Pokemon Diamond (NDS) > Reviews > Poke-tastic

Author's product rating:   

Playability & Enjoyment	Excellent - very playable game
Addictiveness	Compulsive
Graphics	Good
Difficulty & Complexity	Average - suitable for most
Value for money	Good value

Advantages:	Better graphics, new additions and extras work well for the most part
Disadvantages:	same story may bore some, added diversions may irratate some

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought a Nintendo DS Lite that came with 20 games including Pokemon Diamond. I had been playing Pokemon Silver on my gameboy only a few weeks ago so I was instantly struck by the improved graphics of the Nintendo, and the fun touch screen.

The basic game plot seems to be the same as the others you capture pokemon, fight them, and try to beat gym trainers, and the elite four to be the champion. However, this version has a lot more side stories and little puzzles for example in one city you can enter you pokemon into talent competitions- it doesnt affect the game so you dont have to do it if you dont want to but it can be a fun diversion from just fighting all the time. And travelling around is more complex as it isnt straight forward which city you are to go to. You also have to fight Team Galatic along the way, they are a band of baddies you are trying to destroy the universe and you have to stop them (no pressure there then). Some people may find these diversion annoying and you just want to get on with the main aim of going to the pokemon league, however I thought it made the game more interesting.

By contrast I felt that beating opponents and gym leaders was easier in this version, but that may be because I have played other versions and know the tricks. New players may still find it quite challenging, and if you are a new player then every step is explained to you along the way (painfully slowly if you already know what youre doing) by other characters.

I mentioned slowness; I think the game play is even slower than the other versions. For example when you talk to someone, when you buy something, when you battle someone you have to wait for the text to scroll across the screen which can be quite annoying. Along your travels you collect 7 HM's (hidden machines), these are moves that you pokemon can learn such as fly or cut, they can use them in battle but you also need them to get where you're going. And in this version when you use fly (for example) instead of just flying you have to let the pokemon out of its pokeball and then collect it again. It only takes a few seconds but as a meber of the digital generation they should realise that my ability to wait merely seconds for gratification has been all but destroyed.

The Nintendo DS has a touchscreen that you use during the game, you use it mainly for fights (touching which move you want your pokemon to use). I quite like the touch screen but its a bit fiddly to use it best you need to put the console on a table but these consoles were made to be hand held- so I end you poking it with my figer instead of the stylus (special little stick) and getting smudges on it.

Other ways Pokemon Diamond is different from earlier pokemon versions; you can choose whether you are a girl or boy which is quite nice and unusual in computer games, you dont have an arch enemy that you often battle but instead a friend who also wants to win but also helps you out now and then, you can battle two other trainers at once using two of your pokemon at once, of course there are new pokemon and its up to you whether you like them- they all look a bit silly to me so Im not sure im convinced by them- but they do come with a special power now (that isnt a move, and you cant change) such as Ponyta which has 'runaway' allowing it to always be able to run from wild pokemon (very useful) and starly which has 'intimidate' which cuts the other pokemons attack power. The bag that you keep you stuff in now has many compartments-Items, medicine, pokeballs (of which there are many more kinds), TMs and HMs, Berries (which you pick and can plant and turn into pomade to help win the talent comps mentioned earlier), Mail, Battle Items, and Key Items. This is useful as it helps you keep track of things better. Depositing pokemon into you computer is easier too as you can see the picture of the pokemon in the box and all of their info. Also if you deposit a pokemon with an item you can get the item back without having to take out the pokemon again. And you get a pokedetch (oh I cant remember what its called), and slowly you build it up so you have an anolgue clock, a digital clock (why you need both I have no idea), a calculator, money counter, one that shows you the health of your pokemon (quite useful), one thats supposed to show how much your pokemon like you, one thats supposed to help you find hidden items (but doesnt), location of berries, recently obtained pokemon, a counter. So not very useful really. And I dont see the point of it but its a fun idea.

Anyway, to summise the graphics and gameplay are better than previous incarnations. Its still the same story basically (though with some diversions), and the pokemon are getting silly (up to you whether you like them), but the new additions make up for it and theyve smoothed out some of the problems from the old versions. So I recommend it for pokemon fans.