Pikmin

The Good
What an amazingly refreshing game! Shigeru Miyamoto, the Game Master, came up with one of the most unique, imaginative games ever.
The worlds are huge, the graphics are lush, colorful and surprisingly realistic. The main character, Olimar, who is about the size of a quarter is funny and quirky, but the real stars of the show are the PIKMIN! Not only are they cute as buttons, they are the most amazing little creatures to grace a video game!
What is good about this game? Simply everything. There are amazing puzzles to solve, deadly creatures to battle and all kinds of real-estate to explore.
The puzzles are fiendishly hard, not impossible or hopeless, but very, very well constructed.
The pikmin are not only cute, but fun to control, and have amazing skills. Each colour having it’s own unique attribute.
Every new “treasure” that Olimar finds with the help of his loyal Pikmin, is a nice surprise. This game has an overall fun feel. It is an exciting place to be and explore.
The control of the characters is amazing! Not only is it easy, but you control Olimar and the Pikmin simultaneously, and it is ergo-dynamically friendly too! No stretching of fingers across the controller or elaborate button combos. It is an elegant design, you can see Master Miyamoto’s fingerprints all over it!

The Bad
The biggest problem, which EVERYONE HATED, was the time limit! It is such a shame that they put this horrible limit into the gameplay. It is really distracting and gets a wee bit annoying also. It isn't a major factor in your ability to play, but if you don't acquire X number of parts for your ship then you lose. It makes you tend to focus on the parts and rewards, instead of exploration and discovery, which is the most fun. You always feel the need to hustle. You can’t relax and play the game at your leisure.

The Bottom Line
This is already a classic and a must have in a collection. It has hours and hours of fun playtime and is hypnotic in it’s world and story. If you are a lover of puzzle solving and strategy, you will LOVE this title! You get completely pulled into Olimar’s plight and his “world”. Parents do not have to worry as this is mild violence with no gore or blood. Some of the creatures are scary, but nothing too bad. But it is a very intricate puzzle solving game, and some of the youngsters won’t understand the concepts or ideas. This is a wonderful, wonderful game!