I'm Drew and I'm here to lighten the load after last week. Now...
Pokemon GO! The big phenomenon sweeping the country from the gaming world.
Before I get to the game, a quick history about the Pokemon franchise in my eyes. It all started in 1998 when the anime series debuted and soon become a worldwide sensation (you know, during the anime boom of the 1990s anyways), spawning the card game, the movies (and there are many), the toys, the video games and many other examples to make Pokemon one of the biggest, strongest and most everlasting franchises of any medium in any medium in history. And I myself have a bit of a history with it. The Movie was the first movie I (along with my dad and siblings) got to see in theaters when it was released in 1999, and my family played a few games on the Nintendo handhelds when we were growing up. Then in the late-2000s...it sorta faded to the obsure. It hasn't been as memorable (at least in my case) and wasn't a thing everyone played with or to for a long while.
Until now. When Pokemon GO came around, it already became huge. And that's just in the US and Canada alone. After its release on the App Store and Google Play, it already became a top selling free app and went on to rival TWITTER. That's impressive. Everyone was talking about it, and I mean EVERYONE. I couldn't go a minute on my FB news feed without a single mention of this app; whether it be news, gameplay, jokes or memes-it was inescapable. And I felt like I wanted to rip my hair out go off the grid forever [or at least until the popularity dies down. ...so forever]. That is until after the horrible events of last week when two black men were shot to death by two white police officers in two different states, triggering national outrage. My blood boiled and my heart ached from hearing this news. And because of that, I needed something happy to offset this terrible chapter of racial tension and divide in this nation. And I found some in this app.
After my friend talked about it and even told me that it's fine to not care about it (in a seemingly sad tone), I finally decided to give it a try. And I couldn't be happier to have done so.
So what are my thoughts are on the game? Well...it's AWESOME! But before it's release, I almost didn't think so. Hell, I never even knew it existed until a good friend of mine told me about it on Facebook after it's opening bow. I didn't care about the app and even had the decency of telling everyone about it. And now I can't go a day without telling everyone about the Pokemon I've found and what quirky nicknames I've given them.
Here are the cute creatures I've been catching so far and the names I've given them. One of them is just brilliant.
Oh right, how to play.
It's pretty simple. If you've watched thr original anime series, you know the gist. You (as the player/Pokemon Master-in-training) must catch Pokemon to train and fight with against other's players. The twist is with a kickass feature, you can see the Pokemon in real time in our real world. You can see random creatures pop up in random places. And when you catch them, you then can go to Poke-gyms to train them; these gyms are in random places near where you live. There are also random markers across your town to give you extra stuff, like more Pokeballs or a Poke(?)egg to hatch into a baby Pokemon. And the cool part is that you can do all this whenever you want for free.
But what isn't cool is this: when playing the game outdoors, you might get a little engrossed with the app. So much so, that you could bump into things, like a wall, a pole, a fire hydrant, other people or even a car. Yep, people are so addicted to Pokemon GO that they won't mind their ways of public safety. Also, because of the HUGE popularity of the game, some people will take advantage of it to find random people and rob them blind.
So please, be careful out there. Be aware of your surroundings and watch out for dangers to avade while playing. That's a sad testament to the huge popularity of this app.
A good testament, on the other hand, is how it brings people together. Since its release, millions upon millions have downloaded the game and have since played it for hours upon hours of the day, (again) putting on par with TWITTER for the most user-generated free app on the app stores. AMAZING. And I'm happy to say that I'm a part of it.
So, all-in-all, this is one kickass app filled with fun, excitement and amazing gameplay, and I highly recommend it.
Please, play it--but be very vigilant while doing so.
Don't act like this...
...or this...
...while being like this.
Thanks to checking in, everyone. I'm Drew and I'll catch you guys later (well, not like that). I need to get more Pokeballs for more Pokemon. Eugene, Rick, Bernie and DJ RazzyTeff seem to be feeling a little lonesome.
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