If you are a Pokémon fan or simply someone who enjoys the cutting edge of gaming technology, then you have no doubt been waiting for Pokémon GO to release for quite some time. The latest spin off the world dominating franchise has got people across the globe setting off on their very own Pokémon adventure. The game was developed by Niantic, an independent studio purpose built to create mobile games which take advantage of your phones GPS. And distributed by The Pokémon Company, Pokémon’s official distributer responsible for every game; movie and TV series that you know and love. The game itself is an impressive blend of geolocation and augmented reality, allowing players to travel around in the globe in search for Pokémon which appear visible in the real world when viewed through your mobile device! Its hard to put into words just how fun this is. Yes, to the unindoctrinated eye you are simply wondering around in strange places and obscure times of day watching the world through your mobile phone. But in actual fact you are hunting down and capturing the latest addition to your Pokédex all the while living out the shared childhood dream of several generations.
The game itself feel good, the controls are responsive and intuitive and all of the artwork is done by the official company, making everything look just as you want it to. There are a host of features to keep you occupied, capturing Pokémon that you find in the wild; battling against other players; conquering Gyms; even simply taking pictures with your favourite Pokémon and much more… There is even a portable device which will become available towards the end of July called the Pokémon GO Plus, which you wear on your wrist. The device will glow and vibrate when Pokémon are nearby meaning you will never miss an opportunity. Now the internet is already filling up with stories of people finding themselves in all sorts of weird and wonderful situations as the game encourages them to explore the real world all the while paying more attention to their phone that things such as road signs, rivers, traffic and even laws. So it is advisable that you stay alert whilst exploring. The game even comes with a reminder of this every time you launch the application. Not only does the game provide a wonderful experience for gamers and Pokémon fans but it also emphasizes fitness and exercise. Pokémon GO will certainly keep you active and in my opinion is one of the most successful attempts to “Gamify” exercises, making it a great alternative to both conventional gaming and conventional exercise.
Pokémon GO launched on July 6th across Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Now if you are from one of those regions downloading the game is as simple as going into the Play Store or App Store on your mobile device. If however you are not from one of these regions, don’t panic just yet. There are a couple of ways that you can still get your hands on the game and start your own Pokémon adventure! If you are using and Android device simply download the Pokémon GO APK code (Android Application Package) from a website that you trust. This should be done with caution as there is no surefire way to guarantee what it is you are downloading and although their are respectable websites out there where you will get exactly what you expected, there is also a lot of malware, so do your research. Once downloaded the app will simply work without any issues. iPhone however is slightly more complicated due to apples distain for third party apps. You will need to sign out of your apple account and then change the regional setting on your phone, to either USA, Australia or NZ. Load up the App store and create a new account, this will give you access to the game. Having two different IOS accounts on one device does seem awkward but if you don’t see a downside I would advise sticking with that USA account as most Apps will launch in North America first.
So what are you waiting for? its time to GO! Be sure to head over to the official website for all the information you need and don’t forget to come back and let us know which Pokémon you caught first!
Happy Gaming
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