Definitely worth the wait are the four words that I will use to describe this game.
Pokemon has come a long way from the good ol' days of Pokemon Red and Blue. With the introduction of the Game boy colour, advance, and now Nintendo DS, pokemon has grown - it has become a part of culture. All I have to say is that, Diamond easily lives up to the hype, name, and is the best DS game yet. I am somewhat of a "hardcore" gamer - I play games like FEAR, Far Cry, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Unreal Tournament, and my favourite: GTA San Andreas. But, Diamond has really grown on my inner child.
Storyline:
Typical, but great. I love how you visit many cities, while trying to save the pokemon world. There are many new elements in this game, although the base storyline is similar to others. New enemies, new gym leaders, and new legendaries, make for a great experience.
Gameplay:
Diamond continues the tradition of the Pokemon RPG - an ambitious trainer sets out in the world of pokemon, to discover, to train, to compete, and to explore. 100 New pokemon have been added to this game, along with cool legendaries and starters. The pokemon have unique animations and gender differences. Nothing much different there, and it keeps the player entertained for a LONG time (>30 hours of gameplay). The game follows typical pokemon flair, with catching pokemon, the pokedex, fighting, training etc. The formula is great, and it has not been tampered with. New items have been added, such as the Poketch. Everything has been streamlined to be more user friendly. The DS controls feel great, especially when using the stylus New wifi components have been added, and my personal favourite is the GTS (Global Trading System). No longer will you need the link cables of before, and a friend nearby. Using the WiFi of the DS, you can trade with players all over the world. There are numerous other wifi components. Graphics:
The graphics are an improvement over previous generations, especially with the 3D environments and pokemon animations. The game is bright, colourful, and quite vibrant - similar to my PSP games. I feel the graphics are great, but they could be improved - the DS has more capabilities that can be used. Sound: Typical sounds from Pokemon games, but I think the DS speakers output it much more clearly. I think it is fairly good, although sometimes I do listen to some other tunes, and turn the sound off
Overall:
I think that this game, along with a few other DS games (namely Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario 64, Advance Wars DS, and legend of Zelda) are a must have for any loyal DS fan. For a pokemon addict, this game definitely delivers, and overall it is definitely worth playing over...and over...and over.