Pokemon Stadium 2

"This game surpassed my expectations!"

Pokemon Stadium 2. It is either a game you love, or it is a game you hate. There is no in between. It really depends on if you have the Pokemon cartidge for the GameBoy. If you do have it, then you'll be entertained for a long time. If you dont, well that is a completly different story. If you don't have the Gameboy game you will tire of the rentals, trust me...

Gameplay:
As stated above. It is either a game you love or a game you hate. Now, I must say... the rentals movesets are terrible! And to make matters worse the game does not come with a transfer pak! Luckly for me I had my old transfer pak. Just wanted to warn you before you go out and get it. If you don't have the GameBoy game, get it before you buy this. If you don't, then I insist that you rent it. I mean would you buy toothpaste without a toothbrush? That is how this game is to R/B/Y/G/S. If you have the GameBoy game, then prepare to be entertained! Not only can you battle your favorite Pokemon to battle in 3D, you can also play a mini game with your Pokemon! One of my favorite features however is the ability to make my Pokemon Battle each other. Also if you have the cartridge you can win prize Pokemon. I wont tell you what they are, you'll have to earn them yourself.
*coughcoughearthquakegligarbatonpassingfarfetch'dcoughcough*
In short, this game is pretty good if you have a Cartridge.

Graphics:
The graphics are pretty damn sweet. The Pokemon look and move totally sweet. The original 151 look exactly the same as they do in the first Pokemon Stadium game except much smoother. The new Pokemon look just as good as I expected. In fact the animations of them look so good they inspired me to train that Pokemon! (I am now a Houndoom trainer)

StoryLine:
If you want a story play another game. In this game the story is non-existant. They have absolutly NO story at all. Period.

Control:
What control? You push a button to do a move. It is basically menu driven. I have never played a game that is menu driven yet it still has bad control. In the mini games however you rely on the control. They are all pretty sharp but in that Golbat game I can't seem to win...

Sound:
It's good. They have the voice Compression thingy but yet they don't take advantage. Why don't all the Pokemon talk? Pikachu talks. Carrie giggles. Earl talks like a wannabe Mario. The annoucer says his words. I must say, they are not as annoying as before. He still has alot of his original sayings such as, ''What's the matter trainer?''. Also, ''You can't move while your frozen.''
Then agian, he does get repetive quick. You can turn him off but I prefer to keep him on. It adds the feel of being in a stadium battling.

Rent/Buy?:
If you rent this game you will be in a lot of trouble. Because you will keep this game for a very long time and you will owe them alot of money. In short, this is a buy excusive! Unless of course you have on GameBoy cart and just want to see how it is.

Replayability:
If you beat this game, you get no ending. This is one of the games that is built for fun. Not for a ending. In other words, You will play this game alot of times! This is not a one hit wonder.

TheBottomLine:
This is a very good game and if you have the $59.99, go out and get it now. It doesn't get a ten(I wanted more prize Pokemon!), but it is hella good!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/05/01, Updated 04/05/01