characters= 2 additional pikmin=2 there's enough 2 to go around=PIKMIN 2

Author's Rating:

Pros: graphics, gameplay, challenge, plain fun

Cons: makes you tired

The Bottom Line: 
Great game, graphics gameplay and a wonderful kid game, and other for many people. Not recomended for high schoolers. Well. Some.

Author's Review
PIKMIN 2 EPINIONS REVIEW
1. Review
a) Basics
b) Experience

2. Ratings
a) Gameplay
b) Graphics
c) Sound
d) Replay Value

3. In Depth
a) Plot
b) Pikmin
c) Levels & caves
d) Modes
e) Main enemies

4. HINT!!!

5. Legal stuff

1. Review
a) Basics
Pikmin 2 is an adventurous "E" rated game, that takes you to the world of Captain Olimar, and his new assistant Louie. You must venture across a foreign land, as you encounter challenges that you must defeat with the help of your helpful little buddies, the Pikmin. Luckily they recognize you, but after your previous encounter with them, they split up again so you have to find all of the onions, and the whole planet has changed! There is a level for each season. The first one you go to is Winter, meaning there are four levels to explore. THERE IS A HUGE TWIST! There may only be about 5 treasures on each level, but there are holes now! You have to venture about roughly 4 holes per level, and each hole can have a 2-21 treasure count! You can only take 100 Pikmin in, and you can't get any more down in the hole, unless you encounter a Candy Pop Bud that sprouts more Pikmin for you. Choose carefully, as you venture onward through your perilous quest, for the only reason you are at this mysterious planet again is because Hocotate Freight has gone bankrupt! You must collect 10,000 Pokos to pay off the debt, but there is no day limit. There is a time limit per day though, so you still have to watch out!

b) Experience
My experience with this game was wonderful. I got it when it first came out (which was like July) and I STILL have three more treasures to get. This is a wonderful game, it is definately for kids, even though it's still a good game for all ages because it isn't too juvenile. This game, because of the holes, is actually PHYSICALLY tiring. If you have to go through three holes, and beat a level in one sitting, you will literally fall asleep (like I almost did). This game is great fun, and you can play with a party of people, even though it is single player adventure mode. The reason I say this, is that you can only have one person control the controller, but others can be the mental strength. Believe me, THE MORE THE BETTER!

2. Ratings
a) Gameplay-9/10
This game's gameplay couldn't be any better. The controls are easy to remember, yet you feel like you're doing so much when you really aren't. The fact that you will order your whole entire group of Pikmin to do something, they will listen (most of them) but there is always a small group that doesn't obey! It's a perfect example of command and conquer. The only reason why I gave this game a 9/10 is because it's because it is SO tiring. LOL

b) Graphics-10/10
The graphics in this game are beautiful, clear cut graphics that give you the sense of, not realistic display, but a fun cartoony environment. Explore the game with wonderful graphics and clear cut display as you venture forth with your Pikmin.

c) Sound-10/10
The sound in Pikmin 2 is a phenominal experience, as you hear the sounds and music of the game gives you the experience that you are being thrown into a world of wonders. The sound engulfs you in its melodies, and it's even better in surround sound >:)

d) Replay Value-10/10
Wow. Pikmin 2 has beautiful graphics, gameplay, sound, fun, plain strategy and everything else that makes a game great. Why wouldn't you want to play a game like that again? This game gives you the choice of a wide variety of when and how you want to do things, as much as different map settings of holes, and different Pikmin raising techniques.

3. In Depth
a) Plot
You take the roll as Captain Olimar and his assistant Louie. Hocotate Freight is the name of the delivering service for international deliveries. In the first game, Olimar crash landed on a planet full of creatures that were under his command that were similar to his beloved Pik Pik Carrots back at his home planet, so he named these creatures Pikmin after them. However, Hocotate Freight has gone out of business out of business since Olimar was last gone, and now he has to raise 10,000 Pokos to recover his company's debt problems! Don't be discouraged if you feel that you are recovering the debt too fast, for after you get the money you need, when you go back to see your president, you lose Louie while you are taking off, and the president finds greed, and is amazed when he finds out that there is more of these wonderful everyday human treasures that they do not know of on the planet, so you end up having to collect every single treasure in the game! The president wants to take Louie's place, so you have a new member to the pikmin crew. You can switch between Olimar and Louie in the beginning, or Olimar and the President in the end by pressing the Y button. This helps especially when you need to have two different forces of colored pikmin, for instance: There is a lake with a plug that you must destroy to drain the water. Then you need to eliminate the fire with your other group to venture forth with the rest of your Pikmin. Who knows what else will pop up in the adventure?

