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Ningamer · #1 July 10, 2010, 09:57:05 AM

PokePark Wii is the newest spin-off Pokemon title. You are Pikachu, and after being told by Mew, who appeared in your dream, that you have to find the 14 pieces from the shattered Sky Prism to save the PokéPark. But what is the PokéPark? Pikachu finds out soon enough, as a black hole opens up in the ground and Piplup, being the clumsy fella he is, accidentally knocks Pikachu into it. Piplup, Charmander and Chikorita promply jump in after him in an attempt to rescue him, but end up getting scattered around the vast PokéPark.

Then the game begins.

You're now in control of Pikachu, who dashes, Thunderbolts and Iron Tails whatever he pleases. By talking to every Pokemon you meet you will slowly fill up your Friend List, which comes in very handy when you get to playing the mini-games. Each mini-game has a different list of Pokemon that you can use, and obviously some are better than others. Pikachu is usable in quite a few of them (Even more through the use of passwords), but he's fairly average at them. For example, on Venasaur's Vine Swing Blaziken is the best Pokemon to use, whereas Magikarp is the worst (But it is quite amusing watching the stupid fish swing back and forth, hanging on by only it's mouth). My biggest problem with the mini-games is that they're far too easy. The first time you play them you're set a goal, which you need to beat in order to continue with the story, but I usually find myself getting far beyond it. An example would be Rhyperior's Bumper Burn, where the goal is 4,000/5,000 (I can't remember right now). I got over 26,000.

To earn a Pokemon's trust and make it your friend it will usually present you with a challenge, or 'Skill game' as it's referred to in-game. There are only five different challenges though:

Chase - A simple game where you dash after the opposing Pokemon while they attempt to run away. Simply use your dash move and ram into them and you've won.
Battle - Use your three moves; Dash, Thunderbolt and Iron Tail (Which you don't unlock until later) to fight the opposing Pokemon. Last one standing wins.
Hide-and-seek - Do I really need to explain this?
Quiz - You're asked three questions. Get them all right and you win.
Jump Challenge - These are rare (I've only encountered four), and involve you hopping over platforms to reach the Pokemon.

The biggest problem here is, once again, difficulty. These are far to easy and, with the exception of battles, I've never failed one. And the only reason I lost the battle was because I didn't realise that you can upgrade your moves and HP in the Meeting Place (Basically the main hub, with entrances to the different worlds). In my opinion you shouldn't be able to upgrade yourself. It would've made the game somewhat challenging.

Overall, I can't say this is a great game. It's obviously aimed at a younger audience, with it's cute visuals and easy gameplay, but for anyone over 8 it's far too easy. It's also extremely repetitive and slow, and you'll find yourself wandering back and forth a lot. And I mean A LOT. It's even worse when you're carrying an item, since you're being outsped by Caterpie (I'd just like to mention that Caterpie brags about it's speed, but when it challenges you to a chase you only have to dash once, and you'll win. It doesn't even move out of your way).

I would only get this game if you're a huge Pokemon fan who needs every game, or if you're too young to be on the forums. Other than the fantastic visuals (That have already been partially ported to Garry's Mod), PokePark Wii really isn't great. If you're a Pokemon nut, go for it, but you'll be lucky not to pull a Snorlax and fall asleep.