Video Games : Pokemon Stadium 2

That said, Stadium is a spectacular game. While the minigames are fun and the Lab is a very useful utility, the challenge comes with the Gym Leader's castle and the Pokémon Stadium. Even with a strong lineup of Pokémon, players will find some of these competitions frustrating and difficult. These battles aren't the walk in the park, pull out a Mewtwo and kick the living daylights out of the competition type that we all got used to in the Game Boy games. There's actual challenges, strategy is key, and you'll find yourself using you your supply of TMs and HMs like no other, trying to find ways of boosting your Pokémon's attack skills, even those Level 100 ones. There are secret areas, a special difficulty mode (R2, which you can access after accomplishing something very obvious in the Stadium), special Pokémon gifts. For the Pokémaniac, this game will be exactly what you've been waiting for (outside a Pokémon 64).

However, the game is repetitive and, unless you are out trying to accomplish something like win R2 mode, can get boring since the battles are just that... battles. There isn't a storyline or towns to explore. There aren't people to talk to. It's just battling, working at the lab, and minigames. But these pitfalls are all part of the game's dependance on a Game Boy Pokémon pak. Stadium is supposed to be an addendum to Pokémon, not really a game in itself. And in that context, the game shines.