Just like the original DS before it the first Pokémon game for the Nintendo 3DS is not a 'main' game, as they're often called, but a spinoff. Thankfully Super Pokémon Rumble has more substance that Pokémon Dash ever did, although it still won't placate anyone who wishes to catch 'em all.

A sequel to the WiiWare's Pokémon Rumble this new game allows you to collect and play as all 649 Pokémon. The demo we played threw us into the action so it was a bit disconnected from the wider plot, even if it is a rather simple affair, and we were simply left to wander around attacking random Pokémon.

You can pick which Pokémon you want to play as, presuming you have already befriended them, and explore the levels. You begin in an overworld and must delve into separate areas to battle and befriend other Pokémon. The levels we played were all rather simple as you navigate from one end of the map to the other.

When you come across other Pokémon you must battle them, achieved rather simply by tapping buttons. Unfortunately the element-based strategy of the main Pokémon titles seems to have been dropped in Super Pokémon Rumble. This means battles become very easy, and could quickly become tedious as enough button taps usually does the trick.

The levels I played didn't provide much of a challenge, although hopefully this is just because it was early on in the game. In fact at one point I came across a giant Pokémon, which I assumed would provide a challenge, but I simply went up to it, tapped A and it was all over. This game isn't supposed to replicate the depth of the main Pokémon games and this is certainly obvious playing it through.

Hopefully playing the full game will provide a bigger challenge. Collecting all the Pokémon will, as always, take time but in order to progress from level-to-level the version we played certainly didn't seem like it would take you much time to get through.

Ultimately, as with many of the spinoff titles, Super Pokémon Rumble feels like a stopgap until the next RPG game. It's a fun distraction until the inevitable Nintendo 3DS RPG we're all waiting for but that's about it really. Diehard fans will enjoy it but for most people it provides nothing more than a Pokémon fix.