 |
| Sad Pikachu. (Credit: Nintendo/ The Pokémon Company |
phone gripped tightly, always on edge waiting for the telltale vibration.
For me, the game really stopped being fun when the lack of variety started to become apparent. I’d caught many of the Pokémon I’d wanted, apart from the coveted Pikachu. I spent almost an hour wandering an eerie graveyard, alone, chasing the shadowy outline of the elusive electric mouse before concerned looks from strangers dictated that it was time to leave. I never caught Pikachu. But I didn’t really want to catch them all. I just wanted to build up the roster that I had. But leveling up requires you to catch more, and eight out of ten wild Pokémon are Pidgeys. The other two are Drowzees. If you’re not a fan of either, that’s a lot of ground to cover and a serious time investment.
The gym battles felt a bit flat to me, especially compared to the deep strategy of the Game Boy brawls. Furious swiping, tapping and screen freezing was the bulk of my experience, and the gyms are usually guarded by high-level players wielding mighty Dragonites and Gyarados. For the more casual player, there’s not much of an incentive to participate. I have a Jynx that’s fairly formidable, I guess, but she wasn’t even the Pokémon I wanted to use. The leveling system only allows you to train the Pokémon that you have Candy for, which you obtain by catching more of the same species. I wanted to grow my Bulbasaur, but have yet to encounter another in the wild. Instead of sprouting into a ferocious Venusaur, my Bulbasaur languished at the bottom of the list, utterly useless.
The Candy/Stardust system means that vital connection you have with your Pokémon, the feeling that it is your virtual pet and chosen favorite, is not quite replicated in Pokémon GO. Unless you want to train a Pidgey, in which case you can be the very best. Like no one ever was.
I’d also like to see player vs. player battles outside the gyms, the opportunity to battle my friends spontaneously, on our terms. While I’m certain this is a feature Niantic is working on releasing soon, without it, the Pokémon GO experience is sorely lacking.
|
| Sad Pikachu. (Credit: Nintendo/ The Pokémon Company |
phone gripped tightly, always on edge waiting for the telltale vibration.
For me, the game really stopped being fun when the lack of variety started to become apparent. I’d caught many of the Pokémon I’d wanted, apart from the coveted Pikachu. I spent almost an hour wandering an eerie graveyard, alone, chasing the shadowy outline of the elusive electric mouse before concerned looks from strangers dictated that it was time to leave. I never caught Pikachu. But I didn’t really want to catch them all. I just wanted to build up the roster that I had. But leveling up requires you to catch more, and eight out of ten wild Pokémon are Pidgeys. The other two are Drowzees. If you’re not a fan of either, that’s a lot of ground to cover and a serious time investment.
The gym battles felt a bit flat to me, especially compared to the deep strategy of the Game Boy brawls. Furious swiping, tapping and screen freezing was the bulk of my experience, and the gyms are usually guarded by high-level players wielding mighty Dragonites and Gyarados. For the more casual player, there’s not much of an incentive to participate. I have a Jynx that’s fairly formidable, I guess, but she wasn’t even the Pokémon I wanted to use. The leveling system only allows you to train the Pokémon that you have Candy for, which you obtain by catching more of the same species. I wanted to grow my Bulbasaur, but have yet to encounter another in the wild. Instead of sprouting into a ferocious Venusaur, my Bulbasaur languished at the bottom of the list, utterly useless.
The Candy/Stardust system means that vital connection you have with your Pokémon, the feeling that it is your virtual pet and chosen favorite, is not quite replicated in Pokémon GO. Unless you want to train a Pidgey, in which case you can be the very best. Like no one ever was.
I’d also like to see player vs. player battles outside the gyms, the opportunity to battle my friends spontaneously, on our terms. While I’m certain this is a feature Niantic is working on releasing soon, without it, the Pokémon GO experience is sorely lacking.
The End Of 'Pokémon GO'
Reviewed by impart4you
on
August 24, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by impart4you
on
August 24, 2016
Rating:
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