Further XD details announced
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At E3 this week, the buzz regarding Nintendo was mostly based around its upcoming console, Revolution. However, at Nintendo's own booth, it was a different story. While the company was giving out four free Pokémon dolls to visitors, most fans of the Pokémon franchise were there to see the newest offering for GameCube- Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
While Pokémon XD appears and plays much like its predecessor, Pokémon Colosseum, using similar colors, textures, and battle formats, it also appears to be more of a role-playing-game akin to the Pokémon games for Game Boy. The "XD" in its name stands for "Xtra Dimension," referring to the added gameplay and universe in which the game takes place. Still in Colosseum's Orre region, players in XD roam the land searching to purify the hearts of Shadow Pokémon and snag them from their trainers.
As for specific details regarding the game, a demo at E3 began in futuristic temple, where players were instructed to explore the surrounding ruins. The battle format is similar to that of Colosseum and the Game Boy games; the battle experienced by IGN reviewers was a Double Battle. After defeating the trainer outside the ruins and capturing his Shadow Pikachu, players were allowed to keep exploring, much like in the Game Boy games.
While very few parts of the game were playable at the time, reports from the scene indicated that players had high hopes for the title, calling it a more mature version of the Pokémon franchise.