Nintendo is still quiet about the release date of the Pokémon GO augmented reality game for smartphones but the beta testing phase has already started, signaling that it could be close to completion.
The AR game for Pokémon is highly-anticipated because it would allow smartphone users to walk around in real life to find and catch them all. Niantic, the developer behind the successful Ingress AR game, will be developing Pokémon Go as well.
Instead of the usual story-driven RPG that Nintendo provides on all of their consoles, the new game will be different also because of the massively multiplayer aspect. Neighbors can battle each other and race around the neighborhood finding rare creatures.
Pokémon GO testers on Reddit have said that the battle mechanics will not be the same in the traditional sense, Neurogadget reported. Instead of four attacks, players can deal more damage in just to with the use of a charge attack.
In addition, the battle pace would be quicker than usual. Players will have to battle in real-time by choosing what and when to attack while also trying to dodge the other player's attack with their Pokémon.
The attacks' properties would also depend on the type of the Pokémon. For instance, a Fire type Pokémon like Charmander would do more damage with its attacks to a Grass type such as Bulbasaur or Treecko.
Battles in Pokémon GO will only last two minutes. The Pokémon with more health by the end of the duration would most likely be considered the winner in the scenario if nobody has been knocked out.
Developers of the game have been releasing steady updates to fix bugs and to add new features, University Herald reported. The updates are often released every five weeks.
Nintendo and Niantic aim to release Pokémon GO by the summer of 2016. It will make use of the phone's GPS and Location features just like Ingress did.
There have not been many details yet regarding how the Pokémon will be scattered throughout the world. It would be unfair if people in Russia had Dragonite while others only have Magikarp.
Pokémon GO fans will have to wait until the beta testing is over. The AR game will be available on both Android and iOS platforms.