The wait is almost over. The moment that beta testers, Pokemon fans and mobile game fans alike have been waiting for has come; after over a year of hype starting with an April Fools prank by Google, the Pokemon GO game is finally available in the Google Play Store, but not to everyone. If the device in your pocket has decent specs, a GPS, and is running Android 4.4 KitKat and higher, or in other words, can run Ingress, you have the green light for Pokemon GO, as long as live in a specific region. We still don’t have all the availability info, but the game is available in North America (at least to some users), Australia and New Zealand. It’s finally time to begin searching your city for wild Pokemon in glorious augmented reality and start your quest to become an honest-to-goodness Pokemon master.
As a quick refresher, the game focuses more on the location-based features than on the traditional Pokemon gameplay that owners of Nintendo handhelds may be familiar with. Features like certain Pokemon only appearing in certain places and times, some even requiring international travel, underscore what is clearly meant to be the type of experience that values the realism of injecting Pokemon into our world over the strategic gameplay and trading of its predecessors. The game also hinges on location-based faction warfare, allowing players to choose a side and help their faction’s influence by taking over landmarks and doing battle at gyms, which are typically going to be located at bigger landmarks like city offices and the like. Some landmarks will also host shops, where players can buy items to help them on their quest to complete their Pokedex and ultimately catch ’em all.
If the description above tickled your fancy, you’re a fan of location-based games or you’re just a Pokemon lover, this game is definitely worth a look. It should be noted that it has been reported not to work on Android N preview builds, so there’s no telling if it will be optimized for Nougat in time for the final version to drop. In any case, if your Android version runs between KitKat and Marshmallow, you’ll be able to engage in Pokemon catching and raising, gym battles and faction warfare on your phone and with an optional wearable. If these criteria fit you, head through the source link, and possibly hit refresh or wait a while, to start your very own Pokemon adventure.
