Pikmin 3 - Wii U

Incredibly, it's been 11 years since Captain Olimar first plucked a ruby red Pikmin from the soil of an alien planet and embarked on a quest to find the missing parts of his ruined ship, the S.S Dolphin on the GameCube.
    The brainchild of Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto subsequently spawned a sequel which catapulted the cult classic through the arboretum into mainstream consciousness.
    Evidence of the game's growing appeal can be found by merely glancing at Nintendo's work over recent years. Transferring data from the Wii to the Wii U was anything but a slog thanks to a wonderful animation sequence involving the plant-like Pikmin. Olimar and some of his Pikmin chums are coming to the next Smash Bros game, they made an appearance in Wii U launch title Nintendo Land and nabbing a Pikmin hat in Animal Crossing: New Leaf always brings a smile.
    Now, Pikmin 3 has landed on Wii U, bringing the much-loved series into the high definition era for the first time and with it, a whole heap of expectations from a  Wii U audience starved of first-party Nintendo titles.
    The people of Koppai are running out of food and decide to launch a trio of intrepid explorers - Captain Charlie, Alph and Brittany - into the vast vacuum of space on board the SS Drake to search for vittles to feed their dying planet.
    However, a near disaster while entering a suitable planet's atmosphere scatters the three astronauts and so begins the latest entry in the Pikmin series.

Pikmin 3's gameplay isn't a radical departure to what has gone before - it's still an action/strategy hybrid, where your chosen astronaut romps about beautiful environments, recruiting an army of Pikmin followers to bash through obstacles and drag fruit and assorted trinkets back to the safety of the spacecraft before night descends.
    Once darkness falls, nocturnal creatures emerge, chomping down any Pikmin that have been accidentally been left behind. It can be stress-inducing as the sun sets and you frantically leg it towards safety before suddenly realising you've left a handful of your colourful charges out in the wild.
    However, despite the grim outcome once dusk settles over the land, there's no rush to accomplish tasks and the player is free to get their hands dirty rooting around in flower beds and snuffling out new paths to their heart's content - as long as there is enough fruit juice on board the SS Drake to keep the pint-sized space explorers sustained.
    Fruit that was hastily abandoned in the rush to get to safety the night before is still there the next morning and by taking things at a more relaxed pace, you learn to appreciate the work Nintendo has put into crafting this delightful world.
    The Pikmin come in various flavours, each type having its own strengths and weaknesses and choosing how best to deploy them around the luscious gameworld lies at the heart of the Pikmin experience. Red Pikmin, for example are fire resistant, while the yellow blighters conduct electricity, while rock Pikmin are a dab hand at smashing through glass barriers.
Squads can be split, put into groups and divided among the three explorers and this focus on team work becomes vital as you progress through the game.
    Controlling your Pikmin army and flipping between sets is easily handled but despite Nintendo's best efforts to integrate the Wii U's controller, the old Wiimote and nunchuk system works so much better than playing solely on the pad.
Controlling via the Wii U's controller is a fiddly and frustrating business and it jars when compared to the fluid  motion sensing control option. It's something of a missed opportunity and the Wii U pad is quickly cast aside, only ever glanced at occasionally when you need to check a map of the level. Its one saving grace is that the pad can be used to take pictures which can then be uploaded on to Miiverse for the world to see.

    The to HD has had a striking effect and while I've never been one to get overly excited about visuals, seeing the Pikmin world in full, colourful, eye-popping HD really is quite an experience. Every new piece of collected fruit can be rotated and gawped at and it can be a mouth-watering experience, while Nintendo prove once again that when it comes to water effects, they are the best in the business.
    Sound design also stands out and helps give Pikmin 3 its quirky atmosphere. The off-kilter soundtrack plinks and plonks beautifully in the background, while the main characters chirrup away to each other in a garbled tongue in a similar style to characters in Skip Ltd and Punchline's games such as Chibi-Robo, Chulip and Giftpia.
    Aside from the main story mode, there are two others to dive into: Mission and Bingo Battle. Mission is split into three activities: Collect Treasure, Battle Enemies and Defeat Bosses. These are wonderful little timed excursions and can be played either solo or with a friend.
    Bingo Battle is Nintendo at its best and involves a head-to-head competition where players are tasked with finding specific fruit and enemies to complete a line on a bingo card. It's a riot, with players scampering desperately around the level in a bid to outdo their opponent. It's a simple idea, but Nintendo execute it brilliantly and is a mode which will keep everyone laughing and shouting long into the night.
     When it comes to first-party titles, Nintendo are hard to beat. Their core titles are consistently good across all platforms and Pikmin 3 illustrates this perfectly. It might not be radically different to previous games but the Japanese giant have carved out a slice of delightful entertainment which shouldn't go unnoticed. Wonderful and uplifting, Pikmin 3 is a gem.

Overlord II - 360/PS3

With its tongue firmly in its cheek, the original Overlord proved to be a highly enjoyable romp through the darker side of the fantasy genre. This sequel is a much more polished take on the series, but it's not without its flaws.

Overlord's main inspiration comes from Shigeru Miyamoto's Pikmin series, but rather than controlling spacemen and strange plants, Overlord instead features a horde of cackling minions to do your bidding.

These Gremlin-looking bundles of evil come in four varieties, each one specialising in a particular trait. At first you start out only able to summon Brown minions, who are good all-round fighters. As you progress, you’ll gain access to Reds, who can used ranged fire attacks, Greens can sneak and do stealth-based damage, while the Blues can cross bodies of water and heal others.

Each particular type of minion is introduced individually, giving the player ample opportunity to get used to their nuances. However, once all four have been unlocked, a fair amount of strategy comes into play to get through the levels.

