Pok¿mon Diamond and Pearl AU Impressions

Yeah, we know - it's hard to believe, but we finally received our final, boxed copies of Pok¿mon Diamond and Pearl in the IGN AU offices. We're as stunned as you presumably are. But the thrills don't end there. We're quietly pleased by how much we're enjoying another volume of Pok¿-lore.

Plenty has been written about the first ten minutes, through to the first 15 hours of the game, but that is beside the point. We're going to throw our two cents into the mix from a local perspective, prior to our upcoming review.

The way we see it, a title like Pok¿mon Diamond or Pearl is one of Nintendo's key releases of the year. Regardless of region, Pok¿mon titles have sold by the truckload, and Australia's no exception when in comes to embracing the adorable little freaks. Part of the reason for the series' success lies in its broad appeal and gameplay that relies on formula as much as any tabletop strategy game or card game.

As in all the previous core portable Pok¿mon games, you start off as a kid in a small village, with a big smile and high hopes of rising to the top of the Pok¿mon trainer tower. This time around, the game is set in Sinnoh - which seems a tad irrelevant, since geologically, it's the same mix of grassy fields, mountains, seas and caves that featured in past games, just remixed and fleshed out in partial 3D.

After a run-in with Professor Rowan, you'll be given the opportunity to choose your initial Pok¿mon from three possibilities - Turtwig (grass), Chimchar (fire) or Piplup (water). We chose Chimchar because, hey, monkeys are cool, particularly when they're partially on fire.

Pok¿mon's DS debut doesn't do much to the core game that breaks away from the defined mould established in Ruby and Sapphire. If this is your first Pok¿mon experience, the game introduces you to the basic gameplay concepts gradually.

After your lead Pok¿mon is brought into battle, the first key change to the battle system is in the way in which attacks and moves are categorized. Instead of simply 'Physical' and 'Special' attacks, Diamond and Pearl bumps the number up to three - introducing 'Status' for moves that don't do direct damage, but affect a Pok¿mon's status. It's a simple change, but it adds another thin layer of strategy to use or ignore at your discretion.

One of the coolest things we came across is something that is hinted at early in the game on TV sets around the word - the Pok¿tch. Basically a PDA watch with some 25 different functions built in, this is a very handy evolution of the Pok¿gear and Pok¿Nav from past games. It combines a calendar, a calculator (handy!), a friendship tracking function (strange!) and a pedometer (sure, why not?).

Super Contests - the evolution of Pok¿mon Contests from Ruby and Sapphire, are another enhanced feature. We didn't delve very far into the competitive scene, but like past games, you can juice your critters up with berries, put them through a round of simplistic minigames and then have the judges break your chosen beastie down by their unique stats accumulated through battle. All up, there are three stages to the competition now, fleshing out the experience a little more.

Pleasingly, the day/night real-time cycle is back, giving gamers looking to collect 'em all more reason to play in the morning or at night, rather than just in class when the teacher isn't looking. Not that we'd ever encourage that.

However, one of the coolest features - and one we're really keen to dive into properly - is the connectivity potential. Thanks to the DS' GBA cartridge slot built-in, it's possible to transfer across your Pok¿mon from any of the GBA Pok¿mon titles. Sweet. The twist is, you must recapture your Pok¿mon in a special area called 'Pal Park', which frankly seems like more hassle than it's worth. We'll find out and let you know.

But that's the lesser component of Diamond and Pearl's connection formula. Since the DS is Wi-Fi enabled (as is the Wii), trainers can now upload their key Pok¿mon to the upcoming Pok¿mon Battle Revolution Wii game. The chance to battle it out in full 3D is nothing new - heck, we could do it back in Nintendo 64 days - but the appeal hasn't really lessened. Pok¿mon can also be traded wirelessly to other local or international players, with a language setting automatically translating character names into English for non-bi- or trilingual players out there.

We found some of the low-key elements of the game a little overly-simplistic, to be honest. The combat in particular hasn't been altered much beyond a few new moves and the new move-class outlined above. We're hoping a bunch of cool HMs and TMs are waiting just around the bend. We shall see. You're also restricted to migrating 6 Pok¿mon per day, too, so potentially bringing across your entire collection could take a while. Better get started, eh?

The music is depressingly similar in midi quality and composition to the GBA titles - which is pretty average, given the DS can crank out some quality synthesized tunes when pushed. The exception to this is the opening title sequence theme, which is fairly impressive and sets a high bar that we have yet to see surpassed thus-far into our adventures in the Sinnoh region.

Graphics have never been the series biggest drawcard, and while the DS version introduces rudimentary 3D architecture and effects, the world is still kind of plain to look at. We did enjoy subtle footstep-trails left in sand, simulated reflections in the water and some of the nifty sprite-scaling and rotation effects in the battle sequences, but the DS is capable of (and the series deserves) much more.

Of course, for a game that potentially gives you access to 493 Pok¿mon when combining the GBA and DS titles' roster of critters, maybe we shouldn't be looking a gift Horsea in the snout. From what we can tell so far, our thoughts are much in line with the US'. Of course, we'll reserve final judgment for the review. Stay tuned.

Keep an eye out for our definitive review of Pok¿mon Diamond and Pearl in the coming days.

©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved