Amazing!

Pokemon Gold and Silver are the long awaited sequels to one of the most successful Game Boy games of all time. While the gameplay itself hasn't changed a lot from the original, the game improved so much that it's a must own for any Pokemon fan.

First of all, the graphics have been greatly improved. The earlier versions of Pokemon (Red, Blue, Yellow) were all about the gameplay, since the graphics were mediocre at best. In the Gold/Silver versions, everything is actually in color and looks amazing. Everything is much better drawn and animated. Also, as time passes, it actually gets dark.

In the sequel, you are given a whole new world to explore. However, after you're done with Johto (that's what's the new world is called) you can return to Kanto, the world from the previous pokemon games. Your story starts at the New Bark Town when Prof. Elm, the expert on Pokemon evolution, asks you to do something for him and gives you one of his three rare Pokemon. You have to choose either the Cyndaquil, a fire pokemon, Totodile, a water pokemon resembling a crocodile, and a Chicorita, a grass pokemon with a giant leaf on his head. From there your quest begins as you travel from town to town catching Pokemon. This time around, the storyline is much more involved with interesting plot twists and various mysteries to solve. Prof. Oak is in the game also, who gives you a Pokedex (Pokemon Encyclopedia) to complete. There are now 250, or 251 Pokemon in total and it's going to be tough catching them all.

There are various new features added in this version and it's hard to mention them all, but I'll try to point out the most important ones. First of all, there is the Pokegear, a high-tech tool that any good Pokemon master shouldn't leave home without. The Pokegear has several functions. When you start your game, your Pokegear can only tell you what time it is and make phone calls. As you get further into the game, you can acquire additional cards that add additional functionality to your Pokegear. The phone feature is quite interesting. You can call your mom or Prof. Elm from here or they can call you. As you explore Johto and meat more people, you can exchange phone numbers with them who will call to tell you if something is up. However, that can get repetitive at times - one day when I was playing, I received three calls in a row from a bug catcher telling me how great his Caterpie was.

The thing that I like the most about this game is the new real-time game clock. At the beginning of the game, you are asked to set the clock to your current time. If you play this game at night, it actually gets dark, and certain pokemon can be caught only at a certain time period. This means that to catch certain pokemon, you have to stay up late or get up early in the morning. For example, Hoothoot, a one-legged owl pokemon, can only be caught at night. Also, certain characters in the game react to you differently depending on the time period. This really adds to the atmosphere of the game.

You can now make your Pokemon hold something with them that they can use in battle either to heal them or improve their combat. You can even buy a postcard, write a short message on it and give it to your pokemon. When you trade that pokemon with someone else, he/she will receive that message. The combat haven't changed from the previous games, but it has been improved by adding better battle graphics. Also, Pokemon now come in genders, making it possible for you to breed pokemon, not just catch them!

While this game has numerous additions and improvements, the game plays the same as the previous ones. You go from town to town, catching and training pokemon along the way, battling with the NPCs and the eight different gym leaders and at the end becoming a Pokemon Master. For those of you who played through the first games several times, this might get a little repetitive. However, this game is improved so much that all the different features will keep you coming back for more. This game is, in my opinion, the best game for the Game Boy so far. It is apparent that a lot of work as been put into making this game. It doesn't matter if you are a die-hard Pokemon fan, a Pokemon rookie, or just someone who enjoys a great roleplaying experience, you have to get this game.