By Jordan Komnick ’11, Copy Editor

Though most people associate Pokémon with elementary school, I find that even as a high school senior the games still deliver solid entertainment. And to this day there are few things more satisfying than the wonder felt at the beginning of a new Pokémon game, when your small town’s resident professor grants you your first creature and sends you off

to explore a new land. In the newest releases in the series, entitled Pokémon Black and White, this satisfaction was doubled when, upon leaving my in-game house, I was greeted with an entirely new set of Pokémon and a more urban, dynamic world. Nintendo is both becoming more aware of their older fans and trying to make the series feel fresh, and it definitely shows.

One of the first things I noticed when I started playing my new copy of Pokémon Black was that most towns and cities, along with some other areas, had a 3-D effect applied. This had been used for one dramatic scene in the previous games, Heart Gold and Soul Silver, and I was glad to see it return. The 2-D characters and Pokémon, rendered as small, detailed sprites, blend right into the world. Though the graphics are simplistic, they are quite colorful and polished. However, occasionally it seems that the artists and programmers got lazy; larger images of Pokémon used during battle are just the smaller sprites blown up so they become pixilated, and there are points where smoke or dust are used to obscure the screen to avoid animating complicated actions. Overall the graphics are good, and exactly what should be expected from the notoriously simple Pokémon series.

The thing I love most about this game is the improved battle system. Like in previous games, each move your Pokémon makes triggers a different animation and shows the effects on the opponent. However, these animations have been sped up enormously, making battles quicker and less excruciating for the player. And now, battles are kept interesting through movement and changes in camera angles at certain points. Levelling up your Pokémon through hundreds of wild battles no longer seems like the chore it used to be.

Pokémon Black and White represents the first steps into a new direction for the series, and I, for one, cannot wait to see where Nintendo takes this franchise. Though these particular games occasionally suffer from

unoriginal new creatures and derivative plots, they are still enjoyable overall, and a definite buy for anybody looking for a fun game that provides hours upon hours of playtime.

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