Okay guys, I really wasn't going to play this game. But they were giving out these little DS game carrying case things if you played, and... well...
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is a new Pokémon game for the DS (which, according to small signs below the kiosk screens, will be released simultaneously with a Gameboy Advance version) that follows your adventures as one of the little pocket monsters themselves.
The demo starts out with a series of questions like "You find a wallet on the side of the road, what do you do with it?" and "You really like this person and you're close to them now! What do you do?" You then give answers like "return the wallet to the police" or "profess my undying love." These questions determine what kind of person you are, and transform you into a Pokemon that fits your personality type. In my case, this was "calm," and I was transformed into some strange muddy Pokémon. I named him Frank. Then you get to choose a partner Pokémon. In this case I chose a cute orange one and named it Dudeman.
The game plays sort of like that old PS1 game Azure Dreams and other dungeon games like the Chocobo series. You have an overhead view of your Pokémon (which the attendant informed me would be maximized to a team of four at any one time) and then you can move one "square" each time. You meet other Pokémon and then can select your moves like tackle or claw from the menu to attack them. It was acceptably entertaining.
The goal of the demo was to save the baby Caterpie for the mommy Butterfree. I did that and then I named my new Pokémon rescue team "Poob." It is probably an awesome name.
All in all the game has promise! Even my cold heart was slightly heated by the joyful, pained expressions on every Pokémon face.
More impressions to come.
P.S. the game case is neat!