Have you picked up the latest in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series?  The newest game, which came out on March 24, 2013, is called Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity.  It was released exclusively on the 3DS system.  As someone who never got into the Mystery Dungeon spin-off series before, I wasn’t sure how to feel about this newest game, but since I had a gift card I figured I’d give it a shot.

What makes a Mystery Dungeon game different from regular Pokemon?  Lots of things, actually.  First of all, you don’t play as a human character – you ARE a Pokemon!  There is still a ton of battling in this game; in PMD you lead a team of 4 Pokemon through various Dungeons, where you encounter all kinds of wild Pokemon to fight.  Battles are still turn-based, meaning that you can’t launch a second attack on a Pokemon until everyone in your party, and your opponent, has taken a turn.  You can still learn new moves and collect some TM’s, but the full Pokedex and TM selection is not available (as far as I can tell).  One bonus is that as you battle, everyone in your team gets experience points – including Pokemon who are sitting in Pokemon Paradise doing nothing!

This game is not just battling, however.  There’s an interesting story line (which I won’t give away much of, you can learn more by downloading the PMD game demo from the Nintendo eShop) in which you help your partner (I chose Pikachu in my game to be my partner) build and create a Pokemon Paradise.  The Pokemon Paradise is a town which you can develop and expand, add new shops and you can invite more Pokemon to come and stay with you and the gang.  There are mini-games, training dojos, berry and seed fields, and other shops too!

In addition to all of this, PMD has two game modes.  I don’t know if this is the case in the older games, but in the 3DS version you can switch to “Companion Mode” which allows you to battle in dungeons using some of the Pokemon who are living in the Pokemon Paradise.  This mode runs parallel to the main story mode, so if you’re stuck in a tough dungeon in the main Story Mode, you can switch to Companion Mode to play around and level up your team.  There is a local wireless co-op option for the Companion Mode as well.

On top of all this, you have beautiful 3D graphics, StreetPass features, and you get to learn a little more about the personalities of the different Gen V Pokemon.  It’s a very cute game, and while it’s definitely kid-friendly, I am having a lot of fun with it as a grown-up gamer!

Rather than just tell you about everything, here’s a little gameplay footage from my game, courtesy of StreetPass Long Island’s Twitch TV Channel!  (Btw, if you aren’t a member of StreetPass Long Island, what are you waiting for?  You don’t have to live in NY to join, and there’s always room for more friends!  Join us on Facebook!)