Video Gaming Blog

Nintendo has released information that will ooze nostalgia for many of us who grew up on Pokemon. Remakes of the second generation games, Pokemon: Gold and Pokemon: Silver, are in development and are speculated to see a release in spring of 2010. The games will follow the same basic storyline of the earlier versions, with better graphics and an entirely new gaming experience that only the Nintendo DS could muster up.

For those of you unfamiliar with the series, you follow the story of Ash Ketchum, a Pokemon master to-be. Unlike the original tale, however, you start off in the Johto region with little to no experience with Pokemon whatsoever. You must work your way up, fighting fellow trainers and capturing new Pokemon to train and make stronger.

There are certain bosses, known as Gym Leaders, who are specialized in different types of Pokemon. Defeating all of them in any given region grants you ability to challenge the Elite Four, a group of master trainers that only few have beaten. Upon defeating them, you face a champion, the last person who was able to beat the Elite Four and the previous champion. If you succeed against all five of these trainers, you are deemed the new champion.

It is Ash’s dream in the manga and the show to achieve this rank, and it is your ultimate goal in the games. Between working toward that goal and defeating entire evil organizations like Team Rocket, you have quite a bit to deal with and certainly enough to keep you busy from beginning to end. Many who are lucky enough may also uncover secrets that will shake the very foundations of the Pokemon world, finding legendary Pokemon that have been lost in time for centuries.

And even if you already know the games in and out, these new installments are sure to have nuances not seen before. Not much is known about HeartGold or SoulSilver outside of Japan yet, but it is expected that the gameplay will retain it’s qualities that have made the series a smash hit for years.

In Japan, a special accessory was released with the game called the PokeWalker, a device that functions like a pedometer that you can store a pokemon in to gain experience and other in-game benefits without the game being at hand. This piece of technology comes standard with the Japanese games and does not raise the price as you may have thought.

It’ll still be a while before these hit the stores here in the US and in Europe, but once they do have your styluses ready and prepare for some nostalgia.

HeartGold and SoulSilver Trailer

The newest addition to every Batman fan’s collection is Arkham Asylum. The video game, which was released on August 25th ’09, takes players deep within the Caped Crusader’s mind as he sets out to stop his nemesis, the Joker, once again. The setting for Batman’s latest adventure has a very dark atmosphere, not letting down the many insane criminals that live within it.

As the hero himself you will face many faces familiar to those who know their way around Batman’s story. The Joker plays the role of main antagonist, with Harley Quinn at his side. Other enemies such as Bane, Killer Croc, and Zsasz make an appearance opposite Batman. Against such an all-star cast of villains, you might think that Gotham’s favorite vigilante might be in over his head. Don’t fret, he still has all his gadgets and toys at his side.

Batman’s always got something to get him out of just about any situation. You have a wide array of tools available to help you around Arkham, like his trademark Batarangs or Batclaw. More and more content is waiting for people who like to pay close attention to detail, with many hidden challenges to complete and a similar number of interesting rewards. Since the game is free-roaming, there is little to stop you from doing what you want, so long as it is within the boundaries of the game itself.

The mechanics of the game are different from your average games nowadays. Arkham Asylum utilizes a “predator camera” that makes sleuthing all the more exciting. With that, Batman also has many takedown maneuvers which leaves every brawler wanting more. And speaking of brawling, the free-flow combat system makes it so you take the fighting at your own pace. Will you hide in the shadows or fight up front? Choose fast, because your enemies won’t wait forever.