Black and White stay to the tried and true gameplay of Pokemon; turn-based combat. Each trainer can have up to six Pokemon in their party at one time, with the aim to lower the Hit Points (HP) of all of your opponent's Pokemon to zero. Each of your Pokemon can know a maximum of four moves at one time. These moves have 'types' and can be super-effective against other types of Pokemon. For example, if a Charizard uses the attack 'Flamethrower' on a Venusaur, the move would be super-effective because Flamethrower is a fire-type moves and fire-type moves are super-effective against Grass types, which Venusaur is. Certain Pokemon are also dual-typed; they have more than one typing and this, along with the super-effective, critical hit, stat-boosters and accuracy all add up to a very strategic game in which one wrong move could cost you the battle (although CPUs are rather forgiving.)

The visuals in these games are stunning, specifically 'Skyarrow Bridge'. This bridge makes excellent use of the DS's full visual capabilities and along with Castellia City, the biggest city in any Pokemon game so far, add a depth of perception to the game and show off the DS's full power. During battles, the sprites of Pokemon move. This was previously unheard of, but the animations are almost all swift and fluent. The way the game captures visuals is nothing short of breath-taking. The contrast between the shaded, mysterious Pinwheel Forest and the bustling port town of Driftviel City simply present the numerous environments and atmospheres that are in the games. Even simple things such the trail you leave behind you when you're surfing look nice and add little enjoyments to the games.

One thing that Pokemon has always been famous for is its brilliant soundtracks. The excellent Gym Leader battle tracks in every game are amazing and this time is nothing different. The compositions are stunning and the remixes of certain tracks are done perfectly. The music adds a layer of mood and atmosphere to the different areas; caves have low-toned, slow tracks whereas battles have fast-paced, exciting music that really involves the listener. The additional sound effects such as when you pick up an item or send out a pokemon; the cries are different for each pokemon and fit the Pokemons' designs very well.

Pokemon games are notorious for having little plot. However, these two games change this. The antagonist of the game, referred to as 'N', along with Team Plasma, intend to 'liberate' Pokemon from their trainers; they see trainers as evil for imprisoning Pokemon and forcing them to battle. This adds an interesting issue to the game, giving it a serious tone. Although they're presented as the antagonists, are they wrong? This question of morality appeals to older gamers as well since it questions their sensibilities and this issue can extend to people's views outside of the game. Apart from this, the general aim is the same; defeat the 8 gyms of Unova and collect the 8 badges, then fight the 'Elite Four' and defeat the Champion, becoming the Pokemon League Champion yourself.