"We've seen this so many times, but somehow, it doesn't get old!"

Close your eyes and imagine. You're a 10 year old kid who, who just so happens to be receiving his or her very first Pokemon, while a devious team of brutes and thugs plans world domination (and at times destruction). Now imagine doing that ten times. It gets repetitive, doesn't it?

That's where Nintendo crosses the line from "overly-used game and plot" to "slightly altered game and plot with several bonus features and end-game additions". Mind you, that the plot has evolved slowly, yet surely, throughout many years of dedicated gamers. Now here stands before you a game that does it all again, but then again, doesn't do so as well. I'm talking about Pokemon Diamond and it's sister game Pokemon Pearl of course!

Plot

Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl take the Pokemon gaming franchise to a whole new level, something that's only been done occasionally in the franchises past.

In the past, you've had only one rival that either helps you out along the way, or constantly bashes you like like a hormone-infested dog. In this game, you have, not one, but TWO rivals. Throughout the game, your rivals both help you out, but only one provides a challenge. In essence, you have your supporting rival and your supportive, yet competitive, rival. For now, I'll call your supportive rival, S-Rival and your only competitive rival C-Rival

The plot takes advantage of this and truly refines it. You start out as none other than a kid (who's gender, name, and C-Rival is predetermined via mini-questionnaire in the beginning of the game) finds him/herself stuck with no way out. No way, except to use a Pokemon to assist you in your time of need. As you may have already guessed, this is your beginning Pokemon.

As you progress along the game's storyline, you will meet many other supporting characters,supportive, but not competitive. Their personalities vary from healing your Pokemon, to being pure brutes in the midst of combat. As you may think, they only help you one time and one time only. That is not true. Near the end of the game, they will pose as valuable allies that you can choose from, but that part is for you to find out by yourself.

Back to the plot, as I've stated before, a sinister team is plotting to take over the UNIVERSE (yup, you read that right) and reform it into the image that their master wants to see it as. As usual, you only stumble upon these pack of fools by accident, and now you're the only one that can save your friends and family, the whole universe in fact!

Besides the common side-story that we all know, there is still your main goal in the game, to challenge and beat the Elite Four (some of the strongest NPC's in the game). As usual, in order to reach them, you must obtain eight Gym badges which are given out by Gym Leaders in specific towns. The leaders become progressively harder over the course of the game, and the path to getting to them also gets harder. But after many hours of slaving with your Pokemon to be strong enough to beat the E4, you may think that the game is over now, and that there's not much else to do. That's where you're wrong.

-Bonus Features

Even during the main game, you still have a lot that you can spend hours on. There are Pokemon Contests, Accessories to collect, and Pokemon to obtain. Once the main game is defeated, however, there's a lot more to do than ever before possible in a Pokemon game. An item you obtain from S-Rival will allow you to catch Shiny Pokemon. Shiny Pokemon are differently colored Pokemon (just like the Red Gyarados in the anime and previous games).

There are not only items for you to collect, but other rare and valuable Pokes as well! Events that are being held in many places around the world can bring you new Pokemon, and maybe even familiar, yet stronger, ones! What's that you say? You don't want to step to the outside world where the bright light comes from and horrific beings known as girlfriends roam? That's no problem for the creators of Pokemon! Friend Codes can be registered in your Pal Pad so that you can trade wirelessly with friends, family, and strangers off of the internet! (Voice chat can always be turned off)

Regardless of how old you are, or how long you have been playing the Pokemon franchise, you can still get a kick out of this game!

Gameplay

The battle system hasn't really changed ever since the first Pokemon games of Red and Blue/Green. You still choose which attack you want your Pokemon to use, and in certain kinds of battles, on which enemy Pokemon. The difference this time is that Nintendo has used their little touch screen on the bottom to make it easier and faster to choose a move.

Your normal game progresses along the top as it has always done so in previous games. But what about the bottom touch screen, you might ask? Well, in the anime, Dawn uses a device called a Poketch. In the game, the Poketch (Poke Watch, Pocket Watch, Pokemon Watch, etc.) serves as a useful tool that can find out a wide variety of information for your use. You can also "write" down information via DS stylus.

