"The Recycling Stops."

It was March, and all I could think about was getting this game. Being a huge fan of Pokemon, this reviewer awoke Sunday, April 22nd, the very day of the release and drove to Gamestop. I bought the game and brought it home. I was sadly disappointed. It was exciting to see a vamped battle system, new Pokemon, and new strategies. One can't handle the same story told in the exact same manner spanning for about ten years. Why? Why the heck did they spoil the formula? When I say 'spoil' I mean 'you designer guys hurt us experienced players.' It's all the same. The game has been recycled. And I hope this is last time.

A Quick Note for The Parents...
If you're new to the Pokemon craze, or a parent looking for a gift for your child then this is it. The game is user friendly. This game is everything a kid could want, cute, cuddly, friends you use to beat down other Pokemon with. Animations are mild and often don't include injuries or even blood. Rather, one must use Moves to take down the other Pokemon anyway they can. I'll say this again, if you're a kid or a parent who's looking for nice gift then you've come to right place. This game is for everyone, that's just it's problem. Now stop reading this review and go get it. As for the rest of us...

Story
The worst storyline is one that doesn't progress or move on. This is Pokemon's vice. Now what happens in nature when an animal doesn't adapt to it's ever changing environment? It goes extinct. Now what happens when that same rule is applied to a game that's stayed the same for years? It gets old. Why? Because everyone gets tired of the same routine.

Here's an example. What would you do you wrote a masterpiece of a book, everyone loved it. After selling a million copies 'Hey, why not add even more to the book?' So you do it. It's a hit. Since the idea is so revolutionary it floats where others crash and burn. So it's, lets say, ten years later. You've made a lot money selling your books. Now you think 'Well, I'll just rewrite it and everyone will love me.' Wrong. Your story, your idea, has become a household name. The people who were with you at the beginning want more. They want more, they want expansion, not recycling. But there you go, thinking it's still gonna float. Now ask yourself, if it did, would I be writing this?

Here is the story: You start in the a small town. You pick one of three Pokemon, types include Fire, Water, and Grass. You leave town to collect badges from Gyms, a total of eight badges and eight gyms. Along the way you stop a nefarious plot by 'Team.' After you defeat the Gym Leaders, you challenge the Elite Four. You defeat the Elite Four and defeat the Champion. You become the Champion. The End...Zzz.... Have I described the start and end of of every Pokemon title to date (other then the major consoles such as GameCube and N64?) Yes. I can't recommend that you, the Pokemon veteran who has played Red and Blue and Gold and Silver, to play this game. You couldn't hack it. This reviewer couldn't. If your a seasoned pro who started on Red & Blue then steer clear. This ain't for us.

Is it me or does everyone in this game love to state the obvious in this game? It's not cute. For someone whose played the earlier games I get this gnawing feeling in the back of my mind saying 'Gee, haven't I played this before? Why am I still doing this if there just going to recycle ideas over again?' What was once a unique and lovable game has turned bitter and grating. Every Gym leader eventually fights you. You fight every Rival at some point. You manage to take down 'Team' at some point. And you manage to capture all the Pokemon you can only to taste bittersweet victory, because they want you buy the GBA versions in order to get older Pokemon. It's not fun. This is a prime example of things designers should not do, recycling. It works in real life, but not in gaming.

Gameplay
New Pokemon! New Moves! It's all brand new! This would excite me if they hadn't pulled the same trick the last two times. In short, it's been recycled to look new. At least the last two added a little more depth, such as breeding, cell-phone devices, beauty contests. And what did we get this time around, WiFi? I'm sure that's great if you can find a wireless internet source, but for the rest of us were pretty much on our own. WiFi isn't exactly a large improvement when many people just hack to get their Pokemon. Or when people put up their Bidoof's for level 100 Mew's. Not a fair trade.

The new Pokemon don't do anything to stand out. I'd rather the designers spend more time thinking up creative creatures then what we got now. Can't say that I'm very impressed either. Let's see now, you capture Pokemon, you level them, then you evolve them. Sounds familiar? It's yet another startling similarity you'll find in every Pokemon game to date. Let's move on and get a closer look at these 'new Pokemon.' Do you know what a Rattata is? Do you know what a Bidoof is? What about Zigzagoon? What if I told you they were the same Pokemon, stat-wise and ability-wise? Would you believe me? These Pokemon are cookie cutter cutouts of each other with the minor exception of species. As I compare more and more of these Pokemon I realize how in-tune they are with the older generations. Same basic patterns only given an extra pinch that gives us a different portrait of what we have. They fill the gap with overpowered legendaries, uneeded extra evolutions, and useless pre-evolutions that make you wonder 'Why am I playing this?'