b) Pikmin
There are different colors of Pikmin, as well as two new additions to the family, the purple and the white. There are certain abilities that only a certain color can complete. Also, there are certain raising conditions too. For instance: The red pikmin can be grown by killing enemies, getting flower seeds etc., to produce red pikmin out of the red onion. The purple and white pikmin however, have to be raised in holes, and they can only be raised by throwing in a color pikmin into the "Candy Pop Bud" and for each pikmin you throw in, a purple one comes out (or white whatever colored candypop you can find.) There are candy pop buds for the other colored pikmin too, it's just that you can also raise them from an onion. If there is a white candypop bud that has red yellow and blue spots on them that alternate between colors, that means that you can throw in a pikmin whenever you want the color pikmin that the spots change to, then you will get about 7 of that color. Special abilities and where they are raised are as follows:

Red Pikmin=resistant to fire=candypop bud & onion

Blue Pikmin=can go into water=candypop bud & onion

Yellow Pikmin=can throw them very far-resistant to electricity=candypop bud & onion

Purple Pikmin=slow-strength of 10 pikmin=candypop bud

White Pikmin=fast-detect underground treasure-resistant to poison=candypop bud

c) There are certain levels and certain caves with a certain amount of treasure. There are vast amounts of these levels, as well as challenges to pass on:
1st level: Valley Of Repose /7
Emergence Cave /3
Frontier Cavern /15
Subterranean Complex /16

2nd level: Awakening Wood /7
Hole Of Beasts /6
Bulblax Kingdom /10
White Flower Garden /7
Snagret Hole /15

3rd level: Perplexing Pool /7
Citadel of Spiders /11
Shower Room /14
Glutton's Kitchen /14
Submergedd Castle /13

4th level: Wistful Wild /5
Cavern of Chaos /17
Dream Den /21 (UBER HARD!!!)
Hole of Heroes /13

d) Modes
In Pikmin 2 there are several different modes. The first is single player, where you follow the story of captain Olimar and his quest to save his business. Next is the brutal 2-player battle mode, where you can bash on your friend and try to steal their marble. Then there are records, options, yatta yatta yatta. If you can find the "Key" treasure in single player mode, you can unlock the Challenge Mode, where the game gives you a set amount of Pikmin to team up with a friend or go solo and try to defeat the perilous dungeons. It adds a nice twist to the co-op type of feel in Pikmin 2.

e) Main Enemies

Bulborb and Mini Bulborb: Grub-Dog Family
These Grub-Dog like creatures have similarities to the Grub-Dog species themself. They have the bulging eyes and large hump on them as well as an interesting design, there attack pattern being the same too. The best thing to do would be sneak from behind while one is sleeping and hit it with a few puple Pikmin.

Bulbmin: Pikmin/Grub-Dog Family
These creatures that look like a Red Bulborb have leafs above their head, and they are controlled by a leader that is twice the size of them, yet still being half the size of a Red Bulborb. Defeating the leader will cause all of the other followers to break out in instant panic, and blowing your whistle on them will bring them on your side and control.

Fiery & Water Blowhog: Blowhog Family
These are white plump monsters that according to the color of their long snout shoot either fire or water. If the snout is red, fire, if the snout is blue, water. The attacks of this creature are mostly counter attacks followed by aggressive attacks, meaning that when attacked he flips all of the pikmin in front of him and then sprays. You probably want to use the pikmin that is resistant to the element that they spray, just in case.

Withering & Puffy Blowhog: Blowhog Family
These creatures fly around looking for your Pikmin to use their attacks on. These creatures aren't able to kill, but what they do may lead for something else to swoop in and kill you. These blowhogs attack from the air with their simple wind attack, knocking all that are caught in the wind down (not including you) and turning all that is above leaf a leaf again if caught in the wind. Attack these creatures and when they fall down to the ground swarm them so they won't have time to get back up.

