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[Brandon F]

Played more of this at a kiosk when I went to snag Astro Boy and HSG4. Game is looking HOT! Though all you can do is basically play the first 5 Challenge mode courses, the enemy design is tops!

Take the gerbil-like biped monster that was so prominent in Pikmin 1. In one level he was being followed around by a school of young spawn babies; when I launched my attack and slaughtered the mother, the brood became agitated running around aimlessly now that their caretaker was gone forever. To my surprise I was able to recruit the feeble-minded children and have them join my Pikmin armies, looting and pillaging the depths of the earth. Serve ME now! (A major help given that Pikmin resources are practically irreplaceable underground)

I would have drenched my pants if I was able to feed them some Pikmin juice and breed full on Titan-sized foes for my own bidding...Oh shit that would rock!! (It's not gonna happen right?)

I also encountered a mole-like anteater enemy that is clearly invincible when sitting in his mole-hill from C-stick maneuvers or pikmin tossing. Lure him out however, and on his return to his safe-spot(he doesn't like to travel too far from his haven), he is vulnerable to my touch of death. A lot more interesting than the mostly banal encounters you faced in the first title.

So what exactly can we expect from total content this time around? I really dig what I have seen so far.

 

[Link316]

I'll be buying this but I was disappointed that it only runs at 30 fps

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

!!!!!!

 

[Deku Tree]

Yup, I'm buying Pikmin 2.

 

[Alex]

I'm replaying the original Pikmin at the moment, and finding that I am digging it a lot more than I remember, good stuff, but I can also very much point out things I remember bitching about way back in 2001, haha.

That combined with scouring around previews and the such, I'm really wanting Pikmin 2. Sounds much better.

It'd be nice to see a update list though, yeah. Only IGN has any decent coverage, Gamespot is totally barren. And I'd like some more co-op details. I probably won't get to use it much, but I'd like to try at least and know what it's all about.

 

[ToyMachine228]

I loved Pikmin. Played through it twice, but never bought it...I'm ashamed, but I'll definitely be buying Pikmin 2.

 

[Zenny]

I'll be buying this but I was disappointed that it only runs at 30 fps

oh my god ! - cancels ore-order.

let the bitching commence.

 

[Chibbi Brady]

You can't play co-op in the normal game but once you open up the Challenge mode, you can play it with 1 or 2p. These are 25 little dungeons that have varying length and difficulty. You get a set amount of Pikmin, each challenge gives you different coloured Pikmin and different amounts of power juice. The trick is not to loose a single Pikmin and you get a pink flower, get a perfect on all 25 and you'll get a surprise. I've got 23 and have been stuck on two levels for ages now. I must have played each level well over a 100 times and still they haunt me. Some of the new enemies can be quite the bastard at times. Great game though, definitely one everybody should check out.

 

[Alex]

Thanks Brady, this sounds by far one of the better sequels Nintendo has made in recent years, IMO.

 

[Brandon F]

Oh wow, going for perfect scores does make the challenge mode a LOT more interesting. Having played a few of those early trials I can imagine how difficult it must be to keep them all alive. Particularly risking time and Pikmin to go kill some of the optional enemies for hidden bonus loot.

Too bad that is the extent of co-op, I was hoping for full on campaign fun for 2-people.

 

[IJoel]

Why in the heavens would you care whether a game like this runs at 30 fps?

 

[Mashing]

Yeah, I gotta wonder why the forum is so held up on 30fps games. Especially slower paced games such as this one. Action and FPS games definately need SMOOTH framerate... whether that's locked at 30 or locked at 60... it just needs to be consistent.

 

[Chibbi Brady]

It can get very tricky at times. For instance in one challenge you are only given 5(could be less) pikmin but there are 5 floors. Each floor has a different enemy that requires different pikmin on your team. You're also given a few pwer ups, one to turn the enemy to sone and the other to enhance the pikmin's strength. The time limit is pretty harsh on this as well with as little as 40 seconds with which to kill the guy and open up your exit.

Getting passed the first couple of floors is ok, but you hit a snag when you reach a blurb that's on fire. Here strategy comes into play a lot. The time left over from the previous floors carries over, so if you are quick in the others, often by using your power-ups, you have a lot of time to pick him off slowly. On the other hand is it easier to keep the power-ups to use on him, in which case you risk loosing a pikmin on the earlier floors. A lot of challenges really play that up but it's so rewarding when you finally clear it, with all pikmin alive and well.