Nobody’s trying to keep it a secret. Everyone knows. There have been a lot of Pokemon games. It’s a huge franchise, Nintendo knows it and the publisher loves to take advantage of it – and we don’t blame them.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are the first major Pokemon games since Ruby and Sapphire, which released four years ago. Four years later, you might expect big changes, but the truth is Diamond and Pearl play almost exactly like their predecessors. And just like every Pokemon before their anticipated arrival, there are two versions to choose from. However, seasoned Pokemon fans already know the truth – both Diamond and Pearl are almost identical in the experiences they offer, except that each version has its own exclusive Pokemon not available in the other. Unfortunately for you, that means you’ll need to buy both versions if you want to catch 'em all.

The similarities shared between Diamond and Pearl and their older brothers and sisters begin with this truth, but it doesn’t end there. If you’ve played every Pokemon to date, you’re going to feel awfully nostalgic as you play through the games. Simultaneously, though, there’s a feeling of been-there-done-that that overcomes you while chugging your way through an experience that sometimes feels like a carbon copy of its predecessors.

Is that what you want? A reincarnated and DS iteration of the game franchise you fell in love with years ago? Then you’ll be happy with Diamond and Pearl, but if you’re expecting anything revolutionary, groundbreaking or anything that just feels new, you might be unhappy with what’s here.

Diamond and Pearl sends you off on an adventure to become the ultimate Pokemon master. You battle Pokemon, catch them, challenge gyms, earn gym badges and make your way through a totally new world called Sinnoh. The game mixes new Pokemon with old. Pokemon fans will recognize returning classics, like Pikachu, but they’ll also see new faces and bizarrely-shaped creatures they’ve never encountered before. The majority of the new Pokemon, sadly, are forgettable and aren’t as likable or memorable as the original Pokemon born on the Game Boy. Even the new Pokemon introduced in Ruby and Sapphire left a bigger impression than the new ones this time around. The new lot, as a whole, is unimaginative at best, and there are no signs of the instantly lovable design so apparent in past Pokemon in the series.

While this truth rings loud and true, this Pokemon, like all Pokemons, is fixating. Newcomers and Pokemon experts alike will easily become hooked on the Pokemon drug. Once it’s in your system, it’s hard to get it out without spending hour after hour playing the game. And even then, you might need to pay a trip to the rehabilitation clinic.

Pacing is for the most part good. At the start of the adventure, things move pretty slowly. However, the last half of the game flies by unexpectedly fast. The biggest problem with Diamond and Pearl is an inherent one. There is a lot of battling. This is, after all, the name of the game. However, unlike other RPGs, this is essentially non-stop battling. The storyline is almost non-existent, despite occasional dialogue-based scenes in which in-game characters point you in the right direction. But the rest of the time, you’ll be in the midst of battles with trainers, gym leaders and so forth. The cyclic gameplay sometimes becomes a little drudging due to an overabundance of Pokemon duels. Making matters worse, you can’t walk more than a few steps without triggering a random battle, which can make just going from point A to point B more annoying than it should be. Because the pacing of the battles is somewhat slow, they can kind of drag.

This is a DS game, and thus it’s fair to expect some functionality from the handheld’s unique capabilities. As far as using the dual screen setup goes, Diamond and Pearl never goes out of its way to use both. There is standard use of both screens, which means most the action happens on the top screen. Still, the bottom screen is used here and there. For instance, the game features a Poketch – a multi-use watch, if you will – that uses the bottom screen. The app shows the current time, offers a calculator, lists your party as well as does some other things. By far, most of these features are pretty useless, though.

More importantly, the bottom screen’s touch-screen functionality is used for battles. You can still select and use attacks with the D-Pad, but you now have the choice to just touch and select attacks with the touch screen. You don’t even need a stylus to utilize this feature, as your thumbs do more than get the job done. The control scheme is very intuitive and isn’t forced upon you one bit. The new control option isn’t exactly a landmark innovation, but it takes control to the next level.


Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

The games also take another big step for the franchise, introducing online play. The process is considerably easy, and the online system works well. It’s somewhat disappointing that you must use friends codes to battle, however, as the structure immediately reduces the number of players you’ll have the opportunity to play with. You can rely on web-based communities to find friends codes, but we would have preferred some kind of matchmaking system that sets up a game for you with other players looking to battle.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are both great DS titles that Pokemon fans will be thrilled with. It’s been a long time since the last “real” handheld installation in the franchise. However, this is very much a copy and paste successor. The game is traditional in every sense, never attempting to set itself aside from its countless siblings. Game Freak cooked this meal with an age-old recipe, and therefore it has a familiar taste. If you love Game Freak’s familiar recipe, then you know you’ll love the meal. And if you’re not familiar with it, this is a great dish to take a bite out of. You’ll finally understand what you’ve been missing.


Second Opinion
At the risk of infuriating fans and supporters across the globe, I think it's time we start to recognize that the Pokemon series is starting to enter the "milked" category. Sure, Diamond and Pearl are excellent games, but as the series makes its appearance on a third handheld (Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, DS), it's not unfair to expect greater leaps forward in the genre. Game Freak put out a high quality product, I don't want anybody to get the impression that they haven't. There are just a few missed opportunities I see with Diamond and Pearl. First of all, the battle system, while highly entertaining, needs to be sped up a lot. In a game that relies on level grinding and getting into a lot of encounters, the series could benefit from a much quicker pace during battles. Secondly, the creativity is starting to wane in the naming and overall design of the new Pokemon. While there are some real gems, most of the designs feel kinda half-hearted in nature. I'd rather see ten really interesting new Pokemon than many more that are somewhat forgettable. These two aspects would be my biggest gripes with the newest pair of Pokemon packages.

On the other hand, the series is still a blast. Making your way through the Sinnoh Region is great fun, and there are some new things to experience (like snowy areas and online play). I hope I'm not coming across as overly negative, because I really enjoyed Pokemon Pearl, and I don't find myself feeling like it's time to move on yet. There's no reason to think that I won't be searching out battles for many months to come, thanks to online play. While small in nature, the graphical upgrade is appreciable, as is the touch interface. Whether you're a long-time "Pokefreak" or a first-timer, I think you'll find that Diamond and Pearl are enjoyable RPG adventures worthy of your time and money. I only hope that when the next pair comes around, that we can see a more streamlined battle system and a huge innovation or two added into the mix.

I still encourage anybody out there to pick the game up.

--Jeff Rivera