PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond

PokePark is in danger again, and it is up to Pikachu and his friends to save the day (no pesky humans, such as Ash, allowed).

While appearing quite similar to the first game, there are some major changes. First, there are two adventures (I assume there is no third). The first took my daughter (age 11) about eight hours to complete, but after the credits roll, the story continues (if one wants). The continuation seems to cater to the nature of a completist; younger players may be satisfied with the main, initial quest and forego the backtracking and gathering the epilogue requires (my daughter has not finished the second part).

In addition, this game is structured differently than the first. There is more need to battle, chase, and complete quizzes than participate in attractions/mini-games. Also there is limited side-scrolling action, and I will say that the game is a tad more difficult than the first. Not every character is a pushover, and players are required to level up the four Pokemon they use (and the leveling up process too is a bit more sophisticated).

Most of the Pokemon here are from the recent Black and White series, though many classic Pokemon show up. The game seems to be a worthy follow up with fine graphics and some interesting gameplay advances and tweaks to the old format. Remember that there is plenty of text to read in this game so very young players may need assistance.

UPDATE : My daughter completed the second adventure. It only takes a few additional hours of collecting items with the occasional battle. One can continue if one wishes to collect all the remaining Pokemon as friends. Plus, the Battle area offers some additional tough challenges.

PokePark 2 delivers exactly what it promises, more of the same. On those terms, it's a 5 star game. Compared to a Nintendo Franchise title aimed at an older player, it comes in at 2.5 stars. If you didn't like PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure you won't like PokePark 2. This is a pretty shallow run around and complete simple tasks game without a deep storyline or much complexity. While that won't satisfy an adult or older player, It's perfect for kids that want to play Pokemon but aren't ready for complicated games. It is also beautiful enough to hold the interest of a Pokemon mad older player if they have a high tolerance for repetitive play. My 7 & 12 year old both wanted this sequel. While they play the first game intermittently, I didn't think the original was worth full price. Each kicked in half the cost (about where I would have priced this) out of their own wallets so we picked it up after school. I had to drag them off it at bedtime.

PokePark 2 would be best for poke-mad players ages 5 - 7 but it won't grow with their abilities like a Mario themed game will.

My son is 6 years old. He saw the commercial on TV and he wanted the game. We finally got it for him on Thursday. He played it over the weekend. He really likes the story and he can do everything on his own (his reading is on 2nd/3rd grade). I played few mini games with him and it is fun. I can't say anything about the storyline as I wasn't with him when he played. However, the graphic looks pretty good, the control seems smooth. He also enjoys the challenges and the training part of his pokemons. He gets really excited every time he acquired a new pokemon on his team. He told me on Sunday morning that this is the best game ever -- he has about 5-10 games that he plays exclusively.