Video game Review: Pikmin 2

The sequel to the one of the most interesting, yet colorful games was released in 2004. Pikmin two has been an interesting sequel, still played by most gamers 5 years from now. But what was it about Shigefumi Hino's "fruit of his labor" that seemed to be one of the best games of '04? Was it the so called adorable colorful plant creatures that made us go nuts? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm talkin' about it anyway.

The game takes place after Captain Olimar (The elf-like astronaut with a big nose who we call our protagonist) has successfully escaped from the mysterious, toxic atmospheric planet which he crashed on in the previous game. After he successfully returns home to the planet Hocotate, his boss (who we just call boss) & a local employee named Louie, greet him & welcome him home. Everything seemed ok with Olimar on his way home; that is, until his boss reveals that the company is in a dire amount of debt after Louie lost his cargo of pik pik carrots to a giant space bunny. Although it sounds retarded that a space bunny spontaneously came out of nowhere in space & eating up a large quantity of carrots, it sounded convenient that Louie was still able to survive the random attack.

In order to pay for the damage, Olimar's boss decided to withdraw a loan & sell corporate assets of the company (The only one being Olimar's ship, the S.S. Dolphin) to pay off the loan. Even so, they were only able to pay a small part of the debt, causing the company to go broke. In a state of shock, Olimar drops the bottle cap (that he decided to bring back home as a souvenir for his kid) in front of Louie. His ship then pulled the bottle cap using a tractor beam for the ship to analyze. It then revealed that the artifact was worth 100 pokos (the currency of the planet Hocotate), which was apparently more than a year's salary. In terms of realism, I found that fact to be bizarre, seeing as 100 pokos sound like being an equivalent of $100, which made me think how poor the planet sounded. Anyways, Olimar's boss orders him & Louie to go back to the planet & find more artifacts that could be exchanged for pokos, which could then be used to pay back the loan that the company owes. & then another adventure begins....

Every Pikmin has its uses, depending on the color. Red pikmin can withstand fire (& are the best fighters of the group), yellow pikmin can be tossed higher & can endure electricity, & Blue ones can go underwater. In addition to that, 2 new species of pikmin can be discovered; purple & white pikmin. White pikmin have beady read eyes that help them to find buried treasures underground, are more swift & are highly poisonous if consumed by an enemy creature (although don't over do it, as it obviously affects the population of the pikmin.) Purple pikmin may appear fat & slow, but they are ten times stronger than the other pikmin when it comes to lifting treasures or subdued creatures. As an extra feature, each pikmin can become stronger depending on their stage in their life cycles (with a leaf being their default state, while a flower being the strongest state.) There are 2 ways to do this: either leave the planted pikmin to grow from leaf to flower, or find globs of nectar off of dead enemies or tall grass (steroids boost much?)

Olimar & Louie aren't that defenseless as they seem. If no pikmin are at their command, they are able to punch as their only defense, although it is quite weak when it comes to fighting larger enemies. They can, however, harvest two kinds of berries (one being spicy, & the other being bitter) that can be used as sprays. The bitter spray can instantly turn them into stone, no matter the size (although for some reason, it is burped out), while the spicy spray energizes the pikmin & doubles their strength, speed, & productivity on the field (& this one looks as if they farted out the spray, which adds the humor to the game.)

Exploring the planet has also changed as well; rather than exploring just the surface of the planet (with only having 4 places of the planet to explore, sadly), underground caves can be explored as well, where more treasure can be found. The treasures also resemble everyday household items (such as dice, a lipstick, a rubber duck, etc.), although it looks as if a hobo collected the items & scattered them across the planet for some sort of international scavenger hunt.The underground areas look even better, as most of them give you that gloomy feeling in the dark, but other caves have that weird feeling that you're stuck in a little girl's room underground. The upper surface of the planet also resembles our very planet earth, as the atmosphere & surroundings of the surface world make you feel as if you're a tiny little ant in a huge backyard (thus explaining the everyday items we know & love used as treasure.) The idea of rushing is also discouraged in the game, as you have all the time you need (compared to the first game only having 30 days to escape)to acquire every treasure on the planet.

The composure of the music is done uniquely, & change at the right moment if an enemy attacks you & your squad of pikmin. Although, most of the game's elements have been derived from it's predecessors; you can only have 100 pikmin on the field, you have to gather up your pikmin before sunset, etc. Though the game feels repetitive gameplay wise, you aren't left unrewarded. You may even view something called a piklopedia of all the creatures you have been encountered, as well as the treasures you have received ( a little mention; pay attention to Louie's notes in the game when viewing the piklopedia. It's as if Louie was hungry during his mission.) But there's also an additional feature to the game, that being vs. mode. It can be unlocked during the game in the story mode. It's a red vs blue balls-to-the-wall fight, as you and another player play as Olimar (who controls the red pikmin) & Louie (Who controls the blue pikmin.) The player that kills the other player (or eliminate the other players' pikmin) wins.

The game feels repetitive at first, but play it long enough, & you'll feel like gardening. Sure it seems childish, but it will "grow" on you. With that said, this is the review of Pikmin 2.

Story: 3.5/5

Design: 5/5

innovation: 4/5

Presentation: 4.5/5