| Send In the Lions Pokemon Colossium Lives Up to Grand Name |
| Up until the day I actually put the Pokemon Colossium disc into my beloved Nintendo Gamecube on March the 22nd, 2004, I had no idea it was any more than a sequel to the Nintendo 64 releases, Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Stadium 2. Could I have been any more wrong? While Colossium, as expected, offers the traditional option of uploading your Gameboy party and battling with them in glorious 3D, it also offers something Pokemon fans everywhere have been waiting for for years; a 3D Pokemon Advenutre/RPG. Yes, you, the player, are assigned the role of an ex-villain-turned-hero, and you are to explore the fully three-dimensional world of Orre with your companions, Umbreon and Espeon.. After doing some standard hero stuff (saving the damsel in distress, to be precise), you learn that Team Snatchem, the evil association you left behind to lead a life of heroism*, has been closing the doors to Pokemon's hearts, turning them into Shadow Pokemon who will actually attack people. You, using Statch Balls, have to take these Shadow Pokemon from their trainers and re-open the doors to their hearts. All-in-all, a lovely game, and the Battle Tower option is something new. As your character from Sapphire or Ruby, you must scale the Tower - 100 matches - with your Pokemon team from your Gameboy game. My Ratings (out of 10): Gameplay: A fun game, and a challenge to a Pokemon player. I think the addition of the option of a female character would help (I don't mind playing a male character, but I've grown accustomed to playing as my own gender in Pokemon games over the years). I'd like to see actual Gyms too, instead of just Stadiums. Maybe a Stadium AND a Gym? I must confess I am a bit disappointed at the lack of Wild Pokemon, though. Otherwise, an intreguing plot and fun characters to indulge in. 8.0 Graphic Value: Much more than I expected (after seeing Windwaker on Gamecube, I was almost 100% certain that the first Gamecube Pokemon game would be cell shaded) It's fun to see your Gameboy character in 3D in the Battle Tower, and the entire concept of Pokemon cities and human characters in 3D was so wonderfully surprising, I wanted to keep playing just to see what all the cities looked like! 9.0 Replay Value: Like any Pokemon game, Colossium story mode can be played forever and ever, restarting with a new party once one reaches the end. And Colossium Mode . . . well, you can battle forever and never reach a limit. I must admit, miss the little Mini-Games so well loved in the Stadium games, though. 8.0 Multiplayer Value: Colossium Mode allows two to four players to hook up and battle each other in two-on-two battles. I still miss the Mini-Games, of course . . . *sniff* They'll always have a place in my heart. 9.0 Singleplayer Value: Here's something that couldn't be said for Stadium - Colossium has a wonderful Singleplayer Value. An entire Story Mode is dedicated just to the lonely player, like me. 10 = 45 / 50 |
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| With beautiful 3D graphics and an intreguing storyline, Pokemon Colossium lives up to it's name. |