Today, my Pokemon obsession reached the next level when I picked up a copy of Pokemon HeartGold.

The only reason I'm writing a blog about HeartGold instead of playing it is because DS battery died, which I usually try not to let happen. But in this case, I just kept playing until suddenly the screens went dark. So, partially out of boredom, I got to thinking about what made me ignore the telltale red light of death, and decided to write it down.

HeartGold is a remake of Pokemon Gold version, and that alone makes it worth playing for any nostalgic Pokemaniac like me. But the improvements are what makes it great.

There are several changes that any longtime player will notice right away. The most obvious one is probably the fact that the first Pokemon in your party follows you, and you can interact with them. After a particularly tough battle, you might turn to your Pokemon and hear it cry out, tired and needing to be healed. Or if you just conquered a string of tough wild Pokemon, it might pop up a little smile icon and roll around in the grass in joy. It's a nice touch that gives your Pokemon a little bit of personality. There's no benefit to the game for talking to your Pokemon, but you won't care because it's fun.

There are other changes, some purely cosmetic, like the obvious graphical overhaul of the Johto region Generation II Pokemaniacs remember so well. Since this is the DS, you have the touch screen, which the game makes much better use of than Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum right away. The menus have been assigned to the touch screen, making navigating them a breeze. Plus a button to tap which has exactly the same function as the A button, making it easier to do everything without dropping and picking up your stylus over and over again. And my favorite use so far; the run toggle. Tap it, and you can run everywhere without holding B. It might seem like just a minor change, but if you don't have a bike yet and you hate the pace of walking, you'll definitely appreciate it.

You can also drag and drop to reorganize your boxes, and I've heard that later in the game there will be even more functionality, including multiple Poketch apps. All I can say is, finally! Relegating touch to minigames, some menu navigation, and the Poketch in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum was a bad decision, since it's so obvious that it could be used in better ways.

I could go on and on about the different little changes I've found that make this game more enjoyable than ever, but I'll end with something many people expressed doubts about the use of: The Pokewalker.

It's small (I've tried my best to scale it to actual size above) but it's also just plain fun. I tried it out after only about an hour of playing, and transferred a Rattata to it. I chose a path to walk on, (the path determines what Pokemon you see) and then I went outside. After a little while, I checked to see how Rattata was doing. It said something like this: "Rattata is having fun! Rattata found 50 Watts!"

Watts are a little currency you can earn from using the Pokewalker. 1 Watt is earned every 20 steps, and your Pokemon can find them too. You can spend them on minigames in the Pokewalker, which let you earn items or catch Pokemon. You can store a maximum of 3 items and 3 Pokemon before you need to sync with your DS and dump them to your game.

I believe there is another purpose for Watts, but I haven't played long enough yet to know for sure. Whatever the case, it's a great, fun little gadget. It's easy to clip on your belt or pocket and forget about, while constantly earning experience for a Pokemon of your choice. The minigames are fun and surprisingly challenging; finding items is mostly a game of chance, but the battling takes speed and some strategy.

Overall, I'm loving HeartGold more than I've loved any Pokemon game for a long time. And now my DS should be charged enough to get back to it, so I leave you all to whatever you were doing before reading this blog typed out of boredom.