Pikmin 3 review

[dataDave]

My wife is hooked on the challenge modes. I can't get on to finish my first play through.

[parkinho]

Story mode finished - 34 days, 43 fruit, and a whopping 1168 Pikmin sacrificed! What a delightful game, already looking forward to my 2nd run where I intend to go for all the fruit and data files. Oh and hopefully with fewer casualties!

W101 in a couple of weeks - hopefully another WiiU title that delivers an outstanding experience

[dataDave]

30 days, just under half the fruit, and around 400 deaths.

On to my second play through. Only just got the hang of the multi-tasking towards the end there, where it was pretty much forced.

Anyway, after watching my wife hammer the first collectathon challenge for hours I was scrutinising her play and managed to come out with this myself after a couple of attempts:



Come on then dickheads! Let's have it!

[Adam Stone]

Ah I can't see the image! What's the damage? I'm up for a challenge!

[dataDave]

3580. 41secs were remaining iirc.

By no means a perfect run.

[VR46]

Is about 500 points more than I've got, sure I saw a Youtube video where a guy scored about 6700 points though sadly. That does sound a touch high mind you.

[MarioMark]

Really enjoyed this, not bad to say I wasn't gonna bother with it because I never fully finished Pikmin 2.

It's been ages since I've played a game non stop like this and the family loved watching me play too.
I've gone back a previous day so I can get all the fruit before I kill the last boss again.

[dataDave]

You should try the challenges now then. Even my wife is hooked, and that NEVER happens.

[Charlie]

This is a beautiful game. I always felt that Pikmin, more than any other Nintendo franchise, had the most to gain by going HD, and it looks absolutely stunning. The flowers, the insects, the rivers and trees: wandering through the world is an enchanting experience and, like all Nintendo's best games, brings out the curiosity, the wonder and the child in me. Not very far into the game yet (day 4 I think) but some of the effects are lovely and the only boss I've seen was very impressive and imposing.

It doesn't seem as experimental as Pikmin 2, which is a shame as Pikmin 2 really upped the creativity, and seems to have much more in common with the original. But that's okay.

What's not so okay is Nintendo's decision to remove the zoom and angle controls for the camera. The game looks absolutely gorgeous, better than ever, but we can't zoom in on the little fellas up close or switch to an overhead view. It's a strange decision. Especially as it effects the gameplay too. I lost a load of pikmin fighting the boss because I didn't have complete control over the camera. Dislike that you can't manually sweep the Pikmin anymore either. It was a handy function when you wanted barriers removed or objects moved, now you have to use the lock on feature which is slower and fiddlier.

Disappointed there's no 5.1 sound too. This is arguably Nintendo's biggest Wii U release yet and they can't even be bothered putting in full surround? That's f*cking lazy. I think it's 4.0 sound - so no centre or LFE channel, and while it sounds okay, you do notice the 'hole' in the sound and the audio consequently lacks weight and dynamism. It's a pity as some of the music is delightful. Typical of Nintendo these days really, they give with one hand but take with the other.

Anyway, stuipid oversights and strange decisions aside, it's still a lovely little game and I'm enjoying it.

[Adam Stone]

I recommend using the gamepad - camera function. That allows you to view the game from a first person perspective so you truly can get up close to the little critters

[Charlie]

I've used the camera function and it's a nifty feature, but I don't use the gamepad for any game unless it's absolutely necessary. After extended use, analogues sticks wear out, get loose, the accuracy wanes, and I don't want that happening with the Wii U gamepad when they cost ?100 to replace. Also I find the gamepad rather heavy to comfortably hold for long periods.

I mainly use the pro controller and occasionally switch to the Wii remote/nunchuck when I need a touch more precision. But where as using the camera with the wiimote worked great in the Wii version of Pikmin, they changed and ruined it on Pikmin 3. Another great decision by Nintendo.

[kryss]

66/66 fruit collected and completed in 14h59m for my first run. Now to get into the challenge mode levels!

[Pikate]

66/66 and completed with 0 Pikmin sacrificed for my first run. With retrospect I probably wasted too much time farming Pikmin when really I just needed 50 of each variety. Looking forward to getting into the Challenges now.

This really is a beautiful and enjoyable game, I'm not sure I was as charmed as I was by the earlier games though. It's little touches like collecting fruit isn't as fun as collecting Duracell batteries, 7up bottle caps and Nintendo relics, etc. Also I remember Olimar and the S.S. Dolphin being more characterful and endearing than their Pikmin 3 counterparts.

As a game it didn't feel like the leap forward I was expecting it to be either, I couldn't get into the Wii U Gamepad's analogue stick controls so quickly reverted to the more intuitive Wii Remote and Nunchuk, that may just be because I only played the earlier games in their "New Play Control" incarnations, never the Gamecube originals of course. A solid 8 out of 10 for me though...

[EvilBoris]

The control stick control scheme was much harder than the Gamecube originals, It felt to me like this version was meant to be played with the Wii Remote anyway.

[VR46]

First lot of DLC hits today, brief details

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/431729/pikmin-3-to-get-new-paid-dlc-missions/