Pokémon X and Y makes me excited for Pokémon games again (preview)

I felt bad for Professor Sycamore’s Dragonite. The camera swiveled around the poor creature as dozens of crystal shards suddenly appeared and struck its chest, sucking the last of the Pokémon’s hit points away. It was clearly no match for my Mega Mewtwo and its powerful Psystrike.

Fluid battles, a dynamic camera, and fully animated attacks are all a part of Pokémon X and Y, the newest entries in the monster-capturing series (releasing worldwide for the 3DS on Oct. 12). Last week, I played a brief demo that Nintendo specifically designed for attendees at the first Pokémon Game Show (a two-day celebration of all things Pokémon) held this past weekend in Tokyo. But it came with an important caveat: The areas and events in the demo were not representative of the final product. It was more like a sampler platter of some of Pokémon X and Y’s major features packed into a small garden-like area.