What I've really come to appreciate about the Pokemon series is their ability to add new elements while keeping the core gameplay in tact. This one's no exception.

It has the similar battle system with a few strategic upgrades. Each Pokemon can learn four moves. Many do damage, some also inflict status effects such as poison or paralysis, and still others lower the enemies stats or raise your own. Each Pokemon also has types associated with it that work somewhat like elemental properties. These play an important roll in strategy, not only in battle, but also in composing your team. For example, you are facing a team of fire Pokemon, it will be a lot easier if you have a water or a ground type Pokemon on your team.

The story’s pretty similar to the previous games. Get one of the three starter Pokemon, beat the gyms, beat your rival, stop the diabolical plot of team whoever, ect. A new feature I really liked in this story is the addition of a third character, so that all three starter Pokemon end up with trainers. The designs of the new Pokemon are very impressive as well. A few were a bit too ornate for my tastes, but with so many Pokemon to choose from this is easily overlooked. The graphics got a big overhaul for the introduction of Pokemon onto the DS. The landscape looks more 3-D, and Pokemon in battle have a short animation when they appear.

I found myself getting caught up in the story a lot more than I had in previous Pokemon games though, which surprised me. I've found that the plot lines for the games have improved throughout the series, so I guess I should not have been surprised that this one was the best. This round you’re facing down Team Galactic and attempting to foil their plot to capture a Pokemon so powerful it could be considered deity.

This game also introduced a new and very addictive feature: The Sinnoh Underground. Fairly early in the game you receive and exploration kit. This allows you to go underground, into a network of tunnels underneath the island. There are a few things to do in this, but the most notable is digging for treasures such as evolution stones and fossils that can be turned into Pokemon. You can also dig up spheres, which can be exchanged for items to decorate your underground lair. You can also play games with your friends and set traps.

I hated using HMs though. If there's one thing I want them to change in the Pokemon games, it's those blasted things. It wasn't so bad when we only had five, but with all the new ones it's just getting to be too much. With three water type HMs, you either have to ruin your water type Pokemon or be prepared to switch up your party whenever you need to cross a river. Both options are less than appealing.

The game definitely has a great replay value. After you beat the Elite Four, you can go for the National Dex, which requires you to have seen (but not caught) all 150 Pokemon in Sinnoh. If you’ve been battling most trainers on the road, you’ll probably already be very close by the time you beat the game. After that, you can go to whole new areas and begin capturing Pokemon from the other games. The total number of Pokemon you can capture is close to five hundred. Some old-game Pokemon can be found in the new areas of Sinnoh, some must be imported from the Gameboy Advance games, and of course, it wouldn’t be Pokemon without some needing to be traded. I have logged nearly seventy hours into this game and still have much to do.