Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness

"Just a bit outside..."

This game didn't really absorb me. The story isn't that long, the characters don't look that good, and the quick battles are lacking.

Story: 5/10
This part of the game is rather short. After you send Cipher packing, there's not much to do. Sure there's the Orre Colosseum, but chances are, your pokemon aren't level 60 yet. I did like the fact that all battles are double battles, though. This gave a new aspect to the game.

Graphics: 7/10
The main character looks WAY cooler than Colosseum's. I would like to see the main character in a Pokemon game talk for once though. The pokemon in the battles look better, and the new attack actions were cool, too. The graphics are alright, the towns and hideouts look pretty cool.

Sound: 9/10
I really liked the music in this game. It varied from jazz to techno to country.
When situations that were bad sprang up, a cool piano piece played. The music varies from the place your in.

Controls: 8/10
The controls for this game are really simple. They are basically the same as the Gameboy Advanced pokemon games, the x and y buttons really served no purpose, though. The z button only served a purpose only in the purification chamber.

New Features: 5/10
They did not really add any new features to this game from Colosseum. The one cool thing is that you get to see Bonsly and Munchlax. The quickbattle feature isn't that good. It doesn't allow you to choose your own pokemon. The thing that really upset me was that you had to beat the whole game to trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Firred/Leafgreen. They should have allowed this after you beat Gorgian. They should have made pokemon eggs obtainable. Battle bingo is pretty cool, and entertaining.

Overall: 6/10
I'd say rent it and see how you like it. It is priced at about $49.99, a little bit more than what it's worth. The graphics are an improvement, the music is good, the controls are easy, and Munchlax is awesome.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/11/06