For the true Pokemon fans with the English edition of Pokemon Crystal being prepared to follow the Japanese one Pokemon Gold is the game of the moment. One of the latest Pokemon games releases for Game Boy combines the scheme of playing known to the champions of Blue, Red and Yellow versions and a lot of new features available. It certainly does credit to the marketing department of Nintendo as they produce new games with the word Pokemon in the title having got the main idea right: with the Pokemon epidemics of the moment every article with the magic words 'pocket monsters' will sell. And will be sold out, too.

On an adventure

How do you begin? After logging in you find yourself in a town supposed to be your home town and go to visit a Pokemon researcher. In my edition he is called Professor Elm, though I would like to warn you beforehand that the translations (and the spelling of the names of the locations) differ. So you will find it hard if you are going to use a walk-through guide. The prof offers you three Pokemon to choose from. These are Totodile (water Pokemon), Chikorita (grass Pokemon) and Cyndaquil (fire Pokemon and my bet). Then you'll start on your journey.

Story line

This does not vary much from the basics of Blue, Red, Yellow or Silver versions, whichever one you've already played. It consists basically of going through towns and caves, catching wild Pokemon waiting in the grass ready to take on you, collecting or simply buying the items and fighting folks all over the new Pokemon world. If you beat them, the power of your Pokemon will rise and you'll also get some nice monetary compensation for your efforts of a warrior. But remember, people in this game are not only for battling them. Talk to them 9after all, a nice bit of talk is always a pleasant thing to do) and they will advice you or give you some items that are extremely necessary. You can also take part in tournaments, such as a bug catching tournament with the possibility to catch some Pokemon you will not find anywhere else. After you collect all the eight badges at your disposal and defeat the terrible Team Rocket at least three times you will be able to come to the old world you know from the previous versions but with all the additions of this ultimate release. You'll have to fight even more and take on the Elite Four, defeat the characters of the animated film such as Ash or Brock or Misty. You'll also be able to catch those Pokemon that are absent in the new world of Johto but are alive and well and wild (until you put your Poke balls into action) such as Pikachu. After you beat everybody and catch every variety of Pokemon that has ever existed you'll enter the Hall of Fame. The game is over, but you could well play it once more choosing different Pokemon at the beginning.

Your identity

Apart from the new Johto world and 100 new Pokemon you will not play as Ash Ketchum Three years have passed since he has defeated Team Rocket (but do not rejoice: you'll still have to fight them during some later stages) and he is now the greatest Pokemon master of the world. You are a person called Gold as default name though you are of course able to choose any name you like. If I were the creator, though, I would introduce the feature of selecting a picture of yourself as a boy or a girl.

Game features

If you think you'll do everything just with Pokemon you are wrong. You'll have to find a map, you'll get a bike, a radio, you'll be able to phone folks and fix a rematch if you've lost previously. They will also inform you of some rare Pokemon they came across. So you'll be able to catch them, too. You can also breed Pokemon. Another object you will carry in your pocket is a Pokedex. What's this? This is a device and one of your tasks at the same time. It will store any information on the Pokemon you encounter and you'll have to fulfill your promise to Professor Elm: to collect information on all the Pokemon. I would advice to use it frequently, as it shows the places where you can catch different monsters. You'll have a rival to fight, too. A person who has stolen one of the two Pokemon left to Professor Elm. You'd also better save the game as often as possible as it will take you long to enter the Hall of Fame. With me without any doubts the pick of the new version is the interaction system, but it deserves its own paragraph.

Interaction

This is the best thing in the new release. The game has some sort of the internal clock you set at the beginning when you find that professor oak has overslept. The clock really adds to the game. You get different times of day, but that's not the clue. The clue is that certain types of Pokemon can be caught only on certain days (as, for example, a Lapras). You'll also see difference between night and day not only from the colors on the screen but from the Pokemon you will encounter. If you happen to play in the evening you'll see night Pokemon, and vice versa. It can be annoying as you won't always be able to play exactly the day you need to catch a certain Pokemon. Another example of this interaction is that the Pokemon your rival has stolen will in any case (very conveniently to this clever thief) have the advantage over your Pokemon. To anticipate a bit, if you have chosen Cyndaquil he'll have Totodile. If you chose Chikorita, he will have Cyndaquil. This is because fire is super-effective against grass. If you chose Totodile in the beginning, he will counter it with a Chikorita, because a grass Pokemon has an advantage against a water one. So, this guy had brains.

Graphics and sound.

This have benefited immensely with the version for a Game Boy color. Pokemon are also somewhat better designed. Though the major graphic decisions remained untouched. You'll still see the battles as something separate, they will not be connected with the actual environment they take place in. That is a flaw, because it may happen many times that you'll have to battle the same Pokemon. So it looks like a circle. A different background would have been more than welcomed, I think. The nice thing is that the colors change depending on the time of day, as well as the sounds do. The sounds are quite good, too, though somewhat repetitive. They change together with environment but as a whole can be irritating, especially if you play the game for days already. The movements of the characters are more smooth and natural, than in Blue, Red and Yellow version, which certainly makes them look more nice than before. I would call the new graphics a perk of the game together with the interaction system.

The flaws.

But of course nobody and nothing is perfect. The game undoubtedly has its faults that go side by side with its perks. Certainly the most annoying one is the following: in order to collect all 200 and something Pokemon, you must trade with the Red, Blue, and Silver versions because some of the Pokemon can not be encountered even in the Gold version of the old world. It is difficult for a gamer, and it is a nice marketing operation: it will certainly make some gamers buy the versions they do not have. It is a pity also that you can not battle two Pokemon of a trainer with two Pokemon you have. The game would have been much more interesting.

So...

'Your very own Pokemon story is about to unfold' with its 200 and more Pokemon. Will you ever catch 'em all?

Recommended: Yes