Like many millennials who remember the 90's the announcement of the Pokemon Go app was a little more than exciting. I personally grew up playing the games, collecting the cards, and watching the show. So when Niantic released the app to the United States on July 6th I was sure to download it that day.
Over the time of its release I was initially pleased with it as memories of my youth were brought back as I picked from one of the three starters and moved my way to collecting many of the basic common Pokemon. I began to notice a few bugs right away such as disconnection from servers, settings going back to their original states, and freezing of game play. Like any new technology these glitches and bugs happen so I was not all that upset or concerned.
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All said, I was initially happy with the release. I must admit, however, after two weeks of having the app, I have started to get bored with it. Although it is a good distraction when I am working to step away for a moment to hunt down a random Gastly, the initial excitement I had has left. It just leaves more to be desired.
The games always had an engulfing storyline that could keep one engaged and challenged until they were able to beat the game. This game, although challenging, is missing some of that charm. There is no actual rhyme or reason to the gyms other than to try and make it your own. There are no bad guys either except for the people who picked a different team color and name. I would have loved to have seen Team Rocket included somewhere in the game (maybe even as an option for a team to join?). Now, the game is not supposed to have a storyline, nor is it going to. It is not as much about a storyline as much as it is about allowing players to experience something Pokémon fans always wanted: the ability to go on an adventure with friends and collect them all.
I am optimistic, though. It is rare for any product to have this much success with their first release. Niantic and Nintendo have hit the jackpot yet again, just like Nintendo did when they released Pokemon back in the 90's. It is exciting to see what is in store for the game as updates are made to the game. So I am going to continue jogging while hunting down Pokemon until these future updates are released (fingers crossed for an update including the Gen II Pokemon).
So for now, just enjoy the craze. It is not often that we see something sweep over the country quite like this. One should have known, however, that if there was one product able to do so, it would be Pokemon.
