Gamertell

Pokemon is easily one of Nintendo’s most prominent and recognizable series. That means that the company is going to do everything in its power to promote and hype up the game to ensure that almost every DS has a copy of Pokemon.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were huge successes, selling over 10 million copies. So it is no surprise that Nintendo decided to go the way of Pokemon Yellow, Crystal and Emerald - release a slightly updated and tweaked version called Pokemon Platinum.

So if you own Diamond or Pearl, is Platinum worth it? The answer is a resounding maybe. All Pokemon games are essentially the same - catch pokemon, train them up, beat the eight gym leaders and elite four and then explore some special areas only available after beating the elite four. The story is slightly different, there are a few new NPC characters, the character outfits are different and the gyms are tweaked a bit. When it comes down to it, there are three things that make Pokemon Platinum special, and these three things may be enough motivation to warrant replaying the game.

1. Plenty of new legendaries.

For being legendary, there sure are a lot of these rare pokemon. I mean, there are over 35 legendary pokemon in the Pokemon series now, 16 of which are affiliated with and can be found in the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum series

Pokemon Platinum is notable in that it adds in two new formes for the existing legendary pokemon Shaymin (land and sky) and Girantina (altered and origin). It also adds five new forms for the rare one-off pokemon Rotom (wash, heat, cut, frost and spin).

In addition, if a Regigigas is added into Pokemon Platinum, i will make Regirock, Regice and Registeel pokemon occasionally appear in the wild in the game.

2. New multiplayer opportunities.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl offered some interesting multiplayer options. There are local and WiFi multiplayer battles, a local underground network where people can create and invade others bases and a Wi-Fi Global Trade Station where players can search for other players around the world to organize a trade.

Pokemon Platinum expands the multiplayer experience by adding in the Wi-Fi Plaza. It’s essentially an online amusement park where 20 players can gather at once. There are parades you can ride on floats in and watch, a fireworks show and also three mini-games that can be played with four other players in order to earn upgrades for a plaza Tap Toy.

The Global Trade Station has also been slightly changed, becoming the Global Terminal. You can still exchange pokemon, like before. The new part is that you can now record and share video of one battle you have taken part in through the Global Terminal.

3. Extra post-game material.

Pokemon games tend to have extra sections, adventures and areas that are only available and unlocked once the elite four are defeated. Pokemon Platinum has all of the content from Diamond/Pearl with a few exceptions.

The Battle Frontier is now available in the game. Like the Battle Tower, these four new battle arenas give players the opportunity to try and complete challenges under special circumstances to see if they are skilled trainers.

There is also the Distortion World to explore. Girantina Origin Forme is found in this unique area which is a dungeon area that defies the laws of gravity and physics.

Read [Dengeki Online (Japanese)] Via [Joystiq] Site [Pokemon Platinum] Site [Pokemon.com]