There were two things I did not expect from Pikmin. First, I didn't think playing an RTS with a controller would be a viable option. Second, I didn't expect I would ever enjoy doing it. I'm glad I was proven wrong on both counts.

Pikmin follows a spaceman who crashes on an alien planet (presumably a future Earth) and has thirty days to recover thirty missing pieces of his spaceship and return home. To accomplish this task, the player is given control of these tiny, omnivorous, plant-based monsters called Pikmin.

The Pikmin come in three varieties, each with unique abilities and weaknesses. They are loosely classified as grunts, specialists, and marines.

Finding all of the scattered ship pieces requires using the Pikmin's abilities to overcome enemies and puzzles and then carry the parts back to your ship. The gameplay loop is simplistic but fun and rewarding. However, it appeared that most parts only had one way to collect them. I can't see a lot of replay value here unless you really like beating your previous score.

The one area that I found lacking was the interface. It's tough to figure out where you are aiming your Pikmin (you often have to throw them), and getting them to hit things in the air presents an unnecessary challenge.

If you're a fan of RTS games or drafting tiny monsters into a colourful army bent on becoming the apex predator species, you cannot go wrong with Pikmin.