"An amazing improvement over the others."

Ah, Pokemon. A game that most people have played before just for the joy of catching little creatures and raising them to fight by your side. All around the world, millions of people continue to play this very series of games because of the massive amounts of fun it brings to your game system and to yourself. Kids from all over raise their very favorite Pokemon and battle for petty competition while experienced and veteran players know exactly what they're doing and play this game for real competition. The competition status for this series of games have certainly improved with the arrival of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and players are battling with more experience than before.

Nevertheless, it boils down to that fact that the arrival of this game has brought a whole new spark of life back into this series. It's another game that everybody's happy to see.

I digress. Let's get on with the review, shall we?

I won't be scoring this game using the mean of all the other scores together since this game has a different style to gaming unlike others. Well, it's mainly because it'll be biased on my behalf since there's really no story. Thus, you'll just have to read to see the ups-and-downs of this game.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl takes you into another world of Pokemon with plenty more to see. About another hundred Pokemon has been added to the ever-growing list, and there's just so much more to explore and see. The new Sinnoh region that has opened to you welcomes you into a new adventure for you to travel through. With many cities, towns, sceneries, and Pokemon to see, it's no doubt that it'll be a blast to play this game.

And so, this game starts out traditionally with you encountering a Pokemon Professor and picking your first ever started to journey with. You transverse through many towns and battle your way towards "being the very best". Every town is another enjoyable place to explode, and every trainer is another person so entertain you on the way through the game. You battle through eight gym leaders, as always, and win a badge from them if you managed to achieve victory. Collecting eight badges allows you access to the Pokemon League, your last step into this game.

Massive improvements have been made to this game; about everything you've seen in Emerald is in this game, except for the lack of a new area like the Battle Frontier (No, the Battle Areas don't count), which is a pity. However, this game allows more simpler ways to grow Pokemon for your liking to play competatively, of course. New, fearsome Pokemon have been added to assist the metagame, as well as brand new attacks.

And of course, the first thing you notice once you start this game are the amazing and wonderful graphics the game presents to you. The original flat and tiny sprites are banished, and you are now introduced to new polygon, 3D images everywhere in this game. Whether it's the little character sprite or the magnificent display of the overhead Spear Pillar, you can't help but be impressed by the graphics. However, the problem resides with the battle sprites. Despite the improvements, the in-battle sprites aren't as impressive, seeing how most of them are dull and boring. Not only that, some of them are amazingly glitchy-looking, giving them an ugly look.

The sounds are nothing to impressed about, really. Nothing catches your attention, except maybe the catchy battle themes, though repetative, but the music isn't necessarily bad or annoying.Though there's always the simple little sounds that catches your ear from time to time, such as your feet crunching through the snow or sand or stomping through a marsh.

The gameplay's the same as always; there's really nothing to say about that. But that is not at all bad; I mean, who doesn't like a new adventure where you get to explore a new world. It's always fun to capture and use new Pokemon that'll beat down all who stands on your way to glory, eh? No matter how many times the gameplay of the Pokemon games have been reused, it'll always stay fresh and fun to all of us. If you haven't known already, the gameplay to this game is to pit up a Pokemon against another Pokemon on the field and have them beat each other up. But don't dismay, there's much more strategizing to it. Not only do you have six Pokemon total, all of them have their own strengths and weaknesses that allow you to play competatively. A team consists of Pokemon that'll all have their abilities to assist in battle, and you'll have to take them all to mind if you wish to battle competatively. But it all centers on that fact that two Pokemon dish it out in a fighting spree. But even getting your opponent's Pokemon's HP down to zero might not be an easy task...

How grand is the world? Oh, you'd better believe it when I say that it's large. I was mightily impressed when it took me fifty hours to beat this game, and it was definitely an enjoyable experience, getting to explore the world and all that. Though I wished it could be a bit larger, with a Battle Frontier-like place, it's still pretty awesome. Of course, it's still hard to pass by a new world and adventure, right?

My overall review is: 9/10

Pros:
A new world and a new adventure. That pretty much sums it all up. With new and improved graphics soft on the eyes, you'll go through a whole new region filled with brand new Pokemon just waiting for you to cross by them. Battle competatively has met a new high with the influence of Wi-Fi onto this game, allowing you to battle for bragging-rights over Wi-Fi. A hundred new Pokemon added to this new series of game is always something to look forward to. And you just can't frown at 30-50 hours of gameplay.

Cons:
As, such a shame for a big-yet-small world. After the game is over, all you could do is catch the remaining legendaries and that's all. Sure you could explore the Battle Areas, but there's not too much to do there, really; it's all too simplistic. I would've been happy with the addition of a Battle Frontier area, but that definitely didn't happen. It's a shame that this game is too focused on Wi-Fi battling after you finish the game; too bad I don't have Wi-Fi.

Well, that's all I have to say about this wonderful game. I was definitely excited when I first got this game, and I definitely did not regret getting it. For you Pokemon fans out there, get this game, as it'll be more fun for you. For you people who have been playing only the old-school Pokemon games and stopped, you might as well pick this up along the way, as the whole new gaming experience will blow you away. And for everybody else, whether you shun the Pokemon series or are a buisinessman, you should definitely get this game a role, as you'll be surprised at what this game offers to you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/07

Game Release: Pokemon Diamond (US, 04/22/07)