Pokemon GO, the AR game by Niantic Labs/Nintendo is now available to download from the iTunes and Google Play stores in Australia and New Zealand.
From its beginnings as an April Fools joke called ‘The Pokemon Challenge’ which encouraged new players to travel around the world in search of new Pokemon to complete their decks. Pokemon GO on the other hand is no joke in the slightest; encompassing a fully-fledged app this game requires exercise and activity to work at its fullest. Catching Pokemon is simple and does not take an inordinate amount of time. You can come across other players and NPC’s and offer them a trade/battle. Battling is not really the point though. It’s the encouragement to move about and go outside that makes it shine.
Lets get down to it then. After installing to your device you get to customise your starting character with preset clothing and colours. Once you have allowed the game access to your files, GPS, chosen your character etc then it is time to hunt!
You then get to choose your starting Pokemon and once that’s done you are off hunting. Many Pokemon can be found in certain locations depending on Pokemon type e.g. water grass etc. So, if you are after an army of Squirtles then don’t forget your wellies!
We had a play around with the game after installing it in the office here at www.Gadgethelpline.com and, as you can see, there was a Pidgey stowaway hiding under the desk of a colleague. Needless to say, animal welfare were not called and our plucky user managed to capture the winged terror before it could cause any harm.
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The game does need a data connection to play though as it needs to constantly check GPS and look for other players.
Currently, the download is only available in Australia and New Zealand via App Store and Google Play Store, though it can be downloaded from here to play in other parts of the world right now.
Happy hunting!