A Rumblin' Good Time.

There I was, on the verge on my 24th birthday. I didn't know a Pokedex from a Rolodex. I thought for the longest time that it was PokeMAN, only recently did I figure out it was Pokemon. In short, I don't sound like the demographic Nintendo was going after with Pokemon Pinball. Which makes the fact that I love this game even more odd.
I was aware that there was a BIG TIME Pokemon phenomenon going on, but I didn't know anything about it. As a result of this game, now I do. More importantly, this is a fun game.
For those of you who are used to Game Boy games, this one looks a little weird. It doesn't look like a game boy game, it is big and bulky, and the game extends about an inch over the end of the game boy. This odd shape is to allow for the rumble pack feature. What this feature does is give the game boy the feel of a pinball table by creating a vibrating effect every time the pinball bounces off of an object. This feature makes the game look a little dorky, but the rumble feature adds to the gameplay, in my opinion. A negative of the rumble feature is that you must put a AAA battery inside of the game to allow it to work. I am still on my first battery, so it doesn't drain the battery quickly, but it is something to keep in mind. It is also possible to turn off the rumble feature if you do not enjoy it.
The gameplay is relatively straight forward, there are two different games, the red stage and the blue stage. On either stage your goal is to achieve a high score while also trying to "Catch em all!" That is, you are trying to catch all 150 Pokemon. Pokemon can be caught by manipulating the Poke-ball in just the right way and hitting the right bumpers. Once you catch a pokemon, it is added to your pokedex. I have played the game quite a bit, and still have only caught maybe 60 different pokemon, so this game is difficult, but it is also a ton of fun.
This game plays a lot like a regular pinball game, which is why I purchased it in the first place. The control is pretty straight on, but a little different than my favorite Game Boy pinball game, Revenge of the Gator. The Rumble pack does make it feel more like pinball, and if you want to learn what the pokemon phenomenon is about, here is a good game to do it without becoming a Poke-freak. It is fun, and I highly recommend just about everything in the game, except the sound effects. Get this game, but play it with the sound off, because otherwise you will get SO sick of the high pitched squeaking of Pikachu. This game definitely rocks, and I recommend it to Pokemon fans as well as non pokemon folk who are just looking for a good pinball game. You don't have to know anything about Pokemon to enjoy this one, and man is it fun and addictive!