POKEMON SOULSILVER (pt. 3)

Well, if there was one thing that could get me to make a post, it would be Pokemon SoulSilver, I guess. Short story: THIS GAME IS AWESOME!!!
Long Story: THIS GAME IS AWESOME, AND I WILL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT:

First of all, you may refer to this page in order to review the changes made between Gold/Silver and HeartGold/SoulSilver: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Soulsilver

Rather interesting, I think.

This post is titled "part. 3" because I am beginning to write this after I've already reached Mahogany Town (7th town), so parts 1 and 2 are reserved for when I go back and write about the first 14 hours of my playthrough.
I think I will kind of make this more of a commentary and reflection than an honest-to-goodness chronicle, because, God, that would be boring.

First of all, some changes that are good (from Diamond/Pearl or Gold/Silver):

o Battle text speed is back up to its normal (=fast) speed. In D/P you had to wait forever for it to type out grammatically circuitous reports ("THE ATTACK OF THE FOE'S PIKACHU MISSED"). Now, it provides the same circuitous reports VERY QUICKLY!
o The touch screen is more utilized than in D/P. You can now use it to select all menu options without pressing any buttons. Also the Pokedex, Pokegear, and party menus use the touch screen.
o It might just be me, but it seems that Pokemon learn good moves at an earlier level than in previous games. I think this has been steadily moved to earlier and earlier levels over the whole series—but I'm not sure. Anyhow, it's great.
o More lore is provided; for example, a lot more is told about the 3 Legendary Dogs and Ho-Oh, and Ecruteak in general.
o THE POKEWALKER IS AWESOME. You can put any Pokemon in there; they gain up to one level while inside, if you walk around enough. You can capture Pokemon inside of it and find items, too. As a pack-in, it's a tremendously fun thing.
o The Rival (whom I've nicknamed Dagon, who is a lackey of Cthulhu), is WAY douchier this time around. WAY douchier. And it works.
o Character development in general is a lot better in this game. You learn a lot more about Gym Leaders, Lance, and Team Rocket.
o All of the gyms have new puzzles to solve in order to reach the Gym leader. They aren't hard, but they are refreshing.
o Some of the text/dialogue has been updated to be, in some, cases, ridiculously funny, such as the sign for the Mahogany Town front, which I'll talk about later.

Bad things:

o Remember that trainers used to call you all the time on the Pokegear? They still do it, BUT LIKE 5 TIMES AS MUCH. And your mother always buys you stupid crap with your money.
o Some of the dialogue is just stupid: "There are many legends about these legendary Pokemon." Oh, you DON'T SAY.

Part 3:

I had saved right after catching the Red Gyarados (Nereus, a Sea God) because the ensuing Team Rocket shenanigan is my favorite part of the whole game. Lance is way more awesome and the graphics allow for a much better representation of Dragonite. The hideout bustup was great except for one thing. Remember those squares that had "bombs" in them (Geodude, Koffing, and Voltorb"?) That area remains, but in G/S those Pokemon used Selfdestruct immediately, thus a) fulfilling the bomb threat and b) actually posing somewhat of a hazard to your 20-somethings. Now, they are on some really weird script that actually PREVENTS them from using Selfdestruct. Umm, guys? THAT. WAS. THE. POINT. I got Smogged, Tackled, Sparked, and Light Screened, but not Selfdestructed. It was ridiculous.
There are new Rocket bosses, I guess. And now you have to chase the leader's Murkrow to a password-protected door so it can unlock it by mimicking his voice (just like the Farfetch'd scene in the Ilex Forest).
I'm just about to start playing again and beat up the ice Gym Leader. Wish me luck! (I dont' need it; I have Perseus)!