of Platinum.

Giratina was obtainable in Diamond and Pearl after you receive the National Dex, and was found in Turnback Cave. Now, you can find it in the Distortion World (or if you defeat it the first time, Turnback Cave). This time around, it's fascinating, because Giratina seems to have an "Origin Forme", which seems to be a transformation for it and it makes Giratina more powerful. A great idea.

There's something like this for the event Pokemon, Shaymin, as well. It makes Shaymin look awesome, and boosts it's abilities/stats. But, hey, you need to do an event for that.

You're back in Sinnoh, so many of the environments will look familiar and there's not really new. There's practically only one new area, and it's the Battle Frontier. With new facilities such as the Battle Castle and the Battle Arcade, you'll be addicted for hours. The Distortion World is a new area too, but it won't last long.

One of the great features about Pokemon is the music. Though most of the music, again, is from the fourth generation/Sinnoh with only a few new songs (courtesy of the Battle Frontier and the Distortion World). Still enjoyable, nonetheless.

Last, but not least: Nintendo Wi-Fi. This is, undeniably, the best feature in Pokemon ever. That is, of course, if you have a habit of staying in the Wi-Fi Plaza for two hours playing Mini-Games like crazy or setting up useless trades that you know will get you nowhere.

It's fun, honestly. I mean, if you have Mystery Gift, you can get Wonder Cards that can get you event items or event Pokemon (like the Secret Key to change Rotom's form or the Pikachu-coloured Pichu which was started last week).

In conclusion, Pokemon Platinum is absolute fun. If you've spent over 100 hours playing it, like I have, you've ought to give yourself a medal. And, with HeartGold and SoulSilver coming up (today for you Americans, can't wait to read the reviews!), you should keep your Sinnoh Pokemon. They may be quite useful for you Pokedex in HGSS.