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Pokemon: Diamond/Pearl DS Review

11/08/2008 Thinking Perpetual Gamer Review
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Pokemon: Diamond/Pearl DS

Pokemon: Diamond/Pearl

Format:
DS

Genre:
Adventuring

Buy/Support:
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Joining my son in his Pokemon play times, I was surprised to find a fully fledged and engaging experience. Every much as bit a perpeptual experience as the more serious Role Play games I'd invested in

So many kids are fluent in the Pokemon language that is so foreign to us grown ups. This is because you can't simply look from the outside to understand the Pokemon world; you have to dive right in. It's a world that opens up to the faithful few who put in the few hours required to break into this new place. Once in, we see just how vast and indeed perpetual this wonderful world really is. A true Roele Play Game (RPG) at heart, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl rewards the time put in with true depths in game play that keep this grown-up coming back for more.

Pokemon makes little sense until you sit down and play it. Getting Pokemon Pearl on the DS for my six year old son open the door to this pocket monster paradise and gave him an extended vocabulary to boot. He would often describe to me his victories and discoveries in the colourful Pokemon grammar. Finally, one day he came bounding up to me eyes full of excitement to tell me that one of his Pokemon had evolved - I knew I needed to pick up the DS and work through the game myself to see this perpetual world for myself.

Getting Pokemon Pearl on the DS for my six year old son open the door to this pocket monster paradise and gave him an extended vocabulary to boot.

I played though Pokemon Pearl for a couple of hours and soon realised this is a fully fledged role play game with character levels and skills pulled along by a simple series of missions and you progress from city to city. This could well be my boy's first experience of a perpetual game - and he was loving it. It's full of decisions to make. You are fully in control of how you play the game. You chose where you go, which Pokemons you use in you battles and which skill they fight with and develop. There is a real sense of achievement when you level your Pokemon up and see your clutch of six Pokemon fighters getting stronger in just the way you choose.

Like many a perpetual RPG the more time you put in the more the game give you back in rewards. Even after a few hours of play and a handful of tips from the lad I was still way off beating him in the cleverly designed player on player arenas.

Of course the game would not be the hit it is without its robust battling system. You either battle other Pokemon trainers or wild Pokemon which crop up in long grass or caves. Within each battle you may use a number of different Pokemon to win. Each has four different moves and particular strengths and weaknesses. The more familiar you become with the massive variety of Pokemon the better you are at choosing just the right way to win each battle. A level 30 Pokemon may be ineffective against a level 10 Pokemon if it uses the wrong skill, or is just weak against that particular Pokemon type. The game can go very deep indeed - and in turn eat many hours while you strive to get your Pokemon levelled up, or even get it evolved into something stronger and new.

The game stays with you when you are not playing and feels like you are waiting to go back and live there some more.

It's a good feeling that Pokemon Pearl/Diamond gives you as you progress further and further with your own handful of Pokemon which you have watched grow from low level monsters. The game stays with you when you are not playing and feels like you are waiting to go back and live there some more. This really is a perpetual game and satisfies my own desire to play a game which is part of daily life. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is a wonderful place to live and grow.

Written by Dom Roberts

You can support Dom by buying Pokemon: Diamond/Pearl



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Dom Roberts writes the Perpetual Gamer column.

"Welcome to my perpetual gaming reviews. My quest is to look for that one Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS lite and PSP game that links my own ongoing life to it."

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