This one improves on the first one and surpasses it in many ways. It's one great game.
The game picks up where the last one left off. Olimar comes home to find Olimar's company in bankruptcy. Debt collators take the companies ship, the S.S. Dolphin, and Olimar's bottle cap souvenir. Olimar's boss forces you and a new guy, Louie, to head back to the Pikmin world, in a beat up talking ship, and get enough money to pay off the debt, which is 10,000 Pokos. I like to call this game Pikmin 2: The Search For More Money. Sadly Olimar and Louie get separated when landing and Olimar has to go find him. You meet up with a red Pikmin and then your treasure hunting begins. The story of the game evolves through a mail system, in which the boss and Olimar's wife and kid can tell you thing that are happening at the end of the day. And after you pay off said debt, something bad happens (I won't say) and Olimar and the boss head back to the Pikmin world.
The game plays a lot like the first one did. You move different colored Pikmin around to do your bidding. What's new is you can use two people to command your Pikmin so you don't have as much running to do. Also, now there are caves. In these caves you can find different treasures and enemies as well as special flowers that turn you Pikmin into a different color. These flowers include purple and white Pikmin. Purples are ten times as strong as a normal one, but are slow. White Pikmin can withstand poison and can see treasures that are under the ground. The yellow ones have even changed what they do. Before they could throw bombs, but now they are not effected by electricity.
The length of the game depends on how you play. If you like to build up your army of Pikmin and plan out your every step, then you might be taking a few days to just do that and get the new berries. These berries can be turned into one of two sprays. The first one is red and, when used, will increase your Pikmin's speed and attack for a short time. The purple one will turn enemies into stone for a short time. If you like to run through and get all the treasures you can at one time, that's cool too, but you might have a few problems down the road. Each treasure is different in how you get it. Sometimes you will need to take a whole day to just get ready to get one. Other times you can get five at once. With 201 treasures to get in all you might be spending so time in the game.
Now you don't only have to spend time playing in the main game, you now can duke it out with a friend to see who really is the Pikmin Master in a 2-Player Battle Mode. There are many maps to pick from, ten in all, and each one is different in its own way. And if that's not enough, there's also a Challenge Mode that tests your ability to think on your feet in 30 different challenges that limit you on time.
Sound for this game are much like the last one. Mostly there's just the back round music, but the Pikmin make sounds, you have a whistle that makes a tune, the ship makes an annoying sound every time it wants to yell at Olimar or tell you something you more then likely already know and things like that. Over all the sounds are great for a Pikmin game, everything but that ship.
Graphically the game is also a lot like the first, but also different as well. The landscape is filled with details everywhere and in some cases it's the little details that you need to look for or at to find different things. Everything is also very colorful and fit the season that is represented in that level. You have four levels after you clear your debt, so each one gets a season. There has been a bit of an upgrade from the last one, and it makes it look nicer.
Overall, this game is not only for anyone who loves RTSs and the first game, but anyone who loves a good challenge and for those who want a great game.
Pros:
+Unlimited time.
+New modes.
+The new Pikmin types.
Cons:
- The ship that loves to yell at Olimar.
Game Play: 9.0
Graphics: 9.0
Sounds: 8.0
Story: 9.0
Replay Value: 9.0
Fun Level: 9.0
Overall: 9.2