Review: Pokemon Black and White, But Mostly Black!

Welcome to world of Pokémon! As the newest set of trainers guided by professor Juniper, You and your best friends set out on your very own Pokémon adventures! It is your job to travel the Unova region to gather the fifth generation of Pokémon to complete your pokedex, unravel the maniacal plans of the misguided Team Plasma and become the Pokémon master!

Before I start, I’ll need to tell you a few things. Yes, I am a Pokémon fan so my judgment may be considered a little biased. But for the sake of this review, I’ll mostly be outlining and comparing the differences between this 5th generation Pokémon title and its predecessors.

Concept: 8/10
Although most of the concept ideas have been recycled (Fire, water and grass starters, low tier Rats with horrendous overbites, Professors inexplicably named after plants, Irresponsible parents that let their children leave the house at the age of 10 to battle with dangerous wild animals), Pokémon Black and White have been given enhanced graphics, sleek interface, remixed music and revamped storyline, which I won’t be getting too much into (I really don’t like spoilers).

Graphics: 9/10
Gamefreak made a number of excellent changes to the graphics by building on the older concepts.

Battles are no longer the flat exchange of attacks you’ve seen in previous versions of the game. Pokémon Black and White adds a greater dynamic aspect to the battle system as each sprite moves independently during the fight and the camera follows each attack, capturing the movement of the battle. Still, I would like to have seen each Pokémon casting or using the attacks and abilities, instead of just a close up of the attack hitting the opponent.

Seasons have been added, greatly changing the landscape. Once a month, the seasons will change between spring, summer, fall and winter. Much like Shaymin and Castform, the appearance of some Pokémon may also change, but during different seasons instead of time of day or weather.

Music: 9/10
While it may never compare to the orchestrated masterpiece of the Legend of Zelda series (can you tell I’m a Zelda fan?), the music played during black (I’m not sure if it differs between games) has a quirky sense, all of its own which fits the mood of each location appropriately.