Pokemon Platinum: Preview

While the announcement of a May release date for Europe may have some fans tearing their hair out, after being placed last once again; compared to past differences it isn't actually as bad as it seems. That's nothing compared to the gulf with Japan, who have had a chance to play it since last September. In fact, according to reports from Japanese magazine Famitsu, it's one of the fastest selling DS games of all time, and has already sold over 2.5 million copies.

If you're not familiar with how the Pokémon games work by now I’ll explain the process. Nintendo usually bring out two sister games to start off with (Red & Blue, Ruby & Sapphire etc), and then after a short while they bring out the third in that set; the latter usually including all the best bits from the previous two, plus a whole lot more on top to keep you occupied. Platinum is no different, well, except in its name. It's the first title that is not named after a colour, and is based solely on a metal. Gold and Silver being colours and metals in their own right.

The main difference between this game and the last two is the inclusion of a new ‘distortion world’ which is reeking havoc across Sinnoh (the place in which the game is set), and is causing temperatures to plummet. So expect most of your surrounding’s to be covered in ice and snow, with the odd few icebergs appearing in the water, and a couple of the characters sporting warmer clothes. Aside from that there are a few more cosmetic changes, some more subtle than others. The level up bar for example has changed ever-so-slightly, some towns now have extra features and different pathways, and the quality of some sprites has improved significantly; a fair few now animated, which adds to the overall realism.

There are absolutely no new Pokémon this time around, but they have made available all the non-legendary Pokémon in every single evolved and pre-evolved form that has ever featured in a previous game. So filling that Pokédex should be a little bit easier this time around. They’ve also included the main Pokémon from both Diamond and Pearl (Dialga and Palkia), together for the very first time, plus all other legendary creatures that featured in those two titles. So just incase you happened to miss buying them, they’re not vital in your journey to ‘collecting them all’.

The game is also Wi-Fi compatible like you’d expect, and they’ve added a new Wi-Fi Square mode for you to play about with. It supports up to a total of 20 players and focuses exclusively on mini-games. Great if you’re tired of the monotony of trainer battles.

Pokémon Platinum is released on March 22nd in North America and May 22nd in Europe.

Craig Bryan, NoobFeed