Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver

pokAs a gaming expert – excuse me – as a gaming with children expert there are still a few holes in my game knowledge. I confess, Pokemon is a big one. Having only seen the TV show – which I maintain is horrible beyond measure – and being familiar with the general idea, I sort of lumped it into the Online Role Playing Game category as a game I don’t recommend because it’s a time sink, and kids do not need time sinks in their already too busy lives. (That’s probably the worst structured sentence I’ve ever written. But it’s early and I haven’t had my coffee.)

But Henry (age 7) has heard about it and when he saw it arrive at my house, I had to hand it over. Then I noticed it came with a small device. I put the device aside and watched him play. You know, catching them all, training the wild monsters, and making them fight other monsters. The ‘time sink’ factor was present but he seemed to be enjoying himself. (Actually he loves the game, particularly Heart Gold – because … to be honest I’m not sure the difference but I know the games compliment each other, check below, someone can probably explain it). The game was making him think, track information and apply it, and I liked his enthusiasm.

Then I looked at the thing the game comes with. It’s a pedometer. Yes, a pedometer. The pedometer connects wirelessly to the DS and the game and stores the Pokemonsters information inside. Then, as your child walks, dances, moves, grooves, etc., it converts those steps into experience for your monster. Experience basically means that your monster gets more powerful as you go. What this means, and why I like it, is that it lets your kid advance themselves in the game while exercising. This helps minimize the “time sink” factor I was talking about. Instead of playing obsessively all the time, the kid can walk their way during their non-game time.

Nice!

So, while I still don’t really understand Pokemon, I’m glad to see that Nintendo has been listening to the complaints or reacting preemptively to make the biggest problem with Pokemon something productive.

“What’s that Henry? You want to walk the dog again?!”

No Responses to “Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver”

  1. You should try out the pokemon toy battle game on the Wii. There’s a free demo available.

  2. Andrew, if you have any questions about Pokemon, free free to ask me. –Cary

  3. Naw Cary, just looking for some audience participation here Cary.

  4. It might have devolved by now, I wouldn’t know, but when I was younger, I loved the Pokemon show. 🙁

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