..Pokémon White Version..

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Change, although inevitable, can be a frightening notion. Taking a departure from the familiar can be a daunting task, but sometimes it's absolutely necessary. In recent years, the Pokémon franchise has been in dire need of some sort of change. The recipe behind a Pokémon game has remained largely unchanged, and for good reason too. There's no denying that Pokemon has been wildly successful in past endeavors, and the sales are only indicative of the strong following the series still holds. 

Despite this success, it's time for Pokémon to bring something new to the table. The fans have known it for years and they haven't been quiet about it. That being said, most of their arguments are well grounded. Overall, the current presentation of Pokémon games have worn out their welcome, and without something new, fresh and exciting the franchise stands become stuck in stagnancy.

Fortunately, Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version have come to bring that much needed breath of fresh air to the series, and they're bringing it with flair. Black and White bring enough new to the table while keeping enough old to remain familiar to fans of the series.

- Black and White should be the most
visually appealing games to date -

Black and White, unlike every other Pokémon game that's ever been created, has an intriguing story. The central villains this time around are Team Plasma, headed by the mysterious N. Team Plasma's mission is far from world domination; they just want to liberate Pokémon from oppression. Of course, this leads to some conflict of morals and ideals, but the change in motivation makes the new villain team seem new and fresh to the fold. Of course, the villain team means that you'll be battling them quite a lot, and although the core of Pokémon battles remains the same, the look is brand new.

The first and most obvious new feature of the battles, are the Pokémon themselves. Gone are the static sprites of previous Pokémon games; now the sprites actually move during battle. A few other things to spruce up the battles are: the camera, which begins to wildly jump around the screen if you're idle for too long, and the music, which shifts from the normal, upbeat battle tune to a song that actually implies that your Pokémon partner is in some real danger. 

Although the primary antagonist’s motivation makes them an interesting group to oppose, Pokémon has always been about what happens when you and someone else who is playing Pokémon meet up. The usual outcome has always been trading or a battle, and to assist in making the games a more social experience, the C-Gear has taken the place of last gen's Poketch. The C-Gear is essentially a multiplayer hub on your bottom screen. Once you acquire it in-game, you have instant access to multiplayer features directly from the game world. Infrared, Wireless and Wi-Fi connections are all available at the touch of an icon on the bottom screen. With this new item you can access the Entralink area in the middle of Unova, where you and other players can interact by engaging in missions or trading and battling.

- The new user interface will streamline
battles and multiplayer features -

The multiplayer is further expanded with the Dream World, where you can send your Pokémon and they return with new items and abilities. To top everything off, the C-Gear's interface can be customized with wallpapers, and additional wallpapers can be downloaded from Nintendo Wi-Fi later on. Where other Pokémon games have felt lackluster in terms of multiplayer, it seems as though the C-Gear stands to change everything by turning any copy of Pokémon Black or Pokémon White into a user friendly, multiplayer hotspot.

In addition to everything mentioned thus far, Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version still have more to offer. Whether it's the new seasons system or triple and rotation battles (that's right; they're eventually going to have full 6-on-6 Pokémon battles), Pokémon Black and White appear to have managed to strike a very fine balance. Although the new games are overrun with a profusion of new content, at the end of the day, it's unquestionably Pokémon.

Joey Blackwell II   FollowMr_J_Write Avid gamer who's more passionate about writing. Hopes to be a renowned writing voice in the world someday, while still being addicted to games.

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