Gamer--freakz

Gamespot score:8.0(great)

My score:8.3

(+)Pros:-Silver and gold remade in gorgeous new style,-battle system is still as addictive as ever,-includes new content,-includes up to gen 4 pokemon,-incredibly long journey all the way up to the elite four redux and the battle against the ultimate trainer,-pokewalker is somehwat innovative.

(-)Cons:-The very same pokemon formula that has been seen over and over,-if you have played the old gold or silver chances are you have seen most of this before. 

gameplay time:50 hours+

With the release of pokemon black and white, I thought I would hurry up and catch up with the releases. Today Im reviewing the last of the gen 4 games, the soulsilver/heartgold collection, on my side, the soulsilver version. Remakes arent my thing, I never played leaf green of fire red, but for the sake of playing with my good pals, I was persuaded into buying soulsilver. So here I am, stating my opinion of the remake of the original silver version, though I have played the original gold/silver games, I must say, soulsilver really impressed me, being a remake and all, it really is quite a great game.



Story wise....theres really nothing much to say here. Pokemon always had similar stories, and soulsilver is no different. You play as a random trainer who is chosen to be given one of 3 startes by the good professor, and you set off on your own journey to fill up the pokedex given to you, as well as persuing a dream to become the pokemon master. You travel from town to town, catching pokemon and beating gym leaders, as well as being confronted occasionally by your rival and the persistant team rocket. Eventually you beat all 8 gym leaders and then fight the elite four, beat the champion, and you have fufilled your dream as being the pokemon master. Same old same old, though there is quite alot of stuff to do even after the elite four, but still, same old same old.

Yes! Contain the beasts with your magical captivating balls!

Pokemon soulsilver is pretty damn similar to every other pokemon game there is out there. You basically either fight or capture. In the wild, you encounter tons and tons of different kinds of pokemon, up to the gen fours. Against wild pokemon, you either beat them to death and get nothing but EXP, or capture them, get their pokedex entry and gain access to using them. Capturing them is the obvious answer, thats what the game is about anyway, but of course you are free to beat them to death if you already caught them before. Capturing is self explanatory, you lower a pokemon's HP, and throw a pokeball, ta-da, you've caught a pokemon. Of course, not all pokemon are so easily caught, you may need to try a few more times, or inflict status effect such as sleep or paralyze.

The battle system is still great,it even lets you fight 2 v 2 battles.

Battling is once again, self explanatory. The battle system in pokemon has always been one of the simplest in all of gaming history, but it sure is addictive, especially if you are dead set to grind your pokemon to level 100. Your pokemon get excess to 4 moves, and you use them tackle your enemies, stragetically of course. Weakness and resistances are present in all pokemon games, and these play a huge factor in battle. Still, its very simple, a water pokemon takes more damage from leaf and thunder type attacks and a bug type pokemon takes more damage from fire types and flying types.

 Knowing your types help alot, especially against gym leaders and the elite four. There are also tag battles, where 4 pokemon face off against each other in a 2v2 fight. This has been introduced before, but its great to have them back in soulsilver. But battling endlessly isnt for naught, the most satisfying part of the game is seeing your pokemon get stroner, gain new moves and evolve, these are what make pokemon games so great. I mean, how satisfied can you feel when you see your helpless magikarp finally evolve into an overpowering gyrados?!




Wut? You dont see this happening everyday....

 Soulsilver may be a great game, but it doesnt stop it from being the same as every other pokemon game out there. The formula is getting old, and they keep recycling it like its nothing. If only nintendo would come up from with something new and mind bending that would shake us pokemon players, sadly that wont be happening soon, since black and white wasnt that mind bending. Whats more, if you are like me, and played gold or silver before, this wont be as fun as a fresh new pokemon game (though it can still be fun).

Honestly, during the time hwen I played soulsilver, I was already raging for a proper sequel, and was ranting that remakes were shit. Thankfully, soulsilver is great, and while its something we have seen before, the great system and new tweaks give it something to boast about. For fans, soulsilver is a great buy, for newcomers, its even more worth the buy.



Happy gaming.