Pokemon Snap
Reviewed by Danielle L.
Finally, Pokemon in 3D! But wait, instead of capturing the Pokemon with
a pokeball, you have to take pictures of them with your trusty camera.
You are Todd, shutterbug extraordinary who is employed by Professor
Oak to take pictures of the lovable Pokemon of Pokemon island,
especially of the little yellow dude named Pikachu (who is Pikachu,
you ask? Hi, I'm earth, have we met?). You'll travel through dark caves,
sandy beaches, and fluffy clouds with your bait, pester balls, and
Pokeflute, trying to photograph all 63 Pokemon (yes, that's all there
are), including the rare and elusive kitty cat named Mew. Good luck!
Graphics: 10 out of 10
I know somewhere in the sugar-coated dreams of the average eight year old,
Pokemon have always existed in perfect 3D, but I was till surprised to see
the excellent graphics in this game! 63 Pokemon, all perfectly rendered in
3D are here to great your eyes, and they couldn't be better. There is great
attention to detail, and no visible polygons that I saw so far. Here they are,
in all they're vomitingly cute glory, for you to photograph. And its not just
Pokemon: there are also excellent background and landscape effects, with
some of the best being water effects (when you are traveling down
whitewater rapids, the effects are excellent). A true treat for the eye.
Music and Sound: 9 out of 10
Good tunes, but nothing really memorable. There are, of course, different
sounds that the Pokemon make. I smile every time I go by a Meowth and
hear it yelling at me. There's also good sound effects, and the Pokemon
react appropriately when you do stuff to them like...um... whack them
in the head with bait. Sorry, guilty as charged. Your Pokeflute also makes
three kind of catchy tunes for the Pocket Monsters to dance to.
Game Challenge: 5 out of 10
Its not really that hard. I beat it on a weekend of casual playing. Some
things are hard, like getting some of the Pokemon to evolve (especially
getting that &*@$ Magikarp to turn into a Gyarados), but they're no real
brainteasers. The biggest challenge is trying to improve on your high
scores which is kind of tough.
Game Play-Fun: 10 out of 10
Its great fun. I love going through all of the levels and trying to get the
Pokemon into weird poses (I have this one of Meowth praying, its so cool).
A lot of little kids will just love the game simply because they can go
through and see a lot of Pokemon. That's nice too, I guess. I just like
improving my high scores and getting weird poses.
Frustration
Very little. Maybe when you need to evolve a Pokemon, or beat a high
score, but other than that this game is... well... a snap.
Replayability: 6 out of 10
It may not be interesting for some people to replay it once you've
beaten it, but you can still always go back and try to get higher scores,
weird poses etc. It has a very limited replayability, but its OK.
Game Value: 10 out of 10
I got mine brand-new, for $18 on ebay, so I think that its VERY much worth it.
I've had it for a couple of months, and I still play with it. If you know a
little kid, a photography nut, or even a crazy sixteen year-old who
actually likes the occasional Pokemon game (my therapist says its best
if I admit I have a problem), check out ebay and snap up a copy. It is
pretty worth it, even if all you ever do is belt Pikachu in the head with apples.
Pokemon Inclusion: 5 out of 10
I'm giving this game half the points, because they only included half
of the Pokemon. Only 63 Pokemon are able to be found in this game,
despite the 151 Pokemon that were known to exist when this game was
made. What's up with that? Where's my Raichu? Where's my Wartortle?
And just where the heck are my Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan? They could
have at least included evolved types of Pokemon, but they didn't. I think
the developers were just way too lazy in this department.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This is a pretty good game, if you like Pokemon and/or photography. It
isn't really a game everyone will like, but I really did. Obviously, if you
are the parent of young children, they're probably bugging you for this
game. You may as well get it, its not violent and its actually pretty fun.
You may just become a Pokemon freak.