Pokemon Black and White

The latest installments in the Pokemon series are the two games Pokemon Black and White. In my opinion they are a minor step upwards in terms of graphics, with the lowering of the camera view, but a major step up in terms of battling and gameplay. The speed of battles increased, allowing me to progress through training and battling quicker, which I thought was a nifty little improvement. The real time seasons was also a major aesthetic improvement in my eyes, however the biggest improvement was the return to an 'original' themed Pokemon game. This was featured through many different aspects of the actual game, mainly the routes being reset to route 1, and the restriction placed upon players, of only being able to obtain Unova region Pokemon up until post-Elite 4. Personally, this forced me to experiment with the new Pokemon, and create a dynamic list by getting to know the new Pokemon and their types etc.

My main 'peeve' with Pokemon B & W, is that the Pokemon look RIDICULOUS, aside from a select few, which have some actual merit. Some of the outrageous 'creations' that the Game Freak designers produced actually caused me to burst out in laughter and wonder whether the designers had some inkling of creativeness left in their brains. Some of these Pokemon bordered on complete absurdity. Take a look at this Pokemon,

I actually don't understand this Pokemon. When I first saw it and it's pre-evolution Woobat I immediately saw it as a failed attempt to recreate a bat-like pokemon similar to the formidable Golbat and Zubat. Although Swoobat does live up to the incredibly annoying reputation of it's 1st Gen counterpart Golbat. ;)

What about this one. Once again a horrible attempt at recreating a 1st Gen superior, pure fighting type similar to Machamp. When I see this I don't see an awesome fighting Pokemon. I see an absurd deformed bear shaped Pokemon. Oh, with an ugly red clown nose and a dong on it's head. So you're telling me everyone of these ridiculous creatures carries massive concrete pillars around?

I literally cried when I saw this. C'mon Game Freak, you created a fricken ice cream Pokemon. What a joke, I cannot believe that this is seen as a legitimate Pokemon.

Although I harshly criticize some of these horrid designs, I think that several Pokemon look incredibly awesome. Including the two main legendaries, Reshiram and Zekrom. I am incredibly fond of dragon Pokemon, so I was very impressed with the three-headed dark dragon, Hydreigon and the axe-head Pokemon, Haxorus. Another surprisingly awesome looking Pokemon is Scolipede, which puts a whole new, 'dangerous' or 'intimidating' spin on Bug Pokemon.

The awesome gameplay, and the original theme of Pokemon Black and White are definite winners. What brings these games down are ridiculous designs that don't constitute the original elements of an actual 'Pokemon'.