Pokemon Dream Radar

Genre: Shooting Gallery Game / Augmented Reality Game

Players: 1, StreetPass Compatible

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Review:

Pokemon Dream Radar is a Shooting Gallery Game using Augmented Reality that’s similar in the way it plays to Face Raiders, the Augmented Reality game that came free with the Nintendo 3DS. In this game, players shoot lasers at clouds superimposed over your 3DS’s camera feed, with some of these turning into orbs you can zap, and succeeding in doing so will net players a captured Pokemon they can then import into Pokemon Black 2 or Pokemon White 2.

So… there’s a lot to unpack here. First, the Pokemon connection to the gameplay seems really shoehorned in here. You’re not shooting at Pokemon, the mechanics aren’t really reminiscent of Pokemon… this is more like playing a simple carnival game and getting a random Pokemon as your prize.

Second… one has to ask, why Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2? Why only those games? It just seems strange that a Nintendo 3DS eShop game is designed to work with only a pair of original Nintendo DS games, and zero attempt was made to build this compatibility into any later games in the series.

And then, of course, there’s the game itself, which is… dull and repetitive. You use the gyroscopic motion-sensing of the Nintendo 3DS to shoot clouds, they release orbs, you shoot them, and sometimes they release a big orb that you have to use a sustained shot on while it dodges around. That is all there is to this game. There’s no gameplay variety, no clever use of AR technology like Face Raiders did, nothing.

The presentation is fine, but only in that there’s just not much to it. Just simple 2D clouds, 2D orbs, your simple lasers, and the camera feed, backed by an energetic but completely forgettable soundtrack.

And just to make matters worse, this is a dull game that uses wait mechanics. That’s right, after shooting 10 or so clouds, you’ll be told to either spend Nintendo 3DS play coins, or wait an hour. It’s like this game is trying not to be fun.

Is there any reason to spend the $3 it takes to get this game? Well, I suppose if you absolutely wanted to get more Pokemon in Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 and don’t want to bother doing it through actually, you know, playing those games. But if you’re looking at this as a game and not just as a shortcut to getting some Pokemon in an old Nintendo DS game? Pfft, no – if that’s what you’re looking for, just play Face Raiders, which features a better take on this exact same sort of gameplay, and it’s already on your Nintendo 3DS.

tl;dr – Pokemon Dream Radar is a Shooting Gallery Game using Augmented Reality that’s like playing the free game Face Raiders, except it’s boring, uses tedious wait mechanics, and unlocks Pokemon in the Nintendo DS games Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2. Unless you’re searching for a shortcut to get more Pokemon in those old Nintendo DS games, there’s nothing here that merits even the game’s $3 price tag. If you have a Nintendo 3DS, you already have Face Raiders, play that instead – it’s a much better game.

Grade: D

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