Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Pikmin 3

It's been a long wait, but it's finally happened! Pikmin 3 has finally been announced for the Wii U!

Platform: Wii U
Genre: Mass-Action Strategy
Players: 1
Rating: RP
Release: Launch Window

Pikmin 3 is the long awaited sequel to the Gamecube titles Pikmin and Pikmin 2 in which you commanded strange little creatures to help you survive on an alien planet and collect treasure. Each Pikmin has their own unique abilities which the players had to master if they wanted to be able to make it through the game. While Red Pikmins could survive intense heat, Blue Pikmin could swim, Yellow Pikmin were lighter so they could be thrown farther, Purple Pikmin were heavy and could carry 10 times more weight, and White Pikmin could survive poison; in Pikmin 3 a brand new Pikmin enters the line up. The Rock Pikmin.

Although Rock Pikmin are heavy like the Purple, their main ability is the ability to break objects. Just like you would expect, when players throw Rock Pikmin at other objects they can actually destroy them. Although it hasn't been stated what other uses the Rock Pikmin will have, it has been shown that they can be used to break down walls, and even to break armor off of armored bosses.

Besides the Rock Pikmin, Pikmin 3 also features quite a few other new features. Like in Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3 will feature a type of character swap system which allows you to command more than one character each with their own group of Pikmin; however this feature has greatly been expanded from Pikmin 2. Now instead of being able to control two different characters, players will now be able to command four! By using the Wii U controller, players will be able to track all four groups of Pikmin in real time, as well as freely switch in between them. Although you can still play with the nunchuk and Wii remote for a "classic" style of gameplay, this new map feature will allow you to easily manage your units like in most standard real time strategy games, and it makes switching between groups fast and easy.

Nintendo has also announced that Pikmin 3 will in fact included a challenge mode, which was last seen in Pikmin 2, as well as a replay feature which allows you to review each of your runs, and figure out a new strategy for the next time you enter that said area.

Besides the core gameplay changes, Pikmin 3 also features enhanced graphics. In Pikmin 3 each Pikmin has been updated to have more realistic "ant-like" movements which really adds to the realism of the game. As Pikmin walk along their bodies move like a little bug, they struggle to carry heavy objects, they each will carry objects in different ways, they'll drag objects along to build a bridge, and move through the world in their own unique ways. Thanks to the Wii U's advance hardware, each Pikmin can now stand on their own as a individual, and not be a marching band.

The world in general has been updated to be much more realistic. Walls now crumble when being destroyed, plants move with the wind, water will ripple as each creature/Pikmin moves through it, and objects will act more natural. Leafs are leafs, rocks are rocks, and food is food. The only way you can get something "more natural" this, is if you go outside and look at your back yard with a magnifying glass. Don't expect to see anything too exciting though!

In the end, Pikmin 3 looks great! The world feels alive and natural, the four character system is nice, the new Rock Pikmin is a very much welcomed addition, and the new fast and easy controls really help out the gameplay! From aiming with the Wii Remote, to quickly switching between characters, everything is fast and easy!

Well it's been a long wait, but it's finally almost over! So please stay tuned for updates!