Pokemon Go, the upcoming free-to-play mobile game, has more than a few fans of Nintendo's long-running monster catching franchise excited. After all, it's Pokemon, on your smartphone.
While we knew Pokemon Go wouldn't play exactly like the popular handheld games for Game Boy and Nintendo DS, we finally have enough information to get a solid idea of what the game will be like.
Some of the information isn't new, such as how players will need to travel around the world to find Pokemon. Certain types of Pokemon will only appear in locations matching their type. Water Pokemon, for example, may appear near a lake or the ocean.
When it comes to capturing the creatures, one major departure from the core Pokemon games is that there are no battles required. Players simply use Pokeballs to attempt to capture the Pokemon in question. The higher your trainer level, the more powerful Pokemon you will be able to catch. Players can also evolve Pokemon by capturing one of the same kind of Pokemon multiple times. Then there is the ability to find Poke-eggs. After walking a certain number of steps, these eggs will hatch into Pokemon.
Included in the new information is how the game's gym system will work. Players will be able to join a team and then place their Pokemon in a certain real world landmark. Each player from the team can place one Pokemon at any given gym location. If another team wants to take the gym for themselves, they'll have to defeat your team's Pokemon.
And it's not just Pokemon players will be on the hunt for. Exploring can lead to the discovery of items like great balls, and there will also be a challenge system that awards players will badges for their player profile for accomplishing certain goals.
An unofficial phone video did offer fans a glimpse at the game last week, but these images are our first official look at Pokemon Go. The images confirm that the video was indeed legitimate, and include new glimpses at the game map and what it's like to encounter Pokemon in the wild.
You can read more about Pokemon Go on the official site. No release date for the title yet, but it's coming to Android and iOS devices soon.
