Pikmin is a cross between an RTS game and a gardening adventure. As a space traveler, your space ship crashes into an “adorably hostile” planet. You must collect your things, but you only have limited days to do it. With the aid of little aliens called Pikmin, you just might rebuild in time!
Story: Neither game has much of a focus on the story. You know why you are on the planet, you know why you want to leave the planet, but everything else is basically a mystery. Little updates throughout the games come in the form of a travelers log and actually add to thinks quite nicely. Ultimately there isn’t much to the story but it works because it’s all the story that would occur if this was a real life event.
Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty unique to my knowledge. You pull these little plant people from the ground and they do your bidding. Both games have lots of puzzles and the different types of Pikmin (3 in the first game 5 in the second) aid in your quest. The puzzles are a little more diverse in the second game as a result of the two new Pikmin.
There is a multiplayer aspect here but it was obviously an after thought and not something your friends will want play. I personally enjoyed it, but then I had played through the single player game and understood what was happening. If you are lucky enough to have a friend who has also played through this game, try it with them and you might have a great time.
Art Style: The game is cute, whimsical, and just a pleasure to experience. While the style does change slightly between the first and second game, they ultimate follow the same idea which is to include lots of bright colors and a varied terrain.
Difference: If you like the idea of trying a puzzle game with RTS elements this might be the game for you. Don’t misunderstand me when I say RTS. There will be no resource collecting or building in this game, but everything takes place indirectly through commands you give to your Pikimin. That being said the game is a blast and if you are at all curious, this is something like you have never tried before.
Buy it? Yes! These two titles are some of the best the Gamecube had to offer and the first title at least should be easy to find. A “remake” came out for the Wii with different controls recently and while I haven’t played that version, I am sure it would be a fun alternative if you can’t find the originals. I rated these two games together because they are basically the same. I would give both games an 8.5/10. Like most games I will review, they aren’t for everyone, but everyone should give them a try!
No comments:
Post a Comment