Ok Let Me Review It: Pokemon Go - a review, a hack, and a clip

It seems as if a resurgence of the cult classic Anime has gotten new life breathed into the franchise with the recent release of Pokèmon Go. If you are not familiar with the 90's cartoon Pokemon, well let me just tell you, that Pokèmon (or Pocket Monsters as it is called in Japan) is about this kid named Ash Ketchum who learns about these creatures who live in his world as wild animals, that can be caught, trained, battled, and loved. Think of it like dog fighting but less deadly. Well add in all the animation and cute little creatures, and you have Pokèmon. Probably the most famous of them all is a little yellow mouse like creature, who can conduct and direct electrical energy in the form of attacks, called Pikachu.

Pikachu and Ash

Well the game brings back an air of childhood for adults who were kids in the 90's. The point of Pokèmon Go is to not only encourage exercise, though going out doors and looking for the Pokèmon. But by bringing people together through joining of teams. There are 3 teams. Team Valor (Red), Team Majestic (Blue), and Team Instinct (Yellow).
In this virtual/physical gaming world there is a healthy sportsmanship and hazing of each team. Team Valor is "against" Team Majestic, and Majestic and Valor are against Team Instinct. Think of it in terms of following a sports team, how some are Raiders fans and others are Cowboys.

Because of its insane popularity, and the app's infancy, there are a lot of glitches and freezes that happen during game play, which can be very frustrating. One of the biggest "throw your phone for distance" moments is when you finally find and capture a Pokèmon that you need or just want to catch and the game crashes. Well before you would be shit out of luck and would have to hope and pray to every god ever worshiped that you found it again. But after some major backlash from the community in general, there is now a 60/40 chance that you will keep the Pokèmon if it is in the ball when the game crashes.

Also like every other "Freemium" (a game that is free to download and play for the most part but has premium content for sale within the app click the link for clip by South Park explaining Freemium Games. I do not own this clip just one I found) game on the market, you do have special items that you can buy, but with any amount of effort put into the game, can find them for free at Pokèstop's and by leveling up your character. So there is the chance that parents who dont have a lock on their kids Google Play or iTunes accounts could find that their bills are sky high, that and with data charges. However, T-Mobile is offering unlimited data for Pokèmon Go players now in addition to their free data for other services like Netflix.

There are other things surrounding the game, like special "hacks" to get certain Pokèmon like naming your Eevee's Pyro, Sparky, and Rainer to get the Pokèmon Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon, of which I will attest to its validity as I have personally done this with mine to get Jolteon. This is the game makers nod to the three brothers in the show (Rainer, Sparky, and Pyro) who had Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon.

Rainer with Vaporeon, Sparky with Jolteon, and Pyro with Flareon

SO my review of the game so far? I must say that I am really liking it. I have gotten out and met a lot of new people. It is helping me get exercise, while playing a game that I really loved as a teen. I was that nerd who spent countless hundreds of dollars buying the cards, and going to the local comic store and playing in the gym tournaments every saturday.

I dont like the number of glitches it has and the frequency in which the servers go down. I also don't like how big of a battery drain it is on your phone or tablet. I get maybe 30 to 45 minutes of game play (if its a good day and the servers hold and the app doesn't crash) before my phone is wiped out. Other than that, this is a great game, tons of fun, and something that the whole family can benefit from.

My final recommendation and thought is that you go out and get yourself a good external power bank for your phone. You can use it while in the car and plugged into the cigarette lighter, however, many features do not work while in speeds in excess of 15mph. Plus the whole idea is to walk. If you do use the app while in the car, do so as a passenger not as the driver. Be safe and above all else have fun.....oh and join Team Valor ;)