Pikmin 2 Preview

Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
Genre	Strategy
Release Date	Q2 2004

Welcome back future führers! It's time to return to the planet of the Pikmin and make some money!

The first Pikmin title was Nintendo's in-house developed answer to real-time strategy games and saw GameCubers controlling Captain Olimar as he fought for his life, stranded on a new planet brimming with innovative possibilities. He immediately encountered the Pikmin, a race of über-tiny critters who are more like personable ants than anything else. Players soon realized that only by taking charge of the incredibly and ultimately cute Pikmin could Captain Olimar return to his home planet and family. The easily persuaded Pikmin were used to recover the parts of our captain's crashed spaceship, breaking down any barriers in their way and utilizing their unique traits to overcome obstacles which usually involved endearing and sometimes hilarious antics. Most gamers who gave the title a shot fell in love with it, but there seemed to be some pretty unanimous complaints: too short, frustrating time limit, and no multiplayer option. It looks like Nintendo's fixing all that and more come sometime in August with its new romp through the Pikmin's world.

Pikmin 2 picks up right where the ending sequence of the first title left off only Captain Olimar has returned home not to praise and rejoicing, but to the news that the company he works for is going bankrupt and in serious need of some quick cash. 10,000 pokos to be exact. Enter Loojie, the new playable character for the sequel. One of Olimar's coworkers and responsible for the current financial state of their employer, it has become his duty to accompany el capitán Olimar and can either be controlled by a second player while the first player simultaneously controls Olimar, or by the first player who can alternate between the two at any given moment. This time around however, we join our spritely space cadets on the plucky Pikmin's planet to begin a scavenger hunt for little trinkets and treasures to pay off the company's huge debt. Once again it's you and a friend's job to manipulate the Pikmin to get these doodads back to the ship so they can be sold for precious pokos to avoid Olimar standing in line at his local unemployment office. Welcome are the familiar play mechanics that gave players intuitive control over the Pikmin and Olimar at the same time, as well as a new toggling mechanic that lets players choose more easily which Pikmin is next to be tossed. By holding down the 'A' button you can now cycle through your organic arsenal. This undoubtedly will prove handy as tossing bomb-wielding yellow Pikmin could get dangerous in the first title. Also, the 30-day time limit has been replaced with a much more tolerable open-ended adventure with no set time constraints other than the transition between day and night. This transition is affected though because of the underground caves and dungeons Olimar and crew are now able to explore. Each one is randomly generated upon entry and in theory should never be the same twice. The flow of time stops when in a cave but so does the ability to propagate Pikmin enabling new strategic elements for the player to employ. Gamers will also be introduced to the addition of berries that will really change the way each of the over sixty enemy creatures are dealt with. Berries can be gathered by the Pikmin and when enough are returned to the ship will create gases, each of which having a different effect. One such red berry gas will petrify an enemy giving the player the choice of carrying it back to the base or having the Pikmin destroy it right then and there, but no word is out on other berries' abilities as of yet.

Nintendo touted the first Pikmin title's Challenge Mode as the main feature to extend replay value after the original adventure was complete and it's making a return in the sequel as a multiplayer event. Just like in the first title the goal is to end the day with the most pikmin as possible, but gamers now have to keep their eyes on another player as well. This mode takes place in a two-player split-screened format and pits Olimar and Loojie against each other with their own respective armies of pikmin. There will be a specific item that has to be found in whatever area they are in, that once unearthed will open up a sublevel with more enemies to defeat and more trinkets to collect. After all the sublevels are completed the player with the most pikmin standing wins.

As for the new colors of Pikmin, we know so far of the large purple ones and the rabid-looking white ones with tiny red-eyes á la a Courage the Cowardly Dog episode. Nintendo hasn't let slip on what their abilities are or if these are the only two colors to debut this time around, but we'll know more closer to its release. For now, just remember that each successive delay only means more polish and more of Nintendo's trademark meticulous scrutiny to guarantee only the finest product reaches the public, and heaven knows that this game has seen delays. Look forward to more info as we report from this year's E3 in May.

Preview by Larry Lammers II