One great game.
The game picks up about five years after Colosseum events. You take control of a young boy who lives at the Pokemon HQ Lab. Everyone thinks that Cipher is dead, until they take a ship filled with Pokemon. The hero is sent out with a Snag Machine and an Eevee to go capture Shadow Pokemon and stop Cipher and their evil plans. A long the way you'll see familial faces from Colosseum, like Minor B., and meet some new people. The game added some new areas, but using a lot of the old ones.
The game plays like a normal Pokemon game, except for a few things. One, you can't catch wild Pokemon unless you place PokeSnacks down at PokeSpots, which is a new feature. Two, you catch most of your Pokemon from other trainers, just like in Colosseum. Three, almost every fight will be a double battle, just like in Colosseum. Double battling will make you think when it comes time to catching a Shadow Pokemon, or six, in a fight.
Some of the new features, that are worthwhile, include PokeSpots, Battle Sims, Battle Bingo, Minor B.'s Radar, and the Purification Chamber. PokeSpots, as I stated before, work when you have PokeSnacks at them. You buy some PokeSnacks and then place them at one of the three PokeSpots. After running around for a bit, a Pokemon will appear and you can fight it or catch it. Battle Sims and Battle Bingo are two side quests that are found at Realgam Tower. Through out the game you will find Battle CDs. The CDs can be used here. They are challenges that use Pokemon Battles. Battle Bingo is like Bingo, but you use Pokemon to fight and try to clear the entire board. Minor B.'s Radar is a new item that will tell you where he is. You'd need to to know this is you missed a Shadow Pokemon before. They will end up in his party giving you another chance, or more, at them. And the Purification Chamber is the work of the Pokemon HQ Lab. You place normal Pokemon in it and they will help open the heart of a Shadow Pokemon. By normal Pokemon I mean any Pokemon that's not a Shadow Pokemon. It holds the key to opening the heart of XD001 or Shadow Lugia.
The game also brings back other great features of Colosseum, Mt. Battle and Colosseums. Both are great places to train Pokemon, earn cash and other prizes. You can also find Minor B. in the Colosseums when your radar goes off. There is also more Shadow Pokemon this time around.
The graphics are basicly recycled from Colosseum, though there are a few touch ups here and there. Still, it looks nice and the Pokemon and moves are animated well. The biggest problem I have with the graphics is the shadows. They seem to be a pit off or glitchy at times. The music, oh the music! One of my favorite parts of the whole game. Just about every tune is catchy. One of my favorites is Minor B.'s Theme. Great guitar rift.
Overall, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness may reuse parts of Pokemon Colosseum, but it has a great number of new features to make it a great entry into the Pokemon Franchise. There's a lot of replay value and you'll spend about 25 to 30 hours on just the story alone. If you liked Pokemon Colosseum, like Pokemon games, want a good GameCube game, or just like RPGs, this the game for you.
Pros:
+Fun side quests
+Great story
+Catchy music
Cons:
-Recycled graphics
Scores:
Gameplay: 8.0
Graphics: 7.0
Story: 9.0
Sound: 9.0
Replay Value: 8.0
Fun Level: 8.0
Overall: 8.7