#dougbeyer

[time-elemental]

Chandra's origin story ! A Doug Beyer special. He's been taking snapshots of sunsets to get into the fiery mood.

[magikyle]

I just want to let the entire Magic Creative Team know that I will not rest until I see Elspeth fighting Eldrazi in the canon story

[time-elemental]

The flavor tekst clarifies Markov Manor Teatime-gate :-)

[press-start-gamers]

Review: Pokemon X and Y,

This review is based on the North American version of Pokemon X.

They're finally here!  Revealed back in January, Pokemon X and Y have been heavily anticipated from the beginning.  They're probably the most hyped games since...well, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.  Black and White, not being for a new system, didn't get as much hype.  They changes and additions are many, so I'm not going to waste much time talking about them here.  One note though: in addition to Pros and Cons, I've added a "Hmm..." category for things which may be one or the other.  So, let's get on with it.

OverviewIn case you've been living under a Geodude for the last 20 years, Pokemon is a series of video games (and a TV show, and movies based on the TV show, and a trading card game, and a video game based on the trading card game, and toys, and a short-lived trading figure game, etc.) that cast you as a Pokemon trainer.  Pokemon are creatures of all shapes and sizes that you can take care of and train to battle other Pokemon trainers.  The tag line "Gotta Catch 'em All!" arose because of the huge variety of Pokemon available.  The first games, Pokemon Red and Blue (as they were called in the West) for the Game Boy, contained 151 of the creatures.  With these games, which usher in the sixth generation. the number is up to 718.  You can see why that slogan went away after the second generation, but they decided it was good enough to bring back here.  You find wild Pokemon in tall grass and caves and such, and catch them in devices called Pokeballs.  And that's pretty much it.  There's more, of course, but the rest of this review is written assuming you know a thing or two about Pokemon.  The overall basis of the game hasn't changed much, so there isn't much else I can say in this section.

Pros

1. Graphics

Pokemon fans have been itching for a game with 3D graphics that followed the standard Pokemon style since the very beginning.  The Gamecube titles Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD came close, but they didn't play like the main games.  Black and White added some 3D, but were still mostly sprite-based.  Finally, though, we have real 3D graphics for a real Pokemon game.  Outside of UI graphics, there are no sprites to be found.  The battles and a few overworld areas make use of the 3DS's real 3D, but most of the game does not.  Either way, the battles are updated to show more direct contact between Pokemon as well as a much greater range of motion from them.  Pictures don't really do it justice, so look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cprESRSKDgE

It's a whole new Pokeball game, and it works really well.  Thumbs up all around for these awesome 3D graphics. 

2. Interesting Designs

Quick: outside of starters, what 3 Pokemon archetypes do you expect to see at the very beginning of the game?  If you said the bug, the bird, and the Normal-type, congratulations!  You've played Pokemon before!  These three archetypes have been in place since the beginning.  The first generation had the Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, and Ratata families.  The second generation had the Ledyba, Spinarak, Sentret, and Hoothoot families.  The list goes on.  Not all of these Pokemon are boring, but they tend not to be too exciting either.  For this generation, though, Gamefreak has upped the ante on all of them.  Let's start with that rabbit up there.  This game's version of Ratata is called Bunnelby.  Its evolution is Diggersby, who you can see above.  It's not just a slightly bigger version of the original; it's a huge badass with giant fist-ears.  This design puts Raticate, Furret, Granbull, Linoone, and Bibarel to shame.  Next is the Bug-type.  Scatterbug and its evolution Spewpa are nothing special, though they are kind of cool.  What's really interesting, though, is Vivillion.  Like Butterfree before it, it's a butterfly without much interesting going on type-wise.  What makes Vivilion cool, though, is that its wing pattern is different depending on your region.  That is, your country and subdivision thereof.  There are quite a few varieties.  And as most countries are limited to one or two designs, you have to trade with people all over the world to get others.  Here in Illinois we get the Modern pattern:

Finally, the bird.  Not as much to say here; it gets the Fire-type when it is fully evolved, which makes it much easier to use later in the game than your Pidgeots and Fearows.  There are other good designs too, like the France-inspired psychic cat Meowstic (which looks very different based on gender) and the always popular Gogoat.

