Today I’d like to talk about Pokemon Platinum. Just two reviews in and already I seem like the least manly gamer in the world, but that’s all right with me. Pokemon is fun and has been since I was in middle school. For the uninitiated (and I don’t know how that’s possible) Pokemon is an adventure/strategy game where you collect small monsters and creatures so that you may fight other small monsters and creatures in your journey to fight and catch even bigger monsters and creatures. In Japan Pokemon are known as “pocket monsters” which is, let’s be honest here, pretty adorable.

Platinum is more or less a slightly updated and enhanced version of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. If you’ve played either Diamond or Pearl you’ve pretty much already played this game. Congratulations. You’re really good at video games!

Platinum tweaks the story slightly (now it’s winter time!) and adds only as many new Pokemon to catch as it takes away. It does however feature a new legendary creature (the scary bug looking guy on the cover) that you can catch near the story’s climax.

Platinum, like every single Pokemon incarnation before it, has you going up against a shadowy, evil organization that plan to exploit and harm Pokemon for power and profit. You also have a rival that wants nothing more than to best you for the sake of competition. I named my rival Chandro, which I thought would sound like the boy version of my girlfriend’s name, but ultimately just sounds like the robot version of her name instead. This of course led to me believing that my girlfriend is possibly a robot in disguise, not unlike a Transformer, but that’s a story for another day.

There’s a reason the new Nintendo DS versions of these games have sold several million copies: They’re shockingly fun and addictive. For kids it’s about the fighting and cute animals and playing along with the hugely successful Saturday morning cartoon they’re undoubtedly forcing you to watch with them. For adults it’s about the strategy and puzzle-solving and finding the best enhancements for each of the Pokemon in your stable. Once you get past the cutesy content, there’s a really solid and well made game hiding underneath the glitter. Call Pokemon a guilty pleasure if you must, but it’s a pleasure all the same.

If you’re a Pokemon nut, you’ve likely already bought Platinum, collected all eight badges, and have laid the Elite Four to waste. If it’s been a while since you popped in Diamond or Pearl, or you neglected to check out those titles but finally want to see what all the Poke-hype is about, I suggest you pick up Platinum. It pays for itself once you realize the countless hours you’ve spent trying to level up your useless Magikarp so that you may utilize the sweet and awesome power of Gyarados. You’ll also love the fact that you can take the game wherever you go and play at your leisure. Your lunch breaks for the next month will be a lot more entertaining. Thank me later.