If you've been keeping up with the gaming scene or even the news, you probably know of or at least heard something of the big Pokemon Go craze going on now. For those that don't know, it's an iOS and android app that lets people catch Pokemon in real life through augmented reality. From your phone screen, you can get a map of your surrounding area, vague hints at which Pokemon are nearby, and locations of stops where you can buy Pokemon supplies and the location of "gyms" where you can battle for your affiliated faction's territory; Pokemon stops and gyms generally being city points-of-interests and landmarks.

Catching Pokemon doesn't involve battling in this iteration, instead, it is reliant on how forcefully you throw your pokeball, your timing, and the type of ball you use. Upon successfully catching one, you are awarded experience for your character and two other currencies, stardust and candy, which are used to power up and evolve your pokemon, different Pokemon require different candies for their evolution. As your character levels from experience, the Pokemon you catch will also be stronger. You can also donate your unwanted Pokemon to the professor in exchange for candy so catch all you can, the more the better. XD

Battling at a gym requires you to choose a team of your caught Pokemon to fight for you. Like the classic games, you fight the defending gym leader's Pokemon team one-on-one. Swipe the screen to dodge enemy attacks, tap the enemy to do basic attacks, and hold your finger on the enemy when you have a bar filled up to use your pokemon's special attack! =D Of course like the classic game, elemental strengths and weaknesses also play a big role on how easy or hard of a time you might have at the battle. XD Defeating an opposing faction's gym team will cause the gym to lose points and when it gets to zero, you can take that gym in the name of your faction and appoint your Pokemon to defend it. You can even battle gyms of your own faction to boost its points in defense of aggressors.

It's not the same classic Pokemon we grew up with, but I admit this spin of the system doesn't sound too bad. =) I admit that after learning how it works and its mechanics, though simple, I'm kinda getting swept up in all the excitement! XD I'm not a super Pokemon fan, but even after seeing the original reveal trailer less than a year ago, I can't help but to be amazed and excited about what could be. Though the current version is missing quite a number of the features and ideas presented in the video such as trading and casual battling, what they currently have is pretty darn awesome (I still really hope they eventually add a feature that allows for non-gym related casual battles though. =3). It's pretty amazing how much it has already impacted people. It's awesome to see so many excited and happy looking people getting into it; going out, and coming together, regardless of age, race and gender, simply because they all like and are playing Pokemon. XD It's such a wonderful opportunity to see and feel that we aren't so alone and there can be people like us. =)

Though the internet makes the world feel a lot smaller and make people of similar interests seem much closer, unless you have a job that's your passion and it's in an environment that's filled with people, it can be pretty difficult finding those with similar interests locally. It's not like one can ask people randomly what their hobbies are either. There's just something that warms my heart when I think of Pokemon Go players going to a spot for an objective and running into friendly people who are excited and enjoying the game also. It kinda feels like it's the type of game that can realistically bring happiness and people together. I do worry though of people taking the faction thing too seriously and there being an uprising of Pokemon Go territory gangs and real turf wars. >_> I know it might sound ridiculous, but people do get super serious about really stupid things sometimes after all. '_' There's also the worry about people giving the game more attention than their surroundings and public safety. ^^; Anyhow, I hope the best for the game and its audience. The game looks like it has so much positive potential, an opportunity that I hope doesn't get squandered.