New Play Control! Pikmin review

Games quite often trigger bouts of déjà vu. We get it every time we’re invited to see the latest instalment of Need For Speed and quite often when Square Enix announces a new game that just happens to be a remake of an old PS1 game. But Nintendo is being more shameless than most with its latest New Play Control! series. The games it will feature aren’t really even remakes or updates; instead they’re the same games previously released on GameCube just adapted to widescreen and with new Wii-specific controls.

Of course, when the game in question is Pikmin, no one’s going to be disappointed with what emerges. On Wii, the game – which has you collecting up parts of your crashed ship as mini Captain Olimar – is every bit as playable as it was on GameCube back in 2002. More so in fact, because the Wii controller is ideally suited for the strategy-like gameplay and for highlighting and throwing your little Pikmin helpers around the place. You highlight them by pointing at the screen and yank them out of the ground with A. The visuals have barely changed, but they were so advanced for their time, Pikmin still stands up graphically against new Wii games.

Aside from the ability to replay any of the game’s 30 days, the puzzles and challenges facing you and your multi-talented Pikmin pack remains the same. If you played the original, full price is clearly a lotto shell out on a near carbon copy. Especially if Pikmin 2 makes it to Wii, as it’ll be the better choice. If you missed it first time around though, you’re in for a real treat.

Feb 5, 2009