Pokemon Go is the augmented reality version of the game that our generation grew up loving. It doesn’t yet have all of the promised features, but now the Pokemon world has been merged with our own, and it feels so real.
Niantic is slowly releasing Pokemon Go, but it’s not officially out in Canada yet. That hasn’t stopped anyone in the know from downloading the APK or making a new iTunes account in order to access the virtual world. Maybe you’ve seen the hordes of people standing under the trees on campus because someone set up a lure to attract Pokemon, or maybe you’ve just seen an increased number of people staring intently at their phones and not paying quite enough attention to where they are going. Either way, this game is difficult to put down until your battery dies.
Pokemon is a franchise that our generation is loyal to. In the US, according to data from SimilarWeb, more android phones have Pokemon Go downloaded than Tinder. Fans are so eager to play this immersive version of Pokemon that even when a server lags and freezes the game, you won’t want to give up on finding that nearby rare Pokemon.
Since it is an augmented reality game, it has a personal touch to it. You are able to find the Pokemon you love in a neighborhood that you know well. Whether you’re trying to hatch an egg, find a new gym to take over, or just catch them all, Pokemon Go is a way of encouraging users to explore new areas.
Additionally, it’s encouraging players to go outside, and as a result Pokemon Go has unintentionally become a great exercise app. This is due to the fact that it is packaged as a Pokemon game and wasn’t meant to be an exercise app.
The game only has the original generation of Pokemon, so it’s the Pokemon that our generation will remember playing with. You can see a pidgey or a rattata in your room, on the sidewalk, or next to your prof in class (though I don’t recommend this for the sake of your grades).
A great thing about Pokemon Go is that it doesn’t require anyone to go out and buy the newest Nintendo Gameboy, DS, or 3DS. It will be compatible with any smartphone when it comes out, and it’s free to download. This makes it accessible to people who can’t reason buying the newest device just for the newest Pokemon game.
The Pokemon Go app is still very glitchy. It will freeze as you’re trying to catch a rare Pokemon and you have to wait and make sure everything loads, so that when you close and reopen the app, you’ll have caught it. But it’s brand new, and I have high hopes that the glitches will be fixed by the time it can properly be downloaded from the app store, and that servers will be upgraded so they won’t go down with the increased traffic.
Also, there are features that are still missing from the app, and they will probably add more Pokemon to the game. This excites me more than it frustrates me. It means that I still have more new things to look forward to from an already exciting game.
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