Pikmin

Spaceman just crashed on a strange planet and he needs to find all his spacecraft's parts. The problem? He only has a few days to do it! Luckily there are hundreds of Pikmins with special powers that he can use to battle enemies. Features an incredibly lifelike environment. Even the most experienced gamers will enjoy playing this action-strategy game. Made in USA. As stranded, miniature spaceperson Olimar, you must find the missing 30 parts your spaceship needs to get you back home. The parts are scattered across a forested area crowded with giant (when compared to our hero's size) animals and other hazards. Our hero stumbles across a race of part-animal, part-plant, all-bizarre creatures he names Pikmin. Olimar has to learn how to lead the Pikmin around the forest as he uses the abilities of the different-colored Pikmin to overcome the many obstacles in his path.

Learning when and how to make the best use of your Pikmins' skills and traits is the essence of the game. You can control up to 100 Pikmin at a time while figuring out which Pikmin are best suited for a particular task. Some are better fighters, while others can survive in water or handle explosive bomb rocks. However, even the best Pikmin herder will have to sacrifice a few of the plant-headed beasts for the greater good. It's the making of new strategies to minimize losses that makes Pikmin challenging and fun.

For a first-generation GameCube title, the graphics, sound, and music are fantastic and show an awesome amount of detail. Though it's no Pokémon, this game should appeal to wide-eyed younger gamers as well as seasoned vets. The controls are intuitive and feel perfect for the standard GameCube controller. However, learning to position the camera can be a tad frustrating during some of the more tense moments, as it has only a few magnification levels and needs constant adjustment.

The biggest obstacle Olimar faces is time. He has only 30 days (each day is about 15 minutes in real time) in which to find the necessary parts. While this keeps the pace of the game up, some may find such limits somewhat frustrating, as it means there will be a lot of repetition and rethinking of strategy. It also means that diligent gamers may find Pikmin a rather short game.

At the end of your gaming day, Pikmin is one of the best games on the GameCube. --Mark Brooks

Pros:

• Very innovative and original
• Gorgeous graphics
• Great sound and music
• Amazing blend of action and strategy

Cons:

• Time limit causes players to repeat tasks
• Experienced strategy gamers may find Pikmin ends too quickly
• Difficult to control camera during tense moments