From my hands-on session at Nintendo's California office:
http://www.examiner.com/x-13269-Gam...emon-HeartGold--SoulSilver-and-the-Pokewalker
Here's the text, though if you want to support my habit, please click the link above
Examiner took up Nintendo on an invite to their Redwood City, California office to check out the soon-to-be-released Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver. As enhanced remakes of the highly successful Gold and Silver titles from 10 years ago, these updates not only introduces a vast roster of characters that will be new to younger fans, but also takes advantage of the DS touch screen to make menu navigation less cumbersome and time consuming.
HeartGold and SoulSilver takes the fans back to the Johto region, specifically Ecruteak City. Inspired by the real life scenic surroundings of Kyoto, Japan, Ecruteak features tons of colorful foliage and many ancient temples, not to mention beaches and mountain regions.
Aside from the expected graphical enhancements, these titles feature the long-overdue ability to have any Pokemon party member follow the user during the exploration portion of the game. The player simply puts the desired Pokemon in the #1 slot in the party, and it will tag along next to the main character. The gamer can also turn around to talk to the Pokemon and they will even pick up items as the hero moves.
The improved menus offer detailed Pokedex info on the player's current roster of Pokemon including height, weight, type as well as its battle cry. The UI also allows for convenient dragging and dropping when it comes to collecting and trading.
In terms of actually catching Pokemon, there's an added challenge in that the games work off the DS clock and certain Pokemon will only appear at certain times of the day. Time-based triggers also extend to some non-player character interactions as well as store hours of some merchants.
So as not to alienate many DS users, HeartGold and SoulSilver do not take advantage of the unique capabilities of the DSi (though these games are obviously playable on that handheld). Yet one new and exciting feature that Nintendo is bringing to the series is the much publicized Pokewalker.
Not to be confused as a Tamagotchi-like add-on, the Pokewalker is an impressively deep gadget where Pokemon gain levels when the player is out walking. This can be used once the gamer catches their first Pokemon in the DS game (about 30 minutes into the story), after which the user transfers the Pokemon into the Pokewalker. While in the device, the Pokemon can pick through batches of grass for items as well as find wild Pokemon to battle against and hopefully catch. Players can have up to three wild Pokemon at any given time, but they're not stuck with them. If a user finds a new Pokemon they'd like to keep instead, they can switch out any of the present ones. There aren't any Pokemon exclusive to the Pokewalker, but they tend of have different stats than the ones in the DS game. Fellow fans can also connect their Pokewalkers, where their Pokemon can meet and exchange gifts, which are usually potions and berries.
Sending Pokemon back to the DS is remarkably easy, which merely involves pointing the Pokewalker at the DS and pressing a button. Another benefit to walking is the ability to build up watts, which are used in the mini games. When connecting to a DS, watts unlock new routes. Routes are used to determine what kind of Pokemon players run into. For those who like to keep track of records, all Pokewalker progress and stats are kept in a diary within the DS game.
Nintendo Assistant Manager of Product Marketing Seth McMahill acted as our guide during this visit. As a 10+ year specialist on Pokemon, Seth had much to say about HeartGold and SoulSilver. Stay tuned as we will be posting an interview with Seth later today.
Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver will be released on March 14, 2010 for the Nintendo DS and DSi. Each game will come with a Pokewalker.
in'-greed. I just got back into my Platinum game after finishing all my crazy schoolwork for the semester and forgot I was in the middle of leveling a Zubat. I think Zubat is the one Pokemon that I really hate being patient for.
