KEY POINTS:
Nintendo Wii, (PG)
Pros: Real-time strategy comes to the Wii with this GameCube port - albeit in sweetened up Nintendo fashion. Players become Captain Olimar, stranded on a strange planet with the Pikmin, who are happy to help him find 25 missing bits of spaceship and put it together in 30 days before his life support suit runs out of grunt. It uses a new play system, taking advantage of the Wii's nunchuk controller and allowing much better control than the original GC title. Olimar can make the crazy critters follow him, carry stuff and help explore to complete the quest, mostly by just pointing the controller at groups and then telling them what to do. Gameplay still works on time limits, but you can now return and re-try your day's work - rather than finding no time left at the end.
Cons: The so-called New Play Control! Pikmin is a Wii remake of an original GC title - and there are more re-tooled GC games to come. There is no multiplayer, which doesn't quite fit the Wii party console "thing".
Verdict: A sequel is apparently in development, but for those who dug the original or who never had a crack at it, Pikmin is well worth a look - it was considered a top GC title on release, and that still carries weight.