3. No more grinding

I never bothered with grinding in Pokemon games before this one; I just used cheats.  I never played online or anything, so I didn't feel guilty.  However, there is no way to cheat in a 3DS game, so I was worried that I'd spend too much time grinding and get bored.  Lucky for me, they decided this was the right time to cut down on grinding in Pokemon.  Before this generation, you only got experience for knocking out a Pokemon, and that experience was divided evenly between all of the Pokemon involved in the battle (plus, if applicable, the one holding the Exp Share item).  Every aspect of this has changed.  First, you get experience even when you capture a Pokemon instead of knocking it out.  Second, each Pokemon involved in the battle receives the full experience rather than a fraction thereof.  Finally, the Exp Share is now a key item that allows all of your Pokemon who aren't in the battle receive half experience.  This is awesome.  It also makes it much easier to level up a Pokemon you get late in the game that doesn't quite match the power of the ones you already have.

4. Pokemon-amie and Super Training

These are two new modes that make it easier to do things that required some serious maneuvering in the previous games, and they're also a lot of fun.  Pokemon-amie is basically a virtual pet mode.  You can pet and feed your Pokemon a la Nintendogs, and also use them in some minigames.  Playing with your Pokemon a lot in this mode both raises friendship and makes the Pokemon a bit better in battle. 

Above: to get the most out of Pokemon-amie, I recommend using it with the cutest Pokemon in the game.  Seriously, look at how cute that is.

It's a fun little diversion that for most people won't affect the game much, but is nonetheless a nice addition.  The series has always focused a lot on the relationship between trainer and Pokemon, but there haven't been many ways to interact with your Pokemon outside of battle before now.  Heartgold and Soulsilver made great strides with the Pokewalker and letting a Pokemon follow you (based on Pikachu in Yellow), but this makes it even deeper.

As for Super Training, it'll either be a godsend or a nice bonus depending on how you play.  If you like to maximize your Pokemon's best abilities, you used to have to do something called EV training. EVs are hidden values for your Pokemon's stats that go up based on certain battles.  Only the most hardcore players used to do this, as it involved battling the same Pokemon over and over, and it took some research.  Now, you can do it with a minigame that lets you shoot balls at a Pokemon balloon.

Pokemon-amie, Super Training, and the multiplayer features are all available at any time on the bottom screen of the system.

5. Trainer Customization and PR Videos

I mentioned in my last post that my next post is going to be about the underrated Pokemon Battle Revolution, the generation 4 version of Pokemon Stadium.  One thing I like about that game is that you can customize your trainer in a variety of ways.  As such, I'm very pleased that they've added this feature to the main games.  When you start, in addition to choosing your gender, you can choose your skin and hair color.  Later on, you can change your character's hair style, eye color, and clothes.  Your character's mom gives you a change of clothes early in the game, and many of the towns and cities in the game have stores that let you buy new clothes.  My trainer currently looks like this:

You'll notice this is the only picture in the post that actually comes from my game; this is because in certain areas, you can have a photographer come and take a picture of you.  Sadly, you can't include your Pokemon in these pictures.  You can also show off your look in PR Videos, which are 10-second videos highlighting your trainer and at most 1 of your Pokemon.  Making them is very much like making an intro for a character in a wrestling game, with various songs, camera angles, backgrounds, and effects.  These have no mechanical benefit whatsoever, but they are a lot of fun to make.  Note that the hat, feather, top, and shoes you see in this picture were quite hard to get.  In Lumiose City (aka Paris), there is a very expensive clothing shop.  You must do a variety of things throughout the city before you can even enter, let alone spend 100,000 of the game's currency on a hat.  Most of the boutiques are more reasonably priced.

6. Speed

Look at the bottom of that portrait and notice that my trainer's shoes double as roller skates.  Indeed, there are many ways to get around in this game so you don't have to slowly walk.  You can walk, if you want to, but you immediately get the Running Shoes.  In previous games you got these at the beginning, but had to talk to someone first.  Here, you start with them automatically.  Much like the kick attack in Saints Row IV, they're just there.  Not long after this, though, you get the roller skates.  They give you more analog movement to match the game's 3D graphics.  You walk with the d-pad, run with the d-pad and B button, and skate with the Circle Pad.  The franchise's mainstay bicycles appear as well, and they are even faster than the skates.    These features are all really nice; they make getting around easier and more fun.  There are even grind rails for the roller skates in some places.  There are other transportation methods, too, though they are limited to certain areas.  There was a lot of excitement about the idea that you can ride on Pokemon in this game, but sadly that is limited to certain areas and certain Pokemon that are not your own.