Cannon Beetle Larva & Decorated Cannon Beetle: Lithopod Family
These powerful monsters shoot out of their snouts a powerful bolder, that if is shot by the Decorated Cannon Beetle is homing (red cannon beetle) and if shot by the Cannon Beetle Larva (green cannon beetle) fires the bolder, it is a simple fired bolder. The advantage to this however, is that if there are multiple Cannon Beetles in the same room, you can stand in the direction of the other one to make the Cannon Beetle shoot you, but instead you run away afterwards and you can then kill one of the Cannon Beetles that way.

Gatling Groink: Unkown Family
These Gatling Groinks can stand on high ground or truck around on the below, using their explosives to get to you. I still haven't figured out their attack strength yet, because half the time it kills my Pikmin while the others live, so I don't really know how to have any good hints, except for to always aim for the blue tail, you don't have to hit the blue tail, but to just aim for it will land behind him in a perfect spot.

Iridescent Glint and Flint Beetle: Glint and Flint Bug family
These are regular beetles that crawl around on the floor. When you throw a Pikmin on top of them, they give out nectar. The flint gives out 3 and the Flint gives out 1 pool of nectar.

Doodle Bug: Flint Bug Family
These are exactly like the Glint and Flint beetles above, except this one exerts poison from his abdomen, so attacking it would be only wise with the white Pikmin.

Anode Beetle: Scarab Beetle Family
These electric beetles are indestructable unless flipped over to their underbelly. To do so, throw a Pikmin (preferably yellow) on an Anode Beetle and attack. If two Anode Beetles interact, they create a stream of electricity in between them that one must really watch out for.

Swooping and Bumbling Snitchbug: Scarpanid Family
These flying creatures swoop down and steal either the Pikmin or the player (you) depending on what kind of Scarpanid they are. The Swooping Snitchbug steals two Pikmin at a time and then flies around for a little while and buries them in the ground. He repeats until defeated. The bumbling does the same thing, except he grabs you, and just throws you down really hard.

Fiery, Anode, Caustic, Munge and Volatite Dweevil: Dweevil Family
Depending on the element that they produce and the color, depends on what Pikmin and how to defeat them. Red is fire, yellow is electricity (anode) Blue is water (Caustic) Purple is Poison (Munge) and Volatite is a simple Dweevil that carries a bomb on its back. Making the Dweevil ignite his bomb will cause him to die along with it.

Yellow Wollywog and Wollywog: Amphituber Family
The Yellow Wollywog and regular Wollywog are exactly the same attack skills and everything. It seems to me that the regular Wollywogs are a little harder and rarer to find, but their attack pattern is simple. They see a Pikmin, they jump up, then thump down on the Pikmin, causing the Pikmin to die.

FIND THE BOSSES OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!

4. HINT!!!
a) Main Menu
On the main menu, enter these buttons to enter interactive experiences. L or R=Pikmin spell Nintendo X=Red Bulborb comes Y=Flint Beetle comes

b) Dream Den Boss: Titan Dweevil-Dweevil Family
1. Complete Dream Den except for boss
2. Go to Final Floor, don't fight boss. Escape through geyser.
3. Get 5 Purple Pikmin, 10 White and the rest Yellow.
4. Just run through the cave, and get to the boss.
5. Find Louie in the middle of the bowl, then go up to him to offer your help. Louie sits there, and turns out to rise up to be the controller of a Titan Dweevil! Keep all the white and purple Pikmin in the corner where the Geyser is.
6. Attack the water treasure (hard)
7. Attack the fire treasure (hard)
8. Attack the poison treasure (medium)
9. Attack the anode treasure (easy)
10. Attack the Titan Dweevil! (easy)
11. Carry back the treasures (requires 30 Pikmin)
NOTE: The reason you want to take the yellow Pikmin, is because you can call the Pikmin from everything except for anode. Pikmin instantly die from that, but yellows don't >:)
NOTE2: when someone uses poison fire or water, run around the edge of the bowl, and no matter what, keep whistling, for some reason it helps.

5. Legal Stuff
This is an Epinions.com exclusive, if mentioning of this article occurs or other hints are mentioned from this article, please give credit to psyko7 or ask permission from jargenjoy@yahoo.com.
characters= 2 additional pikmin=2 there's enough 2 to go around=PIKMIN 2 is protected by © so yeah.