The new Moves are really something else. The one thing I wanted to see improvement on and they did it. Bravo. now the types are separated and we have sub-categories. What Moves fall under Attack stats? What Moves fall under Special Attack stats? With this minor upgrade the movepool of many Pokemon are restored...but is it worth it? Where's the tact? Where's the bottom line? Ultimately, this part lies with the viewpoint you, the reader. 'New Moves' don't really add much to the older Pokemon, and even with these 'New Moves' you may find them as useless as I do. Yet another example of recycling is when you compare Thunder Fang with Thunder Punch; whats the difference other then a few well placed statistics? Moves with special effects just put under a different type is not a 'new Move,' it's recycled.

Interesting how you can't 'Catch'em All' in a single cartridge even though that's been the motto since the good old days of Red/Blue. At most you can capture over one-hundred Pokemon in Diamond, but the rest you'll need in Pearl. Let's not forget about #1-150, but wait! How can we 'catch'em' when we can't trade with FireRed and LeafGreen? We got Pal Park for that! Oh, but only six, and you can't trade them back into FireRed or LeafGreen. Now how are we supposed to...oh silly me! We need to buy Emerald/Sapphire/Ruby and get those Pokemon as well! Of course I'm sure they didn't do this intentionally so we could spend our money on outdated GBA games. In fact you've never been able to 'catch'em all' in one game. You need to trade. You need to get. And you need to buy. It's a scheme, plain and simple.

When I look at the improvements one would think something new would have been added. No. It's like that one kid at the buffet who adds sixteen different flavors to their soda. You just can't pile on more and more of the same thing and expect everyone to go along. It just can't be done.

Music
There is nothing harmonious about this game. There are Town tunes, Gym tunes, Battle tunes, it's all there. Just recycled junk. I've never thought to myself 'Would this game be better if the Pokemon had their own signature cries?' Have you...? Thought not. The sounds are jingle-jangle, placed there because it's needed and not shown. I used to admire the end-game battles with the Champion in earlier titles. Now I feel no excitement. It's there but stale which grates like clawing at a chalkboard. It's no good.

WiFi
Wireless communication all around the world! Except of the fact that everyone wants something for nothing. A level 100 Mewtwo in exchange for a Wurmple. Yes, I am looking at the screen as I'm writing this. Someone wants a level 100 Charizard for their starter...hmm...
When the world of trade is run by children, who would suspect things like this would happen? Overall, if you can find a wireless port, trading is often a good way to go. It can add diversity to your team, having another ID in your ranks means the better chance of winning the in-game lottery.

Controls
What better way of showing the designers mastery of the touch-screen then setting up a bunch of unremarkable 'mode's' on your 'Poketech?' Is it better? Could you do without it? I could. What's there to say? You move up, down, left, and right. But this time, you can use the stylus to fight! That would be work if it wasn't more convenient to just use the D-Pad. I for one am glad we have an option that's useless. For no man should be without his stylus. Press A to use Moves/Items. Press B to cancel. It's that simple. How do they do it?

Replayability
If you can stand the story then you can replay it. Let's see now. There are over 493 Pokemon in the game, but half of that turns out to evolutions or pre-evolutions of some other species. Since one has at least 300 left to play with the rate at which one could replay is phenomenal. If you were to never get bored of Pokemon, one could theoretically play a hundred times over with a different party of six each time. Once you've played a game that has a story with substance one might look to this games storyline as 'inferior' and rightly so.

Theoretically, if someone could stand the storyline, and if they could get access to a whole new team each time the a new game began and if they had the tolerance to train, train, train then the rate of replay would be high. This is just a reviewers opinion.

Overall
This game is recycled to make it look like something new but it's not. It's the same stuff fed to us from a different angle. Like watching the same movie from a different viewpoint. It may look new, sound new, and smell new but it's still the same. Anything that looks new is not. The new features are good for those few who have a decent WiFi connection. If you are a experienced player don't buy this game, just stick with Emerald or some other GBA title and forget this game exists. If you're new to the Pokemon craze then by all means play until your thumbs turn blue and eyes start to dry. The Pokemon Company has taken away everything Pokemon once was. A good game stays a good game only as long as it progresses. It's time to stop this, it's time to change.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/08

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