Pokemon Sapphire

First, the game has a lot in common with Pokémon games Silver, Gold, and Crystal. For example, players can choose to be a boy or a girl trainer, an internal clock sets events at certain times, and the game's handy-dandy Pokédex helps players keep track of the many stats. You're main goal is still to beat all the Gym Trainers and become the Pokémon Master. If you've played the old games, you will be right at home. But not all is the same.

The most obvious change is in the battles themselves. Now that two Pokémon can fight on your side at the same time, you can tag-team them against an enemy by taking advantage of the strengths of your Pokémons while covering their weaknesses. For example, you can now have a water Pokémon watch your fire Pokémon's back. You can also attack more than one Pokémon at a time.

A whole new element to the game focuses on how berries are used in battle. And if you collect enough berries, you can take them to a Berry Blender and make a PokéBlock, which is a little super-charged candy that raises your Pokémon's "Condition" attributes. You can then groom your Pokémon for regional contests and compete for ribbons like "Best of Show," which will unlock additional contests. There's even strategy in how to best use your berries: pick too many and the berry tree will disappear; plant berries, though, and a tree will grow. You can also build a Secret Base in special areas of the game, which you can decorate just like you can your room.

And let us not forget that Pokémon Sapphire has a kickin' multiplayer system, too. You can trade Pokémon, and link up to four players for incredible battles. The only downside is that you can't link up with the old Game Boy Color games. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• You can control two Pokémon in battle
• Much needed graphic and sound facelift
• Nice multiplayer feature (requires link cable and extra game cartridge)

• Can't trade Pokémon with Game Boy Color

Like previous sets, the two games are identical to each other aside from a few exclusive Pokémon between them. There are some pretty big changes since the last game, however. First, trainers can now bring two Pokémon into battle instead of just one. This adds a new layer of strategy to battles since your Pokémon can complement each others' powers or cover each others' weaknesses. Also, these games have the known universe of Pokémon characters, including all of those from Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal editions, along with about 100 new Pokémon, which would put the total in the 350 range. And let's not forget that the GBA hardware allows for much-improved graphics, during both battles and exploration. As in Crystal, you can choose to play as either a boy or girl trainer. Pokémon is also a great game for connecting GBAs together. The Game Link cable will allow you to battle head-to-head against other players as well as trade with friends the Pokémon you've developed. --Porter B. Hall