CANOE -- WHAM! gaming

Gotta catch �em all; a slogan that�s been engraved into the public consciousness over the last 5 years. I�ve never understood the allure of the Pok�mon franchise; it�s sold millions upon millions of units, making it one of the most successful franchises in the history of gaming. Admittedly I�ve only played the franchise on the Gamecube, and the GC version of the game is apparently the worst of the bunch. So when I got my hands on Pok�mon Fire Red all I envisioned was a bunch of painful work; having to play through the game, just so I could review it.

After finally playing it, turns out that people weren�t joking when they said this franchise is amazing on the Gameboy. I found myself playing the title not as a job requirement, but rather as a way to pass the time. I�m nearly 40 hours into the game, and still enjoying every minute of it -- and more than once a day I�ll have thoughts of powering up my SP so I can train yet another of my Pok�mon.

Your goal as a Pok�mon trainer is to become the best in the world. To do this you�ll have to collect and train as many creatures as you possibly can, and in the process do battle with other trainers and the nefarious Team Rocket which has been in every Pok�mon game since its inception. The single player component should last you approximate 30 hrs, but the scary thing is (from a replay value) that you�ll only just have scratched the surface of the title if you play that long. Sure you�ll beat the single player campaign in that time, but you will have only caught a fraction of the Pok�mon that are out there. Luckily the game allows you to wander around, train, and capture Pok�mon well after the single player campaign is over, adding a ridiculous amount of replay value to this title, as you seek to collect every last one of the creatures hidden across the land.

The premise of the gameplay is rather simple: Catch a Pok�mon (translation: pocket monster); train a Pok�mon; use a Pok�mon in battle against other Pok�mon. It does seem like a rather tame experience, but each little monster has his/her strengths and weaknesses. Think of a rock/paper/scissors kind of mentality. There are Fire, Earth, Water (to name a few) types of Pok�mon. The Fire is really powerful against Earth creates, the Earth creatures are very powerful against the Water creatures, and the Water creatures are very good against the Fire creatures. There are more kinds of creatures to collect, but you get a sense of how things play out now.

In battle you can use up to six Pok�mon, which are interchangeable after each attack/turn. Against a good trainer you may find yourself having to change your Pok�mon a lot because of the balance of the creatures. I should nix that � in multiplayer battles you�ll have to do that. In the single player game it�ll be possible to train one Pok�mon almost exclusively; build it up to extremely high levels, and use it against any type of Pok�mon to win. That strategy works, because in the single player game, each opponent�s level is already determined, so if you�ve got one monster that is very powerful regardless of who it�s facing off against it�ll do well. In the multiplayer game (against other human opponents), that will surely get you trounced, as there will most likely be several different types of Pok�mon in his arsenal, all trained to fairly high levels.

Probably the biggest addition to come with this iteration of the game is the wireless adapter. It actually comes bundled with the title, and grants you access to the real fun of this franchise: Battling against other human trainers (or you could just simply trade Pok�mon with them if you wish). The battle system works well in the Single player mode, but it�s really designed for the multiplayer, where it�s assumed everyone is at a high level, and has trained several different types of monsters. This is where you�ll find out just how good you�ve become as a trainer. In addition to being able to trade your Pok�mon and do battle using the wireless feature you can also play mini games, and even chat using the GBA (which is really odd given that the wireless adapters only work within speaking distance).

This is my first real experience with the Pok�mon universe (I�ve been told repeatedly that the next gen versions of the game do not capture the fun of the handheld), and I must say I�m quiet impressed. I can see how someone would get sucked into playing this title for hundreds upon hundreds of hours trying to catch and train every possible creature they could find. My review score is probably a little higher than what the experience will truly be like for those who�ve stuck with the franchise from its beginnings, but even if you�ve played Pok�mon games from the start, you�ll find lots to do with this title, and I still recommend it for you. To those who�ve never played it: try it, and see if you don�t �Catch �em all� a full month after you�ve started playing the game.