Pokemon Battle Revolution

Pokemon Battle Revolution (PBR) is a curious name for Nintendo's latest beastie battling game for home consoles. You see, there's nothing too revolutionary about it. It's just like all the other Pokemon Stadium/Colosseum games, but with updated graphics. If you don't own Pokemon Diamond/Pearl then there's no reason to buy this game. If you're only casually into the DS titles, it's still a tough sell. Only hardcore Diamond/Pearl players that have sunk dozens of hours into their Pokemon will get full value out of PBR.

The game strips away all the adventure and exploration of the handheld titles and focuses on battling. These battles integrate the same mechanics as the handheld games, implementing a deceptively deep rock-paper-scissor like system, numerous stats, and a multitude of moves. Newcomers are given access to some stock Pokemon and can earn more as they progress. Unfortunately, very few of them are interesting. Veterans can upload their Pokemon - accessories and all - from their DS to their Wii. Unfortunately, the battles are total cake. Even with the stock Pokemon and their lame moves, it's a breeze to beat the game in less than ten hours. For players with properly raised Pokemon, the game doesn't become remotely challenging until the third or fourth time around.

The Pokemon and their attacks look brilliant. This is arguably the best-looking game on the Wii. For trainers that have put a lot of time into their creatures, it's quite rewarding to see your Pokemon on the big screen, unleashing their powerful attacks. You'll have moments where you'll think things like, "Look at my Lucario! He's totally waxing that legendary psychic with Dark Pulse! I taught him that!!!" If you understood most of the terminology in those three sentences, PBR is for you. If not, then a few hours of trite battling will leave you quite bored.