Making PokePals

Pikachu and a few friends are lured to a hidden island by Mew. The mystical Pokemon tasks the tiny, yellow mouse with reuniting the different zones of the PokePark and collecting crystal shards. Pikachu must do this by making friends with as many Pokemon in the park as possible.

This Pokemon game plays very differently from previous ones. The third-person adventure is more focused on exploring than leveling up. There is some battling, but it is mixed in with other skill games, which include playing hide-and-seek and chase, and answering quizzes. Along with these minigames, there are other competitions that can be played by Pikachu and any friends you have acquired. These games, which take a little longer to play, more often are used to advance the story line.

While the real-time Pokemon battling could be fun for some older gamers, the rest is clearly targeted at younger children age 5 to 10. This comes through in the relatively simplistic controls and the fact that heavy emphasis is put on making friends. There are also a bunch of repetitive games early on.

The control scheme can be a bit awkward at times. The Wii Remote is held sideways a majority of the time, though pointing it at the screen will switch the view to first person. The directional pad doesn’t always move the way you would want, and most players would probably prefer using a joystick or the Classic Controller. Also, Pikachu can’t start running from a standstill; instead, the electric Pokemon has to walk a few steps first — you can get around this a bit by jumping when you first start moving.

This isn’t the best Pokemon game of all time, but some young gamers will definitely love playing as the world’s favorite Pokemon; and there is enough to do to keep them entertained for a considerable amount of time.