Ever since we first got the original Blue and Red titles, Pokémon fans everywhere have been awaiting a fully 3D iteration of the epic series. Sure, we've battled in 3D thanks to Stadium, and managed to capture pictures of our favourite little critters on the N64's surprisingly fun snap-'em-up, but the closest we've got to a true RPG is Colosseum; an essentially watered-down Pokémon adventure. After the long wait, though, Nintendo are finally promising fans the full-length RPG they've been waiting for, in the form of Pokémon XD. But hang on, doesn't that sound remarkably similar to what was said about Colosseum…?

This time around, there's a new threat to the Pokémon world; along with a new army of Dark Pokémon causing trouble, an unstoppable Dark Lugia is also hidden away somewhere ready to cause destruction of great magnitude. For those who don't know, Dark Pokémon have been created for only one intention; to fight. As such, this means that their hearts have been locked away, and it's up to you to free them. Those who have played Colosseum will be familiar with the process; before each bout you will scan the opponents Pokémon, if they have an “aura” surrounding them you can use your snag machine to capture them. As Dark Pokémon they only have a selection of dark attacks to use (yes a selection, not just the one as in Colosseum), and as you fight, instead of your beasts levelling up, they will gain experience and their revive gauge will slowly deplete; once it reaches zero you can reawaken them. This section was actually one of Colosseum's few saving graces; capturing and training these unpredictable creatures is really quite a challenge, and ultimately very rewarding. While the Pokémon formula isn't quite dull just yet, it certainly adds a whole new dimension to it, and for that at least Nintendo deserve kudos.

Unfortunately while this particular aspect of gameplay looks to be improved, there's still one huge worry I have for Pokémon XD, and that's the on-foot adventure sections. It was Colosseum's Achilles heel, and looks to be just the same for XD; while the 2D titles encouraged adventure, and let you have a lot of freedom to explore different areas as thoroughly as you wanted, XD has inherited Colosseum's overly linear approach to the adventure sections. Gone are the days of long grass, random battles or even getting from city-to-city by yourself; instead you simply choose a location from the world map and all you have to endure on your way is a short FMV as the area loads. If you're expecting a 2D Pokémon title in 3D, don't get your hopes up just yet. As much as I'd love to be proven wrong, thus far XD is looking like nothing more than Colosseum mark 2.

Even visually the two games can't be told apart; using the same graphics engine and locales from its predecessor. Graphically it wasn't too impressive first time around, so it's quite surprising that little has changed since then. No doubt things will be a little smoother around the edges, but there are certainly no radical changes.

So, as the latest Pokémon title nears its release, there's no doubt that some fans will be bitterly disappointed with the result; there could be an extra dimension that I just can't quite see yet, and as an alternative Pokémon adventure it will be a bit of fun, but when are Nintendo going to learn? We want a true 3D RPG, and we want it now. Or at least sometime in the near future. It will be a good game, but will it go beyond a slightly lengthier edition of Colosseum? I wouldn't count on it.