pokemon go crazy

We take hottest new smartphone app on a trial run around London ahead of its official UK release

Take a journey inside a bizarre alternative reality where monsters lurk around every corner

jasper hamill

Published: 13:52, 12 Jul 2016
Updated: 17:29, 12 Jul 2016

IT'S the gaming sensation that's seen millions of people take to the streets in a search for virtual monsters.

But Pokemon Go hasn't been let loose in the UK yet, meaning we have to sit back and watch as America goes crazy for this innovative "augmented reality" title.

Like so many gamers, we decided we couldn't wait for Nintendo's official release date and decided to jump the queue with some clever jiggerpokery ().

We went looking for Pokemon around Borough Market, in London

Here's what happens when you catch a Pokemon — You can store you captured Pokemon in a virtual menagerie

We spent an afternoon travelling the streets of London Bridge, using the new app to trace and snare tiny monsters.

Here's what we learned:

Pokemon is already GO

The first thing to note is that Nintendo has already built the infrastructure for Pokemon Go, which effectively turns the British Isles into an open air monster zoo.

In London, for instance, The Shard has already been made into a "gym" where players can pit their Pokemon army against each other.

If you want to go out and "catch 'em all", you can already do so - but Nintendo probably won't like you for doing so before the official release date.

The game shows you a flat representation of the city you're wandering around

Monsters are everywhere

You'll find Pokemon lurking around every corner.

Once you load up the app, it'll tell you if there are monsters nearby.

Then all you need to do is try and catch it.

Players have been taking their search for Pokémon to ridiculous new extremes — Pokemon are even lurking in your house, as you can see in this pictureCredit: Imgur

You need some skill

You might imagine Pokemon is all wandering and no wrist action, but you'd be wrong.

Every time you encounter a Pokemon, you'll have to catch it by throwing a "Pokeball" at it.

This requires a bit of practice, so you'd better sharpen up your ball skills if you want to catch them all.

Here's what happens when you encounter a Pokemon - which you can then try to catch

It may lead you into dodgy areas

It's generally not a smashing idea to travel the world, glued to your smartphone.

When you're playing a game that asks you to chase monsters, there's always a risk it will take you deep into the territory of some street gang or other.

Yes, there may be a nice little beastie lurking down that scary alley, but it's probably best that you leave it to run wild and free rather than take a risk by catching it.

COMPOSITE POKEMON GO — Pokemon players are visiting this sex shop in Plymouth, because they believe it's home to the beasties

The world is beautiful

There's a lot of talk about how Pokemon Go is tempting people off their sofas and out into the real world.

But shouldn't we be looking at all the bounties of Britain and beyond, rather than staring at a screen?

If you think golf is just a walk ruined, wait until you see someone chasing a virtual monster up and down Oxford Street.