Call me a philistine or whatever, but it seems to me that every single Pokemon game is exactly the same apart from a new map layout and new pokemon. Its always wake up in your room go downstairs talk to your mildly retarded mother, go speak to the Prof, pick a fire/grass/water type pokemon, go on a journey to get badges beat the elite 4 and thwart team X. Combat hasn't changed to my mind, everything looks exactly the same, its just so stale to me.

They differ very little.  Just a couple improvements or additions per release.
 
Somehow doesn't stop me from getting excited for some impossible reason though.

In Gold and Silver there aren't 8 gyms there are 16! Bam!
I mean in those terms you are right, but it's the way they are executed and how addicting the gameplay is. It's not really about the story.

Gold/Silver/Crystal were actually had the most changes. Gold/Silver added Dark and Steel pokemon, which both resisted/nulled Psychic, taking away Psychic's OPness. Steel is also the only type that resists Dragon type moves. They both also cleaned up the interface...Red/Blue DID NOT include move descriptions in any shape or form, so you had no way of knowing wheather Surf or Hydro Pump was stronger...or how Dream Eater worked.
 
Crystal added in the Battle Tower, a competitive battleing scene against equally leveled AI, and was further refined in newer Pokemon games.
 
Finally, Gold/Silver added the day/night cycle, allowing for catching different pokemon at different times of day.
 
The only major change after Gold/Silver was in Pearl/Diamond , where every move specifically states whether it's a special or physical type move. For example, previously, all Ghost type moves were considered Physical. However, most of the Ghost types did not have a high Attack stat. Now, moves like Shadow Ball are special type, allowing ghosts and Alakazam to use it with their high Special Attack, and counter other Ghost types.

The physical/special attack switch mentioned above was the biggest change to the series since the day/night cycle. Beyond that, there have not been a whole lot of innovations. That might look like a little detail, but it did make a whole world of difference in terms of gameplay.

" Call me a philistine or whatever, but it seems to me that every single Pokemon game is exactly the same apart from a new map layout and new pokemon. Its always wake up in your room go downstairs talk to your mildly retarded mother, go speak to the Prof, pick a fire/grass/water type pokemon, go on a journey to get badges beat the elite 4 and thwart team X. Combat hasn't changed to my mind, everything looks exactly the same, its just so stale to me. "

Hey cool man you're right. *leaves to play more soulsilver

I would say that they don't differ much at all because so many people have come back to buy them again and again so they're trying to recreate the original blue and red for the most part.

Silver and Gold have 2 regions!!!

" @AndrewB:  So does the physical/special attack switch stay in the new remakes, or do they work like the original gold and silver? "

Then I have a very basic question for you, which sorry to say I don't know the answer to. But what is the difference between the 2 new games that just came out, and which one should I get.

Heart Gold and Soul Silver are essentially fourth generation remakes of the best Pokemon games in the series. The thing about every new remake is that there is actually huge additions to each game that most people can just completely miss. There's a bloody meta-game in Pokemon now. METAAAAAAA!

" They differ very little.  Just a couple improvements or additions per release. Somehow doesn't stop me from getting excited for some impossible reason though. "