Full Review

20 July 2007 - As the saying goes, you wait for a bus and then three turn up at once, and the same can be said for Pokemon on the DS. Having gone through a drought you've now got three titles to play; Ranger, Pearl and Diamond.

So is Pearl worth your cash? We get playing to find out.

You get plenty for your excitement in Pearl, with Nintendo creating over 100 new Pokemon to discover as you venture around the world of Sinnoh.

As for the gameplay, it stays the same as previous versions instead of opting for the more touch centric escapades of Pokemon Ranger, much to our disappointment.

Set in the beautiful region of Sinnoh - a land of myths and stories about the legendary Pokemon - players begin by assuming the role of a "Pokemon Trainer" who sets off from the town of Twinleaf.

Players will meet the Pokemon-mad Professor Rowan, who asks them to join him in his mission to document all the species of Pokemon that exist using a special tool – the Pokedex.

True to tradition, collecting and battling Pokemon play a key role and perhaps learning from disgruntled players, Pearl features the most Pokemon you have ever been able to capture in one game with plenty of the old Pokemon around for good measure.

Failing that, Nintendo has also made is possible to bring your Pokemon from the GBA adventure series into the mix. By using the Double Slot feature of the Nintendo DS, you will be able to transfer Pokemon from Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald version games over to Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl, once certain conditions have been met, which should take you about 40 hours.

As with all Pokemon titles, you are either going to love it enough that you have to complete it straight away, or look puzzled as to what the fuss is all about.

New to the series you can connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection allowing you to battle, trade, and voice chat with friends from anywhere in the world, however don't be tempted to use Nintendo's DS Headset to do this.

VERDICT
There is no doubt that the UK sales figures will be the same as they were in the US, stratospheric, and for Pokemon fans we can see why. Pokemon Pearl takes all the elements that you know and love, adds some new ones like Wi-Fi battles and then allows you to bring all your previous Pokemon from games not even on the Nintendo DS into the mix.

For Pokemon fans this isn't a ground breaking moment, just more of the same, but that more of the same is still highly addictive.

It would have been nice to bring some of the Ranger gameplay into the mix, but they you can't it seems, have everything.