Pokemon Go - India review

Pokemon Go has not released in India yet. But, people have already taken out ways to download the .apk file of the game through various sources on the internet. The game has been developed by Niantic Labs, the same company which developed the massively famous augmented reality game - Ingress.

So, we also tried out the game and in this post we'll be giving you an honest review from a layman's point of view.

1) Loading time
The game takes a fair bit of time to load. Approximately 15-20 seconds. The loading time also depends on the speed of your internet connection and GPS connection.

Make sure you've turned on the GPS connection before starting the game.

2) Graphics & Gameplay

The gameplay is fluid and the game does not lag on high end devices, but on low-end devices the game may just lag a bit.

The game gives you a glimpse of your profile and you can also take a look at the Pokedex where you can see all the characters you've caught.

Whenever a Pokemon character is spotted on the map, the camera pops up with the virtual figure of the character in front of you. You can catch the character by throwing the Pokeballs at it.

Also, by clicking on the Pokeball that hovers at the bottom, you can see a menu with options like- shop, items, Pokedex, Pokemon.

There is also a feature called Pokestop that you'll see on the map. Clicking on the Pokestop will tell you the place/building it has been mapped with.

3) Navigation

Since the game has been developed by Niantic Labs, the navigation is as seamless as it was in Ingress.

The player walks along the lines of the GPS antenna. The roads and parks are depicted well and somewhere down the line, the game makes use of the Google maps.

4) Character details

The moment you catch a character, you get to see the details associated with that character in a trump card format.

The card shows the animated character along with the name and other related details.

There is also an option to 'Power up' or 'Evolve' the characters you've caught.

5) Battery use

Being an augmented reality game, it is bound to suck your battery like anything. Since the game requires a 3G/4G connection and GPS signal for smooth functioning, it is advisable to take a fully charged phone before playing this game. You can even carry a portable charger if you like.

On testing, the phone's battery went down 10-12 percent in 25-30 mins, which is fairly decent given the high resolution graphics the game supports.

Pokemon Go! is the new sensation in the augmented reality gaming front. So, the time is right to get your hands dirty and stay ahead in the race!