The Poketch is a fairly simple device, but with many complex applications (nicknamed "apps" in the game) that can be added. There is a big red bar of to the right of the screen. If you touch, you can switch apps. The apps provided use the touch screen in many different ways, from telling the time, to counting. It's a great new addition for the gameplay category, as you can use it in many helpful ways, as I've already stated several times.

Movement in the game hasn't changed much either. You can still walk or run around using the directional pad and the "B" button as usual. The return of the bike helps you out a lot. Instead of two bicycle models that you have to switch between, there's only one. All you have to do is tap "Y" and your average easy-going bike becomes a speed demon for anything in it's way. (Don't get me wrong, you can still get in Pokemon encounters and Trainer battles while riding on the bike)

All in all, the familiar interface for moving around hasn't changed much, and hopefully never will. The upgrades done and the usage of the bottom screen as a helpful resource center will definitely be entertainment for both old-school vets and new-school newbies.

Graphics

Nothing says new Pokemon game like fresh new characters, fresh new character sprites, sparked up Pokemon sprites, new opponent trainer sprites, etc. You know the drill. As for those jobs, Nintendo has always delivered not only some of the best work they do, but also a little style and flare into it as well.

The new main character sprites are pretty good. Well, the female character's sprite is very well done. The male character's sprite is pretty odd. The hat is mostly the cause for the hate. I somewhat agree as well. It's pretty mediocre, but it's still well done. Most people are able to get past it.

As for Pokemon sprites, they have been completely revamped. Positions that you grew accustomed to in Blue, LeafGreen, Ruby, and any other Pokemon game have been altered. But the differences between the male and female Pokemon are now obvious. For example, a Pikachu in previous games had the same kind of tail, somewhat shaped like a thunder bolt. In Diamond and Pearl, only the male has the thunder-like tail. The end of the female's tail looks kind of like a heart.

This new game has over one-hundred new Pokemon. It's almost predictable that the new game will feature several new attacks for you to use. With these new attacks come new battle animations. And, let's face it, you don't want to see the same old flamethrower animations that you saw in FireRed, right? Well Nintendo has improved upon the new attacks as well as updating upon the oldest ones.

Audio

-Music

Be it a haunted house with ghost people flying about, or a cheery strip of land filled with flowers and lush grass, the Pokemon franchise has always delivered quality music for the area it's intended to be st up. This game is no difference. There is always something new to your ears as you venture along the many routes and cities of the Sinnoh region.

Battling different kinds of Trainers and enemies would mean different battling music. Depending on who or what you're battling, there are several selections of music that can be played at any given moment. Even the Mystery Zone (an area where you can't get into unless you have an Action Replay device) has it's own little theme, although it's just a quieter version of a piece that's played during a couple of Routes.

-Sounds

According to your situation, there are a wide variety of "beeps" or a more complex version of them that can be played. There's your simple simple little note everyone time you interact with a person or object via "A" button. Then there's the sound of your attack hitting your opponent in a Super Effective manner. There's always a way to differentiate between what you're doing using the sounds alone.

Replay Value

Not many people replay a Pokemon game, but almost everyone enjoys the end-game and the sidequests that you're able to do. After defeating the game there's still a lot more that can be done, as I've stated already. It's just up to you to decide what kind of person you want to be. You can be a collector if you wish. This is where you can collect your own personal collection of Shiny Pokemon, Event Pokemon, Legendary Pokemon, etc. but not do anything with them except for offer them up for more events, shinies, etc.

As I've already said, you may trade, battle, or even voice chat with many people in the end-game. It's only your choice of what you want to do after the main plot ends.

Overall~9/10

Pokemon Diamond is a welcome new addition to the Pokemon game lineup. It features several new activities to try out, and many other familiar ones. Someone who has played Pokemon ever since the R/B days will most likely enjoy this game. Although you just can't help feel that you've done this over....and over....and over again. Either way, you can still have fun, as long as you don't get too hooked on the first day.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/08

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