Sunday, July 10, 2016

20 Years of Pokemon: Fun with Pokemon GO


Since its announcement last year, Pokemon GO is one of the most anticipated smartphone app games the world has ever faced and even though this is one of the many ways to honor Pokemon's 20th anniversary, Pokemon GO gives millions of Pokemon fans from across the globe the chance they've been waiting for; capture Pokemon in the real world just as what they did on video games.

Before talking about my first impressions, what is Pokemon GO, you may ask? And why is this AR app game became one of the most anticipated games the world has ever waited? Developed by Niantic Labs, Pokemon GO takes advantage of the capabilities of smartphone and GPS, creating the world's first "real world gaming" platform fans ever experienced. Niantic Labs first made their "real world game" called Ingress and over a million players from around the world compete, cooperate, and celebrate while travelling through the ends of the earth in the name of world domination as a faction. With Pokemon GO, this is a totally new experience for fans and newcomers of the Pokemon franchise.

As of right now; Australia, New Zealand, and the USA were the first to launch the Pokemon GO app game with more countries will follow within a few days, including Japan. It's available for free at the App Store or Google Play with in-app purchases.

With millions began their journey to live the life of a Pokemon Trainer as seen on the games and TV show alike, Whether if its in your home, your neighbor's house, your favorite park you've visited, or any other points of interests, Pokemon are everywhere and as a trainer, your task is to catch lots of Pokemon using Poke Balls. As you catch a Pokemon, you can level up or evolve using particular items. Stardusts and Pokemon candies to be precise. As you train your Pokemon, you can stand a chance to battle against other trainers in Gyms.

If you are part of a team, you can assign your strongest Pokemon to an open Gym or a Gym where a team member has placed one of their Pokemon. Each player can have one Pokemon at a particular Gym and each Gym has a Prestige. The higher, the tougher your opponents can challenge but once dropped to none, the defending team loses control of the Gym.

As of right now, Pokemon GO offers over a hundred Pokemon as seen on the Red/Green/Blue/Yellow games or as I like to call it, Pokemon that came from the Kanto region. You start off with one of the three starter Pokemons; Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, and then set off to catch and train Pokemon. As you catch more and more Pokemon, you can level up your trainer and as your trainer level goes high, you can gain access to more powerful items that will be a great use on your journey.

Need to stock up on Poke Balls or supplies? There are PokeStops located at interesting places. PokeStops are in the form of public art installations, historical monuments, or other interesting places you might come across. Get close to it and you can stock up on items.

Anyway, no time to explain more about how Pokemon GO works because it's time for me to explain my first impression and because of massive amounts of users downloaded Pokemon GO, signing in is a total nightmare and it took me lot of hours to get this thing going. When I started it, I don't know what to do with this game until I try taking a stroll outside my home to see how Pokemon GO works but unless my mom's away from work, I couldn't get away trying out with this. When I spotted a wild Pokemon, first thing's to do to myself is I took a picture with a wild Pokemon before capturing it. Sadly, I'm not very accurate in terms of sliding to the target with the Poke Ball but with practice, it won't take a matter of time before I officially caught one. Now that I got the hang of Pokemon GO, I can't hardly wait to see what else I can do when I left the comfort of my own living room and into the outside world to experience what millions of players described as the best experience in Pokemon's 20-year history.

Everyone knows that Pokemon GO is the best real world game they've ever played on their smartphone but due to health and safety, it is advised to watch your surroundings at all times because you may never know what sorts of things may bump you while your eyes are glued into the game. You should never play this game while riding a bike, driving a car, or anything else you should be paying attention. And kids, don't wander off from your mommies and daddies or your pals to catch a Pokemon.

Anyway, that's it for my first bite of Pokemon GO and for an added experience, keep an eye out for the Pokemon Go Plus accessory coming soon in your nearest shops. The Pokemon GO Plus uses Bluetooth technology that lets you know that an incoming Pokemon is nearby and it will notify you via LED and vibration.

So, pack up your stuff and head out because your life of being a Pokemon trainer has just begun.

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