Pikmin 2 - Flowery Fresh Screenshots

More arrivals from new screenshot land, this time from Shigeru Miyamoto's uber-lovable Pikmin sequel.

Check out these latest screens from Pikmin 2, the sequel that's sure to further improve on one of GameCube's best titles to date. Can you save all the Pikmin again? Only if you solve sophisticated puzzles, use sharpened skills and everything goes according to plan!

Captain Olimar has returned to marshal new colours of Pikmin in a wild, open-ended adventure - and this time, he's brought an assistant. The company he works for is going bankrupt and, to save it, Olimar has come to salvage the treasure buried below the surface of the planet. His company's debt is a whopping 10,000 Pokos. Luckily, his trusty assistant has joined him, so if the two of them can delegate their work well, they should be able to repay the company's debts in no time. Of course, they'll need the help of the Pikmin to do that, since these two can't accomplish anything by themselves!

Well that's how the wild storyline goes, but there's more to Pikmin 2 than the dreaming of Kyoto's most imaginative folks.

You'll be able to alternate between controlling Olimar, the main characters, and his assistant, as you command your Pikmin to defeat enemies, propagate more Pikmin, collect precious doodads, and solve puzzles.

A key part of the game will be to take advantage of new colours of Pikmin and use new items strategically - with more than 60 different species of enemy characters and randomly generated dungeons that span the planet, the game features even more game play than the original.

You'll need to command red, blue and yellow Pikmin, as they all make a return, each with special abilities, like water resistance, bomb-carrying skills and invulnerability to fire. Watch for new Pikmin colours to make their debut, and their special skills become integral, as you battle your way toward the valuable doodads strewn across the planet.

And most intriguingly of all, "brand new game play possibilities" are opened up with the cooperative, split-screen two-player mode. Stay tuned for more as we approach the game's release in May (with a June European release to follow, apparently).

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com