Filip Brož I feel like I'm ten years old. I run around the park, the square and catch Pokemon in the streets of the city. People passing by look at me in disbelief as I turn my iPhone to all directions. My eyes light up as soon as I catch the rarer Pokemon Vaporeon. However, he soon runs away from my pokeball, the red and white ball that is the home of all captured pokemon. Nothing happens, the hunt continues.
Here I describe the gaming experience of the new Pokémon GO game from Niantic, which produces it in cooperation with Nintendo. Enthusiastic players of all ages run around cities and towns trying to catch as many Pokemon as possible. Cartoon creatures from the animated series of the same name are probably known to everyone, mainly thanks to the yellow creature named Pikachu.
Although the game was released only a few days ago, millions of people around the world have already fallen for it. However, the biggest joy is the Nintendo game. The company's share price is rising very quickly. Shares rose more than 24 percent on Monday alone and have rallied 36 percent since Friday. The market value of the company thus increased by 7,5 billion dollars (183,5 billion crowns) in just two days. The success of this game also confirms Nintendo's right decision to offer its titles to developers for mobile platforms. It will be very interesting to watch this development in terms of further adaptations or what it will do to the console game market.
Highly addictive game
At the same time, you not only have to catch the pocket monsters, but also properly tame them and train them. The creators have released 120 Pokemon worldwide. Some of them are located in an ordinary street, others in the subway, in a park or somewhere near the water. Pokemon GO is very simple and highly addictive. However, the game is not yet available in the Czech Republic (or elsewhere in Europe or Asia), but according to the latest news, the official launch in Europe and Asia should come within a few days. I got the game on my iPhone through an American Apple ID, which can be created for free.
[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/SWtDeeXtMZM” width=”640″]
The first time you run it, you need to log in first. The best option is through a Google account. However, there has been a report that the game has full access to your user Google account, which in practice means that the game could edit all your personal information. Developers from Niantic have already rushed to explain that full access is wrong and the game only accesses basic information in your Google account. The next update is supposed to fix this connection.
After logging in, you will already get to the game itself, where you must first create a character. You choose either male or female and then adjust his/her features. Then a three-dimensional map will be spread out in front of you, on which you will recognize your own location, because it is a map of the real world. Pokémon GO works with your iPhone's GPS and gyroscope, and the game is largely based on virtual reality.
The first pokemon will probably appear right in front of you. Just click on it and throw a ball, a pokeball. When you hit, the pokemon is yours. However, to make it not so easy, you need to find the right moment. There is a colored ring around the pokemon – green for the easily tamable species, yellow or red for rarer ones. You can repeat your attempt several times until you catch the pokemon or it runs away.
Healthy lifestyle
The point of Pokémon GO is – rather surprisingly for the game – movement and walking. If you get in the car, don't expect to catch anything. The developers are primarily targeting a healthy lifestyle, so if you want to be successful in the game, you need to pick up your iPhone and hit the town. People who live in big cities are slightly at an advantage, but even in smaller towns there are pokemons. In addition to them, on your travels you will also come across Pokéstops, imaginary boxes in which you can find new Pokéballs and other improvements. Pokéstops are usually located near some interesting places, monuments or cultural facilities.
For every pokemon caught and pokestop emptied, you gain valuable experience. Of course, these vary, so if you manage to catch something interesting, you can expect a good amount of experience. These are needed primarily to be able to wrestle and dominate a gym. Each city has several "gyms" that you can enter from level five. At the beginning, you have to defeat the Pokemon guarding the gym. The combat system is classic clicking and dodging attacks until you stun your opponent. You will then get a gym and you can put your own pokemon in it.
Big battery eater
There are two forms of catching Pokemon. If your iPhone is equipped with the necessary sensors and a gyroscope, you will see your real surroundings and the Pokemon sitting somewhere next to you on the display through the camera lens. On the other phones, the pokemons are located in the meadow. Even with the latest iPhones, however, virtual reality and the sensing of the surroundings can be turned off.
But the game is a huge battery drain because of it. My iPhone 6S Plus battery dropped seventy percent in just two hours of gaming. Pokémon GO is understandably also demanding on data, for mobile internet, which you will use most of the time while traveling, expect tens of megabytes down.
We therefore have the following recommendation for you: take both an external charger with you and maximum caution when moving on the streets. When catching Pokemon, you can easily run into the road or miss another obstacle.
Just like in the animated series, your Pokemon in the game have different fighting skills and experiences. The traditional evolution of pokemon to a higher stage is no exception. However, in order for the development to happen, imaginary candies are needed, which you collect while hunting and walking around the city. The fights themselves only take place in gyms, which makes me quite sad. If you meet another trainer, you will see the same Pokemon around you, but you can no longer fight with each other or pass the collected items from the backpack.
Pokémon GO also has in-app purchases, but you can easily ignore them initially. You can play solidly even without them. There are also rare eggs in the game that you can place in the incubator. Depending on the rarity, they will hatch Pokemon for you once you have walked a certain number of kilometers. So it is evident that walking is the main motif of the game.
As already mentioned, Pokémon GO is not yet available for download in the Czech App Store, but according to the latest news, it should be officially launched in Europe and Asia in the next few days. In the US App Store is a free downloadable game. That's why there are various guides on how to download the game even if it's not available in your country. The easiest way is to create a new account for free in the American App Store (which can also come in handy later, as some applications are limited to the American store).
Who would not want to bother with something similar (or wait for it to arrive in the Czech App Store), can use a universal account, which he describes on his blog @Unreed.
Tips and tricks or how to make playing easier
You can also play Pokemon GO from the comfort of your home. You won't collect as many pokemon and you probably won't have any pokestops around, but you can still catch something. Just turn the game off/on or turn off the GPS signal for a while. Every time you log in again, a pokemon should appear in front of you after some time.
Every pokeball counts, so don't waste them. You can lose the most when hunting rarer Pokemon. Therefore, remember that you will never catch better Pokemon when the circle is the largest, but on the contrary, it must be as small as possible. Then no pokemon should escape from it. You can proceed in a similar way with ordinary Pokemon.
No caught pokemon has to come up short either. Definitely collect everything you see. If you find more Pokemon of the same type, there is nothing easier than sending them to the professor, for which you will receive one sweet candy each. You can then use them to evolve the given pokemon.
In general, it pays to take care of your Pokemon as much as possible and upgrade them properly. Even the seemingly ordinary rat Ratata can end up being several times stronger than a single rare pokemon after its evolution. A good example is, for example, Eevee, which is the only one that does not have an evolution line, but can evolve into two different Pokemon.
A hint in the lower right corner can also be a good helper, which shows which Pokemon are hiding in your vicinity. In the detail of each creature, you will find small tracks that indicate a rough estimate of the distance - one track means one hundred meters, two tracks two hundred meters, etc. However, do not take the nearby menu completely literally. It's likely that as quickly as it appears, it will disappear and be replaced by a completely different pokemon.
Also, don't forget to carry a backpack on your back. Sometimes interesting things can be hidden in it, for example incubators, in which you put collected unhatched eggs. Once you've covered a certain number of kilometers, you can expect a new pokemon. Again, the equation applies, the more kilometers, the rarer the pokemon turns out to be. In the backpack, you can also find various collected improvements or practical sprays that will restore lost lives to your Pokemon.
so in America they ban texting on the sidewalk so I don't get hit by a car, but can I fly behind a pikachu?? I don't mind :)
Well, Niantic used the already created background from Ingress. I don't see anything revolutionary about it. It's just another shade of an addiction. It must be noted that it is very well made!
Yes, it doesn't bother me at all...
save the shelter and send it to Alijaška! :-)