Pokepark 2: Wonders Beyond (Wii)

Pokepark 2 returns us to the world not unlike that of Mystery Dungeon, where Pokemon live like humans and interact as such. Pikachu and his friend Piplup arrive at the park to discover something is up, and thus begins an adventure spanning two dimensions.

It is surprisingly darker and more dramatic than the first game, with less of an emphasis on the minigame-style 'Attractions' and more on adventuring and teamwork. I like this, as it gives you more of a emotional connection and reason to care about what the characters are doing. While Pikachu is as vapid as ever, his companions actually have personalities which endears you to them.

None of the stages from the previous game make a comeback, but there are fitting music and beautiful graphics for the six areas we do visit. The initial track that plays in Wish Park is pretty creepy, and all the environments are lush and vast, inviting you to explore. Some people may object, but I also love how the Pokemon use their anime voices as opposed to the sounds they make in the mainstream games.

The new Attractions no longer cost to play in story mode, and once unlocked, you can play them with friends through a multiplayer mode. Most of the berries (in game currency) you earn now are spent upon upgrading the abilities of your team. Each member has a personal strength - for instance, Snivy can run quickly and Oshawott can swim.

Battle mode is great. You feel more involved with the action, and pressured by the new added time limit. Being able to use the stage for a match instead of a `battle grid' gives a real sense of integration. There are several types of battles, some involving obstacle courses, and others involving having to take on whole gangs of Pokemon at once, akin to Pokemon Rumble. Later, there is also a tournament mode.

The whole friend-making gimmick actually has a point in the story's plot now. As a result, it doesn't feel quite as much of a drag. There are a wider variety of ways to make friends. Besides the original battle/chase/quiz/hide and seek, we now have added `taking photos' and `giving items'. I like the taking photos idea, as it has a sort of "Pokemon Snap" vibe to it.

Speaking of the photo-taking, its quite a source of entertainment. You're not restricted to just taking what's in front of you, being able to use the Wiimote to shift your point of view in several directions.

Unfortunately for all these pros, there are a number of cons to the game as well. The movement of the Pokemon you control is still awkward. This is annoying, especially when -even if the nunchuk didn't get used- I know its possible to have control pad movement with precision (see Pokemon Rumble)

And the AI of the Pokemon you battle can go from the sublime to the ridiculous. In some cases I've had opponents stand there and do nothing, and in other cases, spam a move that prevents me from retaliating.

Lastly, there are only four attractions as opposed to Pokepark Wii's fourteen. Initially this was a bit disappointing, but I appreciated the focus on the adventuring. It would have been nice to have had the attractions from the previous game added to the multiplayer mode to flesh out the replay value more.

Which brings me to my last point. The game does seem a touch too short. First story mode took me 13 hours.

Pokepark 2 is a definite step up from the first game. Your involvement carries more weight and importance, which in turn gives you a reason to want to play. And I sense a lot of potential here for future, more in-depth 3D Pokemon RPGs, in the case of the Pokepark game engine.

I placed my order whilst on holiday in Germany, on Easter Monday. It arrived on my doormat 3 days later! Impressive service, it nearly beat me home!
My daughter is Pokemon mad & has played this game at every given opportunity & loves it. She claims that it is better than Pokepark. To me, it seems rather repetative, but then what do I know about Pokemon? The creatures dont even talk!
Ultimately, it is approved by a 12 year old Pokemon fan & Amazon had the best price, what else is there to say?

My daughter who is 5 really likes this game. She has started to be quite fascinated by Pokemon and even though she is good at games on the DS, I think the orginal RPG-type Pokemon games would be a little tricky for her, so we got this. The graphics are really nice, bright and colourful. The Pokemon themselves look great on the TV. Unfortunately this doesn't get a 5-Star rating due to 2 things. Firstly, the controls: these are quite tricky as you use just the wiimote sideways like an old-style controller, when the game really needs the nunchuck's stick for a much easier/smoother control. Secondly, some of the battles and chases are quite hard. My daughter gives the wiimote to me to do some of these as they can be quite frustrating. Maybe being able to lower the difficulty level would have been a good option for the game. Still, she has a blast playing it so can't complain too much.