Pikmin: Fantastic Vision or Just a Bad Trip? (Pikmin (GC))

Name: garrymac

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Product:	Pikmin (GC)
Date:	20/07/02 (116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing visuals, Engrossing gameplay, highly original

Disadvantages: Just as expensive as every other GC game, Not a lot of replay value.

Pikmin is probably the most highly anticipated game to date for Nintendo’s new console the GameCube but is it any good?
Well good or bad I will say that this game is guaranteed to be unlike anything you have played or even seen before.

The game was created by Nintendo’s in house genius Shigeru Miyamoto who was apparently inspired to create the game after watching some ants go about their daily business in his back garden.

In Pikmin you take control of a spaceman called Captain Olimar. Olimar is a small man (about the size of a 50p piece according to the game manual) who, for a video game character, has a very humane and involving personality. The storyline begins with a meteor crashing into Olimars spaceship resulting in him having to crash land on a strange planet.

When he first crashes and realises what has happened Olimar is understandably distraught but he soon gets himself together and decides to try and repair his wrecked spaceship. As the game progresses Olimar displays a wide range of emotions, which include distress, sadness, happiness, hopefulness and many more.

His humanity is shown mostly when he refers to experiences he has had with his family back home and how much he misses them during the breaks between levels. This is probably my favourite thing about the game.

The actual game play involves our hero trying to recover the lost parts of his spaceship (30 in all) so that he can return back home. The atmosphere on the planet he has landed on contains oxygen, which is apparently toxic to little Olimar although he has a life support system built into his space suit, which can support him for a maximum of 30 days. So there you have it, the main idea is to find at least 1 piece a day in order to complete the game.

The graphics in Pikmin are truly astounding and, when added to the excellent soundtrack, are bound to bring a smile to your face. You don’t really have much time in the g
ame to admire the view though as each day is played out in real time and lasts roughly about 15 minutes so there is no time to waste as you try to find those missing parts.

The task of finding the ship parts is not an easy one and would be impossible for Olimar to do on his own, but fear not because fortunately you are not alone on your quest. Help is on hand just when you need it in the form of the planets native inhabitants, the Pikmin.

Olimar first discovers these wonderful creatures when he stumbles across a large 3 legged plant which he calls an ‘Onion’. The onion spits out a red seed, which then grows into a shoot. Olimar pulls out the shoot and so the first Pikmin in the game is born.

When the shoot is pulled out a short, slim and cute red creature stands, staring up at Olimar with curious eyes. The Pikmin follows Olimar about and, as a thank you, it starts to perform some interesting tasks for him. For example, when the Pikmin comes across a daisy like plant it will attack and destroy it. The plant leaves behind a little coloured pellet with a number on it, which the Pikmin then takes back to his Onion and then another Pikmin is born.

Using this and other methods you can create entire armies of Pikmin. You can have up to 100 Pikmin outside the Onion at any one time but as far as I know you can have as many as you like inside the Onion.

The Pikmin can perform many tasks apart from increasing their numbers. For example they can attack the enemies that walk around which consist mostly of animal like creatures such as bugs, frogs and birds.

They can also build structures such as bridges and they can also destroy structures as well e.g. walls. The Pikmin sometimes do this automatically although another way to get them to react is to have Olimar throw individual Pikmin at the object you want them to react to.

It’s not just red Pikmin who inhabit the planet though. You will come acro
ss 2 other Onions as well later on, a blue one and a yellow one, which release Pikmin with the corresponding colours. Each colour of Pikmin has their own special skills and abilities that mean you have to think carefully about which colour of Pikmin and how many of each you are going to take with you on your journey to accomplish certain tasks.

Red Pikmin are stronger and generally better in battle than the others and are also immune to fire although they can’t swim and will drown if they come into contact with water. Yellow Pikmin can be burned and will also drown but they are lighter than the others allowing Olimar to throw them higher. They also have the ability to pick up glowing rocks, which can be used as bombs to blow up walls and help attack enemies. And finally, the blue Pikmin have gills allowing them to swim in water without drowning although they can be burned by fire.

There are certain tasks you will have to complete using each type of Pikmin and some tasks will require you to take groups of two or more types. Luckily though the control system is flawless in the game giving you complete command of all your Pikmin.

Rather than throw each Pikmin individually which can be time consuming and when tackling a large enemy can be fatal, Olimar has the ability to call upon all of the Pikmin in his squad to attack or carry out a task all at once using the yellow C stick at the bottom of the controller. This is an innovative idea and proper use of it will ensure you get through the game a lot more easily.

One of the biggest flaws I find in video games today, and ever since 3D games took off really, are the annoying camera angles, which can be pesky and frustrating and really make you lose patience with a game. This is not a problem with Pikmin though as there is usually so much happening on the screen at one time that the camera stays firmly fixed on the action and rarely moves about.

You also have nearly as much
control over the camera as you do with the Pikmin and you can change the camera to several different viewpoints.

Pikmin is a game that almost tries to make you fail in your task as you have so little time yet there is so much to take in. The level of detail in the game almost verges on the ridiculous.

The scenery looks more like video footage than computer generated imagery and there are some quirky little additions as well to keep you amused for example when a Pikmin or an enemy dies you can see a little spirit floating above it and then disappearing.

Another thing that made me smile is that most of the Pikmin seem to have their own individual personalities. Some of them will make different noises from others while others will fall over and lag behind while moving. It is not wise to get too attached to the Pikmin though as I’m sad to say you will lose a lot of them along the way.

The most common complaint I have heard about Pikmin is that it is too short, easy, and that there is little replay value after you have completed it. I, on the other hand, have found that the only problem with the game is that once I have saved it and stopped playing it I never really feel the need to go back to it although when I do play it I get totally lost in it and don’t want to stop.

As for there being no replay value, I can see why people would think that but there is another mode you can play where the object is to see how many Pikmin you can raise in one day.

Pikmin is truly a game that every GameCube owner should have as it really does show the console at its best so far. It is also highly original and is a breath of fresh air in an industry that is swamped with clones and sequels of sports games and shoot-em-ups.

Even if you don’t fancy the game at first it would be worthwhile purchasing it second hand in maybe a few months or so.

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