WII U PIKMIN 3 PAL

I really love Pikmin and have both games for the Gamecube. Pikmin 3 was one of the games that I was most excited about getting for my Wii U.The charm is definitely still there. It oozes it, and draws people in. I had friends staying over and they were all entranced by the game. I'm excited to get another wiimote and nunchuck to play multiplayer.I played the game with the gamepad and thought it adequate but clunky at times, particularly when fighting flying enemies. I'm going to give the wiimote a go soon and I expect it to be a much better way of controlling the game; at least for accuracy in throwing and selecting pikmin. The game is essentially an RTS after all, getting closer to a mouse and keyboard control method is likely to make things much easier.My biggest complaint is with the length of the game. While the others were more about exploring and had little in the way of plot, Pikmin 3 is very linear with new areas only opening up after plot points have occurred. This isn't a bad thing; I lost interest in Pikmin 2 once I had access to all the Pikmin types because there wasn't much to keep me playing but the puzzles.Unfortunately Pikmin 3 swings in the opposite direction; there is a lot less to see. I was impressed by how expansive the maps were at first, and I liked that there were no load times (I feel like there may have been waits for the various caves in Pikmin 2). Still, there are only four real areas to explore, and while there is reason to go back once you find new pikmin types there isn't a huge amount of extra space to unlock; just more of this games collectible items, fruit (as opposed to junk and ship parts in the second and first installments).While there is a definite purpose to what you are doing the puzzles are few and mostly repetitive whilst being very simple. For instance, yellow pikmin can handle electricity. A situation is presented that requires them to be used (and how they should be used is highly telegraphed) and there isn't much further exploration of this mechanic.The positive is that the game has a focus on cooperative play, both in a battle mode and in standalone missions that provide a scenario and limitations. I haven't played the battles so I'll mention the missions. You start off with pikmin of a few types and have to do various things; gather treasure, eliminate enemies etc. I have only played one but it seemed fun and was set up for cooperative play.My second major disappointment is with regards to these missions; at the time of writing there have been three DLC packs that must be bought in addition to the base game cost; two for £1.50 and one for £4.50. The first two unlock eight new missions (for a total of 15 enemy-fighting missions and 15 treasure gathering missions) as well as some other settings (I'm not sure how many missions they represent).I have never been a huge fan of DLC but in this case I do feel ripped off. The first pikmin was short and sweet and I appreciated it. I really expect more since then though, and to find that this game has a very short campaign and a significant amount of extra content, but which requires even more money to be spent really winds me up. The first two DLC packs add very little (from what I can tell) other than some more level design. There isn't a huge amount of that in the base game so I'm disappointed that I need to pay another £3; not a lot I know, but if I want the complete game it is almost £10 more than the base.In conclusion, the lack of content is the biggest issue I have with the game. There seems to be an emphasis on replaying the campaign to better your score (finish more quickly with fewer dead pikmin and more fruit collected) but really, that isn't enough for me. I finished the game in 2 days, and that was whilst entertaining guests and going out in the evenings. The game is very charming but also very easy. The challenge and longevity seem to be expected to come as a result of trying to beat your high score (which doesn't interest me) and coop play, which I am excited to explore.As a single played game it only gets three stars though. Were all the DLC missions included in the base game it would likely be a four/five. There isn't enough to the base game for that score though.

I have never had the experience of playing the game's predecessors but I must say it it brilliant. These are the sort of games I like and sort of reminded me of the Sims in that you have objectives to carry out and goals to achieve but the gameplay is a lot different.I just dived in and bought the game not knowing what to expect. Its about these 'aliens' who crash land on a planet and use little guys called 'Pikmin' to help them explore the world, forage for food etc in order to help them survive and learn more about this new world. You have many objectives throughout the game and I found the controls easy to grasp. I like the added use of the wii's gamepad in this game as it acted as your map.To be honest I have had to replay the game twice since I have had it because of the fact that I spent hours at a time on it and then had ditch it in order to catch up on the things I had neglected to do. So up until now I still haven't completed the game. Hours will fly by as you say to yourself 'just one more day' (you'll understand what I mean when you play). I tried to review it so I didnt give to much away. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

If you like the Pikmin Series you will enjoy this gameIf your new to Pikmin you will also like this game.Ive played pikmin on the gamecube , this is a bit different , doesn't have the zoom in and out , days are very short making it hard to accomplish anything unless your multitasking.You can use the wii u gamepad to send your team to different locations, and as you are moving the map on the gamepad you will see the actual landscape on the TV so pay attention, I only learnt how to play the game when I was finishing the game which took only 15 hours of game play and I wasn't doing much multitasking but I did enjoy the game and so will you.

After playing Pikmin 1 many years ago I was astonished at how addictive the gameplay was and I am glad to see it remains unchanged in Pikmin 3. If you were to describe the gameplay to someone it would sound fairly boring but after experiencing the game first hand it all comes together and the addictive, "just one more go" sensation really kicks in.Pikmin 3 sets you the task of finding as many different types of fruit on the Pikmin planet as possible. You play as a crew of 3 characters who have set off on an intergalactic voyage to save their home planet which is fast running out of food to sustain the population. The aim of the game is basically to explore the surroundings of each of the 5 areas whilst commanding the helpful Pikmin creatures to help. You do all of this to collect as much fruit as possible to analyse and take back to grow on your home planet as well as to keep you sustained whilst searching for more food and your misplaced 'cosmic drive key' which will allow you to get back home.I must say usually dislike games that set you a time limit but with Pikmin it really does make the game better so don't allow it to put you off. Each day or 'level' (if you can call it that) lasts about 15 minutes, but it is up to you what area you start in and what you can accomplish before sundown so you don't get eaten by the creatures that come out at night. The more Pikmin you have, the more you can do. More Pikmin can be grown by defeating the other creatures that wonder the world and taking thair remains back to your ship and also by harvesting plants.As you traverse each area, building bridges and smashing down walls as you go, it is up to you and the Pikmin to acquire as many fruits as possible and grow more Pikmin to make up for the ones that don't make it. The tricky part of the game is getting the items back to your ship and doing so before sundown. Although if you have spent a whole day trying to get a large piece of fruit or battling a massive creature your progress wont backtrack once the day is over. When you return the next day you should be able to continue where you left off but if you don't get everything done you want to you can always restart the day. I found myself doing this quite often as I found better ways of going about a challenge; this is great because is not like restarting a level as you are essentially creating your own level on each day which will be different every time you play.I completed the main story getting about 80% of the fruits in about 15 hours which I felt was a decent length for a game like this. I was also very surprised to find out how much fun the `Mission' mode is after completing the game. The `Collect Treasure' mode is where Nintendo went all out and really ramped up the challenge as well as the creativity. I would say this added another 10 hours or so on to the game if you want to get all gold/platinum medals.Overall I really enjoyed Pikmin 3 and it is one of the best games I have played in 2013.

Good RTS that makes use of the Wii U. The game is very cute and you can choose a different Pikmin (kind of like a plant type creature) who have their own characteristics that affect gameplay.Very Nintendo in that it rewards the player for finding things out and does so in a good way and teaches exploration. Lots of content, several modes including co-op, and DLC (if you really want to pay for it!)Good game, good value and worthy of addition to any Wii U library