When I heard that a sequel to Pikmin was coming out, I was very excited. I had played the original Pikmin a bit, but I was disappointed in the time limit. Now, the time limit has been abolished and a few new things have been added to the game.

The basic story of the game, as you probably know is that Captain Olimar comes home to planet Hocotate after being stranded on planet Pikmin. When he gets there, he discovers that a bumbling new employee named Louie has lost a shipment of PikPik carrots to a killer space bunny and put Olimar's company, Hocotate Freight 10,000 pokos($) in the red. To pay back this debt, Olimar's employer sends him and Louie on a mission back to planet Pikmin to collect junk that they can sell to pay off their debt.

All hail the Duracell…

Controlling your pikmin in this game is almost identical to the first game; except for now you have 2 captains at your disposal. You can use the Y button to switch between them. This is useful only if you want it to be, and if you don't want to have to worry about 2 groups of pikmin, you can complete the entire game without ever touching Louie. As far as actually using the 2 captains, I think it's a great feature because you can leave most of your pikmin with Louie, while a group of red ones goes with Olimar to remove fiery obstacles.

Somehow, this game has managed to suck me into 6 hours of straight "Pikmining." The little fellows just put you in a trance. Their little screams and squeals keep you playing long after you know you should stop. They also drive you insane with their absent-minded humming when they've lost their way. Of course, what can you expect from little possessed plants? The really scary part is when you get into a tight situation and realize that your well-being depends entirely on these little, ADD-ridden plants.

The addition of purple and white pikmin certainly adds a new flavor of Gameplay as well. The sumo wrestling purple pikmin are ten times as strong as the other pikmin, and the albino white pikmin have x-ray vision and are immune to poison. In addition to being immune to poison, white pikmin are also poisonous. It's always fun to feed an enemy 5 times your size a white pikmin and watch it instantly keel over dead.

Another new feature is the 2 player Gameplay. You can play capture the flag with a friend, attacking their pikmin with yours. You can even attack them directly! I always wanted to see one of the captains get beat up by a bunch of Pikmin.

They have also added a "Challenge Mode" that unlocks when you are 50% through the game. This is basically a cave with a time limit in which you must find the key on each level and get out within the time. This is a one or two player endeavor that adds another dimension to the replay value of the game. Nintendo sure has learned about the replay value of games they make.

"Louie, what did you do with the salt?"

The graphics in this game are an engineering feat. If you think about it, at any given time there can be up to 100 pikmin, 20 enemies, and countless particle effects all coexisting and running smoothly without a hitch. When you walk by a dandelion, the little seeds float down from it. The particle effects look great, but you may notice that the textures look a little grainy from close up. You didn't get Pikmin for the graphics anyway, right?

The sound is a little less than what I expected. You pretty much hear the pikmin and your "treasure meter" most of the time. The treasure meter is quite annoying because it is like a radar and continually "pings" at you. The pikmin hum this little five-note song when you're in caves, which can get slightly annoying after a while as well. The music is nothing to write home about, but it is basically simple midi music that can get catchy if you're not careful.

This is a very short game, but it is still considerably longer than the original Pikmin. I think the average person could finish this game in 15 hours or less. It might take an eight-year-old 20 hours. The game isn't remarkably complicated, but it certainly is fun.

Overall, this game is one for the ages. It tops its predecessor by a landslide. The sound may be a little lackluster, and the concept is simple, but that won't matter once you are immersed in this great game. Congratulations to Nintendo on another great hit.