I play Pokemon. A lot. You guys know that. I was hesitant about the newest games, however. As much as I was convinced that Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon were just a money grab for Nintendo (they are), I bought them. One copy for myself (Ultra Moon) and one copy for the Nerdboy, because it was his birthday (Ultra Sun).

Due to finals, papers, etc., getting in the way, I haven’t yet completed the game. I’m currently on the third island, attempting to take on the Totem Mimikyu. It's rude, you guys. It’s killing my team ruthlessly.

While the game itself has the same exact story line, which is a massive con in my books, the gameplay mechanics are a little better. For example, there are far, far fewer mandatory cut scenes, and the game isn’t quite as dumbed down as the original Moon and Sun were. There’s still a marker on the map that shows you where to go, but the game doesn't spend ten minutes explaining precisely how to do each thing. There are also a lot more Pokemon from other generations added, which is cool because Alola has a lot of really cool originals and area variants, but there are a lot of Dark types. A well-balanced team needs a little more variety, so I for one am grateful that I can toss a Talonflame named Barbecue in to the mix.

The biggest difference that I've encountered so far are two new characters, the Ultra Recon Squad. As far as I can tell, they’re harmless and just plot-pushers, but we’ll see what roll they play as the game comes to its conclusion.