Above: Misleading!

In the sprawling and confusing Lumiose City, you can take a cab.  And believe me, you will want to.  It's worth the money.

7. Mega Evolution

Above: Mega Gengar can see into your soul.

I'm just going to put this out there: from a mechanical standpoint, Mega Evolutions aren't that exciting.  From a coolness standpoint, though, they are quite nice.  They all look badass, and they power up your Pokemon.  For some, you get the required Mega Stone right when you get the Pokemon.  Others require searching, and possibly even beating the game.  Either way, you can't use them until you reach a certain point and get your Mega Ring.  They do add a lot of power, but not enough to overcome severe type issues.  There is one thing though that is mechanically relevant and extremely badass: in X, Charizard's mega form finally gives it the Dragon type.

Cons

1. Little use of 3D

It's very exciting that the games have 3D (as in polygonal) graphics, but they make almost no use of the system's actual 3D.  It's only used in battles and a few overworld sections, neither of which use it as well as they could.  The Pokedex and Evolution screens use it better, honestly.  There are some overworld areas where it would be really nice; I really don't know why they didn't use it for the whole game.

2. Short

The game makes an excellent effort to give you many things to do between gyms and after beating the Elite 4, but it's still quite short in terms of completing the story.  I downloaded the game around midnight on the night of Friday the 11th; it took a bit less than a week for me to finish it.  Again, it's a minor issue because there is other stuff to do, but I still expected more.

Hmm...

1. Fairy-type

This is the first time since Generation 2 that they've added a new type to the games.  Just as Dark was added to balance out Psychic, Fairy was added to balance out Dragon,  And that's fine; I'm all for balance.  But Fairy is also strong agaisnt Dark and Fighting, two of my favorite types that were never overpowered.  Though they only had two weaknesses each, they were weaknesses that come up all the time.  This is especially true in Fighting's case, with Flying.  Not only that, they made Fairy Pokemon immune to Dragon attacks, which seems like overkill to me.  They balanced it too far, basically.  It doesn't mean dragons are useless or anything; only a couple Fairy-types really have the stats to challenge Dragonite and such.  It just seems like Dark and Fighting are getting punished for Dragon being overpowered.

2. Quadruple Starters

As per usual, you begin the game picking from one of the new generation's three starter Pokemon.  These tend to become the most powerful non-Legendaries, and the ones you use for the whole game.  But there's more!  Upon reaching Lumiose City, Professor Sycamore (a Pro in more ways than one) gives you another starter, this time one of the starters from Generation 1!  But that's not all!  If you go online before January, you get a free Torchick, one of the starters from Gen 3!  And that's all...until the end of the game, when you get the Gen 6 starter that's weak against the one you chose originally!  So yeah, here's the thing.  Like I said, the starters and their evolutions tend to be really good, and you'll want to use them for the whole game.  The problem is, even discounting the one you get at the end, that's half of your party decided before you throw your first Pokeball.  The starters will inevitably muscle out other Pokemon, so you won't end up using many of the other awesome Pokemon you will find.  Speaking of which...

3. Not many new Pokemon

Gen 6 adds 68 Pokemon to the total.  This sounds like a lot, but Gen 1 added 151, Gen 2 added 99, Gen 3 added 134, Gen 4 added 106, and Gen 5 added 154.  So 68 is tiny, about 2/3 of the number added in the next smallest generation.  In some ways that's a bad thing; there are fewer new designs to get excited about.  In some ways, it's a good thing; it means they can put only the best designs in, and that we get to use a bunch of existing Pokemon in this new graphical and gameplay style.

Bottom Line

By now you probably know whether you like Pokemon.  If you do, buy this game immediately.  If you don't, you probably won't like this one.  If you've never tried before, this would be the best time to jump in.  Me, I do like Pokemon.  I give Pokemon X and Y a 5/5.  I promise, my next review will be for a game that gets a 1 or a 2.