I've been playing the RPG mode in Pokémon Colosseum for a while, and it's certainly different to other versions of Pokémon. Not drastically -- you can still catch Pokémon,

there's still a villainous Team of Groupies up to no good, and there are still Pokémon battles, of course. But, things are different.

First of all, the overall look of the game just oozes coolness compared to the Game Boy versions. The main character, Leo, looks much more stylish than the happy-go-lucky kids of the Red / Blue / Yellow / Gold / Silver / Crystal / Ruby / Sapphire (I've always wanted to do that) versions. He's got a hovercraft-like vehicle that skims across the sand with a massive engine. In the introduction, Leo breaks into Team Snag 'Em's base and steals a device that allows him to take Pokémon from their trainers. Even the way Leo gets out a Poké Ball to catch a Pokémon is cool looking, thanks to his 'Snag Machine' (it kind of looks like a robotic arm). It's quite clear that Colosseum's RPG Mode is aimed at an older audience.

As mentioned earlier, this time the team of baddies is the evil Team Snag 'Em, who have taken Pokémon and corrupted them. These Shadow Pokémon only know one move, Dark Rush, which is very powerful, but hits them back with recoil. Team Snag 'Em had to go into hiding after Leo infiltrated their base and stole their robotic-arm device. Naturally, as you progress through the game, you'll seem to have no end of bad luck, repeatedly bumping into these guys. How convenient. But, they're holding Shadow Pokémon, which are the only Pokémon that you can capture, so it's not all bad. The leader of Team Snag 'Em has an afro the size of a small moon, and for some reason, is all dressed up in disco gear. Seeing a guy decked out for Saturday Night Fever and not being able to understand a word of the text can be really worrying.

Pokémon models look a bit better than they did in Pokémon Channel. The Pokémon themselves don't look too bad, but are nothing overly spectacular -- when compared to other GameCube games where you can't actually see where the polygons are, these aren't that great. However, Pokémon attacks are pretty cool looking. Psychic in particular certainly stands out. The front of the Pokémon distorts in a whirlpool-type way, and then the other Pokémon is hit with a psychic blast. Bite has giant purple teeth appear as your Pokémon leaps forward. Sandstorms and Rain can be summoned and look very realistic as they whip around your team. As in the previous Stadium games, Pokémon aren't actually hit by the other Pokémon. You just see the attack performed, and then the other Pokémon is hurt. Oh, and for those gamers hoping that the Pokémon actually do their anime cries, abandon all ye hope. We're once again treated to 8-bit Game Boy growls...but on the GAMECUBE!

Fighting, for the most part, is the same as in every other Pokémon game. The main difference is that you only have two-on-two battles. There are no single battles -- at least, I haven't come across any yet -- it certainly seems to be two-on-two all the way. You cannot run from battles, which makes sense -- battles aren't random encounters, they're all trainer battles. The reason for this is that because the Oore Region is such a wasteland, you cannot encounter Pokémon in the wild. The menu has a "Call Name" command instead of a "Run" command. This is used for Shadow Pokémon.

As mentioned earlier, Shadow Pokémon can only use Dark Rush. If you use it too much, the Shadow Pokémon become berserk and will use Dark Rush and nothing else. To stop this, you have to call the Pokémon's name so that they'll calm down and you'll have control of them again. Shadow Pokémon do not have an experience meter. Instead, they have a purple bar which shows their level of darkness, split into five parts. This can be lowered by keeping them in your party instead of boxes, calling them when they go berserk, and allowing them to win battles. As the bar is lowered, one by one their regular moves can be used again. Once you've cleared the purple bar, you need to take the Pokémon to be purified so that they can be fully healed of darkness, and restore its last move.

You yourself cannot determine the regular Pokémon from the Shadow ones -- this is where your partner Mirei comes in handy. Mirei has a gift of being able to sense Shadow Pokémon, and she is almost kidnapped to exploit this gift. After rescuing her, she agrees to tag along and she will then help you in your quest to save the Pokémon.

RPG Mode is fairly different from the Game Boy versions in that you cannot save wherever you like. It is only possible to save wherever there is a PC (usually only Pokémon Centers), and this is a real step backwards. You've only got three Pokémon Boxes in your computer to store Pokémon, which is another odd thing -- I guess this would make sense in Japan, as the Japanese have Pokémon Box to use, but hopefully Pokémon Box will be scrapped locally and will combine the features of both games into Colosseum. (You can play Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire on Pokémon Box, but not on the Japanese version of Colosseum.) I've also checked the menus thoroughly, and I absolutely CANNOT find a way to exit back to the title screen once you're in either RPG Mode or Colosseum Mode. Once you're in, you're in. The only way I've been able to get back to the title screen is by resetting, which is very annoying. I've tried selecting all the menu options, but I haven't been able to find it.

It is possible to link Leaf Green/Fire Red to Colosseum right away, but the only thing you can do initially is copy the Pokémon from your party to Colosseum for battle in Colosseum Mode. It is not possible to trade Pokémon between the versions right off the bat. To do this, you need to finish Colosseum's RPG Mode completely, and I believe you also need to defeat the Elite Four in Leaf Green/Fire Red.

As for Colosseum Mode, there appear to be certain different Colosseums to play in, each with their own varying rules. You can choose to play one-on-one or two-on-two, and there are varying level restrictions in the particular cups. Being that it's all in Japanese, I can't understand a word of it. I do know that there is one challenge mode that allows all Pokémon from Level 1 to 100 -- this mode has you fighting trainer after trainer until you reach the very last one, and the game will save between trainers.

The Japanese version of Colosseum comes with a Clear Black Memory Card 59, along with two Pokémon Colosseum labels on it so that you know that the card is for Pokémon Colosseum (the save takes about 40 or so blocks, eating up most of the card). Unfortunately, I don't know if the localized versions will come with a Memory Card included. You can pre-order the US version of Pokémon Colosseum from our partners at Video Game Depot.