Pokemon GO! First Impressions

As everyone, geeks and non-geeks alike know, Pokemon GO! released this weekend in the US. Of course I was going to download this game. After all, I’ve been a self-proclaimed Poke-nerd since the show originally aired in the US in 1998. After having a generous amount of time to experience the game over the weekend, I wanted to share my thoughts with everyone, and believe it or not, they aren’t all fairytale thoughts. I’ll start with the pros. Then I’ll move into the cons, and finish with my own fun experience.

Before we begin here is the trailer for the game in case you’ve been living under a rock. It’s OK I live in a bubble.

Pros

I love the concept behind this game. Get nerds off the couch! Seriously, it is no easy task to tear a true gamer away from the computer, TV screen, or console in their free time. Creating an app that gets people moving in order to earn accomplishments in the game is such an ingenius idea. The Twitter community had some pretty hilarious Tweets regarding the subject. This is my favorite:

I’m happy they are sticking with the original generation of Pokemon. It gets my vote with the nostalgia factor, but also gives the game room to grow in the future when needed.

Battling has never really been my favorite part of Pokemon for me, so I’m happy that the game seems to give the user different experiences without requiring them to battle. You can be a collector, a battle guru, or even just a photographer. I’ll probably focus more on the photography and collecting aspect than the battling. I might even be more into hatching eggs since it is the biggest part that incorporates getting more miles into your life.  That’s just more my style.

I could talk about a lot of other things now, but it would ruin the stuff I’m saving for later. Onto the not so great.

Cons and Overall Frustrations

OK, let’s be real here. These haven’t stopped me from playing the game, but they are upsetting.

People are being idiots. Between people who won’t put their phone down while driving and people putting themselves in dangerous situations for the sake of a Pokemon it is really going to cause problems for the people playing the game as it was intended. Seriously people have some common sense.

I know people told me to be understanding of the server problems they experienced, but I really am annoyed by it. They have sales data on the last 20+ years of Pokemon RPGs released. They really should have been better prepared for the amount of people expecting to play this on the release date.

After Pokemon X and Y I really expected to be able to customize my character more, and interact with other players outside of gyms such as trading Pokemon. It’s great that everyone doesn’t have to have the exact same look, but I am expecting them to add to this in the future. Character customization has always been a huge thing for me in the gaming world. I think it’s why I’ve always loved games like Sims, Animal Crossing, and MMORPGs in general. I’d complain more about the lack of trading, but I’ve already heard rumors that they plan on fixing this soon.

My Experience

What have I done so far? Well, despite the minor offenses stated above I have absolutely enjoyed my GO experience. Let’s start from the beginning. My character did turn out pretty cool even if the options to customize her were pretty limited.

I caught this Magikarp from my desk right off the bat. I found it hilarious that it was right above my sushi eraser. Please excuse the mess.

My favorite part of the whole experience so far has been Josh and I’s date downtown this weekend. Greenville is pretty much an epicenter for any good trainer. It has all the Pokestops you could possibly need, and a lot of different environments to catch a multitude of Pokemon types. Check it out.

Here are my favorite catches from our little adventure.

A Pokemon adventure wouldn’t be complete if we weren’t dressed appropriately. I think it’s safe to say we were the hottest Pokemon GO couple downtown this weekend. I only wish my Officer Jenny skirt wasn’t ruined, or I totally would have been that girl.

The best part of it all is that there were so many other people out and about playing GO as well this weekend. I found this to be awesome. A lot of people introduced themselves, and stopped to chat about the game. It has definitely gotten people out of the house. My only hope is that interest levels don’t take a dive off a cliff because I really think this could be great for the nerd community.

The questions I am dying to have answered from my audience… What team did you join (I’m Team Valor!)? What’s your favorite Pokemon? Share your favorite GO experience so far! Don’t forget to subscribe via email or Bloglovin’ to never miss a post!