Pokemon Black for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

Since Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, Pokemon titles have fallen into a rut. Same graphics style, same basic music flow, same sprites that do nothing. The DS hardware brought a lot of potential to the series, and subsequent games didn't seem to meet that potential. Pokemon Black/White doesn't exactly shatter the formula, but it does make some much-needed improvements.

This time around, the Pokemon on the battlefield will move, and actually perform the attacks instead of just having little stars or lines flying on the screen. For the basic Tackle attack, for instance, the Pokemon performing the move will scrunch up, as if it were taking a three point stance, and then burst forward, launching itself toward its opponent.

The Professor isn't your standard aging bearded old man mentoring little kids on the first steps of their journey. It's a woman named Juniper, who seems to be a little more in-touch with the player and his or her two friends.

The visuals are impressive. Buildings, signs, trees and the like are represented in full 3D polygons, though the battlefield is mostly still 2D sprites. Seasons will change, as well. My game started in Autumn, and following my first steps through Route 1, the leaves on the trees were all red and brown, and leaves were even blowing across the screen.

All in all, this years' Pokemon is much more impressive than the last two offerings. Definitely worth a buy.