Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness for GameCube Reviews by Gamers

Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness is a Pokemon game for the Gamecube. This is not the first time they've made such a game for the system, but there are some aspects of this game that may entice gamers to pick up the old Pokeball again. XD has some game mechanics that fans of the older games will not be used to. You see, the world of XD is infested with Shadow Pokemon, which you can think of as Pokemon that have fallen to the dark side. Now, it's your mission to capture these fallen Pokemon and return them to the light side of the force (mixed up my sci-fi there, but similarities abound). You use other healthy Pokemon and use of shadow Pokemon to help these wayward creatures open their heart and return to normal. However, the group Cypher is trying hard to create a bunch of these little critters. Now, unlike many Pokemon games, the majority of the Pokemon you catch here are shadow Pokemon you catch during trainer battles. The only others you're allowed to catch are some wild Pokemon you'll find at designated Pokesites which you catch by leaving Pokefood you buy at the Pokemart. All of this gets so boring you might go out of your Pokemind, but it's something to do if you so Pokechoose. There's also bingo, coliseum battles, virtual battles and 82 Pokemon to purify, which will take you pretty long (over 20 hours) to complete along with the main story. All of this might get a bit tedious as you jump into battles, watch the Pokemon come out of their balls and read experience disbursement over and over again. However, Gale of Darkness made me remember why I played Pokemon in the first place: it's a clever, simplified adventure game with shades of RPG goodness. I was disappointed that free-roaming is virtually non-existent, but this is a decent reminder or introduction to the Pokemon series.