Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (Nintendo DS)

POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: EXPLORERS OF SKY will give players a sense of deja vu if they've already sampled previous games in the series. The premise – where you play a human who wakes up trapped inside the body of a Pokemon, meets a companion, and joins an adventurer's guild – is identical to that of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness. So is the gameplay, which involves exploring randomly-generated dungeons to complete quests and defeat wild pokemon.

What's new in Explorers of Sky is that players have access to a handful of new quests and special episodes, including being able to explore the previously inaccessible Sky Peak where a new Pokemon called Shaymin acts as a companion and guide as you hike up the mountain. Players also have five new starter Pokemon to choose from when they start the game, can find additional missions through bottles that wash up on the beach, and can trade exclusive items with friends who have other Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. The degree of repetition between Explorers of Sky and its predecessors (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness) is a bit disappointing, especially if the games are played back to back. The frustrations of Explorers of Time, such as losing some of your cash and items every time you perish in a dungeon, are still a part of the new game, and Explorers of Sky hasn't undergone any sort of graphical improvements either. Nevertheless, Pokemon fanatics who buy into the franchise's "gotta catch 'em all" mantra will find plenty to keep them occupied.

Available on: Nintendo DS
Not available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Nintendo
Released on: October 12, 2009
Price: 34.99
ESRB Rating: E for Comic Mischief