Pokemon Channel Review

Next to playing videogames, Nintendo knows that kids love to watch TV. So what better way to bring that all together than in Pokemon Channel? A game that requires you to play games and watch TV. I'm not kidding.

Taking everything into account, this game is clearly designed for youngsters. Those that got off on the Game Boy, Pokemon strategy games and RPGs will find the gameplay a little on the light side. Still, if you'd like to see some of your favorite Pokemon characters hosting their own TV show then the novelty might be worth a rental.

New Pokemon shows are being created for television. There are so many in fact that multiple channels must be created to facilitate them. You are the guinea pig. Professor Oak wants to monitor your viewing habits and see what shows you like. Shortly after you receive your TV set, you're visited by a Pikachu that decides to take up residence in your home and help you watch TV. At first there are only a few channels with one of them being the anime channel which shows an episode of the Pichu Bros. You don't get to see the whole thing until you locate some items and unlock it. Yes, there is more to this game than just watching TV, but the whole idea is to watch as much TV as you can. You will have to collect various items such as posters, new TVs and Nice Cards which come in three flavors: Normal; motion, and platinum. If you collect a pass you can travel by bus to other areas in the town. You will also be able to unlock new channels to watch as well as mini games.

Some of channels are interactive. You can answer Pokemon trivia questions on the game show channel, purchase items on the shopping channel, and even have your art critiqued on the art channel. There is a drawing program that allows you to capture a black and white frame from the Pichu Bros. show which you will then color using the drawing program. When your done you can hang it on your wall, have it critiqued, or auction it off for cash which you can then use to purchase more stuff from the shopping channel, and on it goes.

Control of the game is relegated to a point-and-click style interface. From a first-person perspective you'll move the arrow around the screen highlighting the various things that you want done. You don't have a lot of control but you can poke Pikachu in the butt and get him to do things for you. After all he is freeloading in your home. The gameplay is simple but fun while it lasts. It does get repetitive, especially the sound effects and the voiceovers. There's a little bit of everything in it so if you're not into one aspect, there is bound to be something you'll like coming right up. And who doesn't like watching TV anyway?

Nobody knows cards like Nintendo. In case you didn't know it, Nintendo began in business more than 100 years ago making playing cards. The Nice Cards are extremely well designed. The Normal ones are well detailed but don't have any animation while the Motion and Platinum bring the Pokemon characters to life. Overall the game is about as colorful and as good looking as the animated series the game is based on. You can zoom in on some areas such as the TV screen where you can see more detail which make interacting with it a lot easier.

This is a different departure for the Pokemon game series and one that is intended to capture a new and younger audience. It's not really so much a game as just a bunch of things to do which can be refreshing in some cases. If you're thinking you may be too old for this game, you probably are.

This review was added on 25th November 2004 by nGaming user GR0UD0N.