While the original game was set in the heart of a whimsical Tolkien-like world, with lots of fat halflings to kill, Overlord II is set in the realm of the Roman Empire.

While Terry Pratchett-inspired fantasy staples are scattered throughout - including peace-loving elves - the Overlord and his grinning monstrosities can often feel out of place taking on Roman garrisons.

However, at least the Romans prove to be a stiff challenge with their battle formations. Wading into these organised ranks is usually a bad idea, so careful though must be given on where to position your army - Placing fire-throwing reds on an overhanging ledge, while your browns wade into battle is a particularly effective early strategy.

Sweeping your army through ranks of Roman soldiers and plundering their gold is at the heart of the game, and controlling them is familiar ground for old hands.

The right stick is used to guide your army to its target, while the left stick controls the Overlord. Much like the original, this set-up takes a bit of getting used to, and sweeping your army around isn't the smoothest of operations - minions can disappear from view, and sometimes disaster will strike as you accidentally lead them into water.

A much easier way of controlling your mob is to fire them directly at their target, but there are times when you have no choice but to use the right stick.

Although a mini-map has thankfully been included this time - it was sadly lacking in the original 360 version - there is still a general lack of signposting. Not knowing what to do or where to go next is a problem which creeps in occasionally.

When not running riot through scores of enemies, there is plenty of scope to customise your experience.

Back in your tower of evil, new weapons can be forged, spells learned and minions upgraded - you can even redecorate the tower to suit your mistresses tastes! The game also keeps track of your individual army members, and even if your favourite dies in battle, he can be resurrected back at base.

Overlord II is a sizable, great looking, and enjoyable adventure, but there are several frustrating annoyances that really should have been ironed out. It's not a radical departure from the first game, but there's just enough here to tempt people back to the dark side.

Little King's Story - Wii

From its thrilling classical score and delicious chalk drawing cutscenes, to its cast of charming characters, garbled narrative and sparkling visuals, Little King's Story is a majestic triumph from the team at CiNG and Rising Star Games.

It clearly takes elements from Nintendo's much-loved Pikmin franchise, but weaves them together with a broad range of its own fanciful ideas to create one of the best games I've played this side of Mario Galaxy.

You play the part of a young boy named Corobo, a lad who accidentally stumbles across a fabled golden crown while out in the woods. Placing the crown on his head, Corobo is transformed into the king of the land of Alpoko - a sleepy, ramshackle kingdom, inhabited by layabouts and loafers.

Taking advice from the marvelous mustachioed Howser the Bull Knight, you set out to transform Alpoko into a bustling, wealthy and all-conquering kingdom.

Starting out by recruiting townsfolk to search for treasure to build the nation's barracks and farmhouses, the seeds of your kingdom are sewn. What follows is an engrossing, slow-burning romp that encompasses global conquest, genocide, religion, epic battles, exploration and expansion...not forgetting the rescuing of fair maidens - all wrapped up in mouth-watering cutesy visuals which belie the game's darker themes.

Initially you can only command five people to explore the pastoral landscapes, with your small army of subjects diligently snaking conga-like behind the pint-sized king. As your expand your horizons new jobs and the ability to command more people becomes available, and each of your citizens can be transformed from skivers into worthwhile members of your fledgling realm. Soldiers, farmers, carpenters, lumberjacks, hunters and miners are just some of the noble professions awaiting your loyal subjects.

Each job class is essential to make progress, and weighing up what mix of characters to take with you on a particular mission requires careful thought. After all, there's nothing worse than celebrating a famous victory, only to find the way across the river is blocked as you didn't bring a carpenter to build a bridge.

Control is via the Wiimote and nunchuck, although the game completely eschews motion control. This is somewhat surprising considering how well it was implemented in the recent Pikmin ports on Wii, but it's not a huge issue. Pressing down on the d-pad cycles through the character classes, while pressing the 'A' button sends your chosen class into the task at hand.

Order a soldier to investigate a hole in the ground, and they'll simply take a peep down into the inky depths before scuttling back to your side. Send a farmer to take a look, and they'll excitedly dive in to unearth whatever treasure lies beneath. However, sending farmers and carpenters in to do battle with an army of angry cows will result in a massacre.

And you will definitely want to keep your individually named subjects free from harm. If a character dies, they can be resurrected, but it is not guaranteed, so learning to look after your army of chums is of paramount importance...unless, of course, you want to see you citizens in floods of tears.

Little King's Story might fool you into thinking the experience will be on the short side, but it's a huge adventure. Only when you reach roughly the four hour mark does the game truly reveal the gargantuan task ahead. New kingdoms waiting to be conquered litter the map, and what awaits are some of the most thrilling hours you will spend with your Wii.

Little King's story delights at throwing new experiences at you at every turn, and features a truly memorable cast of outrageous and colourful characters who are guaranteed to raise a rye smile. The experience is enhanced by wonderful art direction, outstanding stylised cutscenes, gorgeous lighting effects and a full day/night cycle - although no 480p support, unfortunately.

The game is packed with glorious little touches, and just watching your citizens go about their business is a captivating experience. They go to church and huddle together in conversation and when carpenters aren't busy, they spread out a picnic rug and have a smoke!

And there's more - people leave messages for you in the Suggestion Box most mornings, letting you know how well - or badly - you are running the country, citizens fall in love, get married, have kids, while at every turn, there seems to be something new to buy for your ever expanding whimsical empire. From small huts to flower shops and shopping centres, Little King's Story doesn't hold back in delivering new sights to keep you playing.

It is one of the most beautiful, charming and compelling games I have played in years. This is a game that should have TV advertising behind it, as it deserves to sell millions. Magnificent.