Game: "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon" (the game is broken into two types — "Blue Rescue Team" for the DS and "Red Rescue" for Gameboy Advance; there are minor differences, but they are basically the same game)

Console: Nintendo DS/Gameboy Advance

Developer/publisher: Chunsoft/Gamefreak/Creatures Inc. The Pokemon Company/Nintendo

Number of players: 1

Rating: E for everyone (mild cartoon violence)

The premise: Strange things are happening in the world of the Pokémon. Earthquakes opened up fissures and trapped them underground; these quakes also disturbed otherwise peaceful Pokémon, causing them to attack others. Now it's up to you, a human trapped in Pokémon form, to create a rescue team: Your job is to be an escort, deliver items and rescue the trapped Pokémon. Other events happen as well.

The gameplay: What makes "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon" interesting is that there are no humans. All the characters are Pokémon; this means no Poké balls for collecting Pokémon. As you battle, some Pokémon become impressed by your prowess and offer to join your rescue team. You can have a total of only four team members, and the added members must survive the dungeon to permanently join you. The game uses real-time turn-based battling — you take a turn, then the enemies attack, faster. This game also utilizes the Internet for a feature called Wonder Mail — players can send each other job codes, allowing you to assemble a list of preferred missions.

The good/bad: A game with a randomized dungeon system means never playing the same item/monster layout twice. The fatigue system means you are always searching for apples; if your stomach is empty, the dungeon is over and you lose all your money and most of your items. A personality test in the beginning of the game determines what Pokémon you will be throughout the game.

Tips: I suggest this survival kit: as many apples as you can find for hunger, pecha berries for poison, an escape orb, oran berries for health and max elixir to refill your special moves for longer dungeons. Special moves give you more experience points.

My take: This is a great licensed game that uses the randomized dungeon format effectively, which means every dungeon has a different layout. This game creates an interesting twist for the Pokémon franchise by changing the way you add members to your party. The Wonder Mail system was great.

On the negative side: Your character rests after only one dungeon, and you can't take your real-life friends along when you go into dungeons. Other than that, "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon" is worth the price and is fun enough to entertain those who don't like Pokémon but love random dungeons.

Jeffrey Davis, of Honolulu, is a video-game enthusiast.