Wednesday 21 Feb 2007

Pokémon Ranger is launching across Europe on the 30th of March exclusively for the Nintendo DS. For the first time ever, fans will get the chance to be a Ranger, part of an elite task force who protect Pokémon.

Capture Pokémon and rescue the planet

Players will be invited to Fall City to learn from one of the top Ranger leaders, Spenser, as they train to become a licensed Pokémon Ranger. Players will have to learn how to use the powers of captured wild Pokémon to solve problems, help people and protect nature from adverse effects.

Players begin the adventure by selecting either male Lunick or female Solana as their character. Thereafter they will be transported to the Rangers Base where they will complete a series of missions which increase in importance as players gain experience. The Ranger will be pitted against the Go-Rock Squad and attempt to recover Professor Hastings’s Super Styler, a new version of the Capture Styler used to hold wild Pokémon, which has been stolen.

A friend to help you on your journey

Never fear – Rangers will be accompanied by a single partner Pokémon on their journey. This Pokémon will remain with the Ranger at all times and will provide valuable assistance in forming relationships between the Ranger and the captured wild Pokémon before they can harness their powers to assist them in the challenges that lie ahead of them.

This is the first time in a Pokémon game that players can control the Pokémon Ranger using the Nintendo DS touch screen. Draw circles with the stylus round the target to capture a wild Pokémon, but be careful that the size and the power of the Pokémon will determine the challenge of this capture. Once the wild Pokémon is captured, the Ranger’s partner Pokémon will facilitate the use of the wild Pokémon’s powers to solve puzzles and clear obstacles.

Discovering the Pokémon’s powers

Players should be aware that a wild Pokémon’s powers are not available forever. Once the power has been used, the Pokémon will be released back into the wild, so players need to ensure they choose to use the power at the correct moment. Captured Pokémon can help players by providing either a Poké Assist or a Field Move. The former allows a player to use an already captured Pokémon to capture another while the latter uses a Pokémon to clear an obstacle in the Ranger’s path.

The Ranger’s Capture Styler will become more powerful as the game progresses. This Capture Styler is used to hold wild Pokémon and provides more energy (meter) which allows more Pokémon to be held with them at one time. Wild Pokémon provide different powers depending on which group they belong to. Players will come across Grass, Fire, Electric and many more. Prepare to be challenged as the game progresses and it becomes increasingly difficult to capture the correct Pokémon while strategy becomes important with possibilities of group match-up advantages and disadvantages influencing their assistance to the player.

Apart from the main mission, Pokémon Ranger also features sub-quests which allow players to meet and capture legendary Pokémon such as Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza.

With over 200 Pokémon waiting to be caught, this is no easy mission for a Ranger. Do you have what it takes to catch them all and earn the Certificate of Completion? Find out when Pokémon Ranger is released across Europe on the 30th of March exclusively on the Nintendo DS for an estimated retail price of 40 Euros or Ł30.

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