
	Platform DS Genre Strategy / Role-Playing Publisher Nintendo Developer Gamefreak ESRB E (Everyone) Released March 14, 2010

- The Pokémon formula is in full effect: great balance and strategy - Pokewalker is a neat addition

- Why am I still compelled to play this damn thing?

Review: Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl (DS) Review: Pokémon Trozei! (DS) Review: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescure Team (DS)
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

Pokémon HeartGold

Score: 9.0 / 10

Before starting in on Pokémon HeartGold I had no idea that it was actually a "remake" of a Pokémon game that came out ten years ago. I put "remake" in quotes because there's an argument to be made that the basic Pokémon premise hasn't changed since the first game.

Not being 9-years old, the last three Pokémon games I've played are almost indistinguishable from each other. It's no different here so the fact HeartGold is a

Advertisement

- DS Game Reviews
- Strategy Game Reviews
- Games Published by Nintendo

remake doesn't even play into this review.

You still battle wild Pokémon, face off against other Pokémon Trainers, and (probably) battle other real-life players along the way. It's all about the strategy in battle and it's just as addictive as it ever was. After a quick re-fresher on Pokémon types, I was off. For first-time players, the game ramps up

Advertisement

slowly enough and hits players over the head with enough hints to make encounters challenging without being frustrating. There's still the grind -- wandering specific areas to battle Pokémon to level-up your own cadre of Pokémon -- to deal with, but being able to save the game anywhere and the turn-based combat mean you can manage the grind in short bursts rather than all at once.

Something that kind of helps with the grind is the included Pokéwalker -- a pedometer that you can transfer a Pokémon to and "go on adventures." The short of it is, the Pokémon gains experience points and can even find items, which can then be brought back into the proper game. The more you walk, the better things can get. My biggest problem with the Pokéwalker is that I've had it go missing for days on end because I can't remember where I put it and it's just small enough to escape my frantic search attempts.

I think it's great that Nintendo is offering an incentive to kids to get them moving with the Pokéwalker. That's pretty much the only thing new happening with HeartGold, everything else is typically addicting of the Pokémon series.

- Aaron Simmer

(April 20, 2010)