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| Pokémon Colosseum |
| Nintendo has attempted to release another Pokémon game onto consoles. While the first one, Pokémon Stadium, gained success, the other did not. On their third try, they release Pokémon Colosseum. Unlike the previous two, Colosseum is much more than a battle game. Can it live up to its expectations, or will it be another bust? There are two modes now, instead of just the normal Pokémon battles. The battling is essentially the same as before, which is good. However, there are no pre-made Pokémon available, so you have to upload your own from Ruby/Sapphire. Once you do so, this is very fun to play. Like always, there are computer trainers ready to go, or you can fight your friends using Game Boy Advance connectivity (Why these are needed, I do not know). Be ready for a challenge, because Vs. Mode is not easy. The trainers are intelligent, and can easily destroy unskilled players. If you want even more of a challenge, try 2 on 2 battling. Most of the time, this is what you are going to be playing. Now, the new mode into the console Pokémon games is single player adventure. You begin as a trainer disgruntled with your evil organization, Team Snaggum. Therefore, you steal a precious item to them, and blow up the base while escaping. Throughout the game, your goal is to find ‘corrupted’ Pokémon, and to change them back to norm. Besides having simple controls, this is where Colosseum is flawed. First, you cannot catch any wild Pokémon, but steal them from other trainers. This becomes very repetitive, constantly battling different trainers. Points have to be taken away just because of that. The story drags on as well, and never delivers that much. Yet, at the same time, it does justice to Pokémon. During the game, I noticed that the graphics differed. The creature models are slick, yet the characters are jagged and rough. Most of the attacks the Pokémon can do look good, but lack a lot of originality. For example, a body slam will look exactly like a tackle. Battle arenas are nice to look at, which look like true Pokémon locations. Still, in the end, the graphics were not up to par with the Gamecube. While the graphics lacked, the sound makes up for it. There are very few sounds from the Game Boy versions, but they are entertaining nonetheless. The sound effects are a bit deprived, but they are not bad either. All in all, the sound was impressive, and picked up where the graphics failed. Unlike the Game Boy games, after you complete the single player mode, you will not want to do it over again. Count this as a major loss, because Pokémon games should be more addicting. Even though the multiplayer is great, it contains pointless flaws. Whenever you want to play a friend, they have to have their own Pokémon, and even a multiplayer connectivity cord. If there were pre-made Pokémon, it would not be such a problem. Finally, the loss of mini-games is not a smart move. They were a fresh concept when battling was tiring, yet they did not add them. Multiplayer does make up for only a decent single player mode, but it had much more potential. Pokémon Colosseum suffers, yet it is no doubt the best Pokémon console game created. While fans of the franchise will really enjoy it, others will not get the full feel of what this game offers. The game has its faults, but Nintendo has done an above average job with it. Pokémon is on the right path, and if it can introduce a great single player style, expect it to be on par with its Game Boy editions. Final Score: 74/100 |
| More fun than a barrel of Mankeys! |
| Positive: Single and Multiplayer Modes Negative: Not like the Game Boy versions It Sucks: That you cannot catch wild Pokemon! |
| · Some of the Pokemon are huge. Like Wailord. |
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