‘Pokemon GO’ Review Scores Are All Over The Map

Whether you consider yourself a gamer or not, it’s likely you’ve bumped into someone who is playing the hit mobile game Pokemon GO.

Literally.

As millions of people across the world are discovering Pokemon GO, many for the first time, there have been numerous reports of people paying such careful attention to their phone and chasing down Nintendo’s geo-located Pokemon creatures in augmented reality, that they weren’t paying any attention to their actual surroundings, leading to people bumping into each other, run-ins with walls, and even car crashes.

So, clearly Pokemon GO is a hit. People can’t seem to take their eyes off their phones, and it is even invading the workplace. But what has the critical reception been? As a video game, is it receiving the praise you might expect given the massive popularity of it among consumers?

One of the larger video game review websites, IGN, gave Pokemon GO a fairly respectable score of 7-out-of-10. Reviewer Kallie Plagge called it a “can’t miss experience,” but also noted to potential for the phenomenon to break down and fizzle out.

“Right now, Pokemon GO is an incredible, can’t-miss social experience — like Pokemon is actually real and everyone is on board — but its RPG mechanics and combat don’t have nearly enough depth to support itself in the long term. If people start to lose interest due to its lack of depth once the novelty of seeing Pokemon pop up around their everyday lives expires, the community will fall apart and the spell will be broken. What Pokemon GO needs is more features to support that real-world interaction. Things like Pokemon trading and leaderboards, which developer Niantic says are incoming, could keep that momentum up. Even if it will be short-lived, though, there’s no doubt it’s exciting to be a part of while it lasts.”

Miguel Concepcion at GameSpot also gave Pokemon GO a 7-out-of-10, but didn’t seem to feel like the game is as “can’t-miss” as IGN did, citing server problems, bugs, and a lot of battery drain.

“If Pokemon GO’s initial public reception is anything to go by, its ability to draw players from multiple generations and varied gaming backgrounds together is a game worthy of attention. When it works, Pokemon GO feels like a natural evolution for the series, very much a product of the times without making the mainline series obsolete. Its bugs and high battery consumption do not outweigh the old-but-new thrill of capturing Pikachu at a local park or vanquishing a Snorlax while conquering a gym.”

Pokemon GO has extended its reach so far that it has garnered reviews from outlets that aren’t typically known for their coverage of video games, such as Time. Matt Peckham reviewed Pokemon GO in the context of his 3-year-old son playing it with him, as the pair have spent a lot of time outside playing the game together. That is, perhaps, one of the most-noted features of the game: its ability to get people up, outside, and moving. He gave the game a 3-out-of-5, noting that while his son, and perhaps other kids, could become obsessed with the game, that adults and more serious gamers may not get sucked in quite the same way (although, take a quick walk down any major street and you may disagree).

“Is the game missing features Niantic’s planning to add? Should trainers be able to battle other trainers without having to go to real-world gym hotspots? Should we be able to see other trainers (or at least other teams) on the map? Will “Pokémon Go 2.0” be the wealth of more tactically interesting combat so many wanted? Will we eventually be able to trade Pokémon with other players? We can hope.”

But not all reviews have been so positive. Destructoid’s Mike Cosimano gave the game 3.5-out-of-10, citing that Pokemon GO is “a game that I don’t enjoy from any angle (which sucks), but it’s also dominating the cultural conversation right now (which is great).” He says in his review that the game is “full-on broken” for him, citing the game’s bugs and server issues, and also bemoaned the game’s (likely) future in-game purchases.

“If the game played like a dream, maybe some of this would be fine, but I suspect Pokémon GO caught on because of the first word in that title. A lot of people have powerful nostalgia for the original 151, and the appeal of catching a Pidgey right in your own home is kinda dope. But actually catching that Pidgey and everything you do with it after you’ve caught it? That stuff isn’t particularly interesting. I like talking about Pokémon GO with other people, but I wish there was a way to do that without actually having to play it.”

Simply popping your head into a local coffee shop, walking through a mall, or observing your Twitter or Facebook feed for a few minutes might indicate that public perception of Pokemon GO is incredibly positive and enthusiastic. But the critical reception hasn’t been quite as glowing. Are you enthralled with the game? Have you seen accidents happen as a result of someone focusing on the game? Do you have no idea what Pokemon GO is? Sound off in the comments below.

[Photo by Richard Vogel/AP Images]