Game review: Pikmin 2

I finished playing "Pikmin 2" last night.

You're a pilot for a interstellar shipping company. In the first Pikmin game you crashed on a strange planet (Earth). On this planet there are creatures that you dub Pikmin. They seem to be part plant and part animal. They grow from seeds and continue to develop more the longer you leave them in the ground. When you pick them they follow you around and follow your instructions.

You gain more Pikmin by having Pikmin haule numbered pills or the bodies of vanquished foes back to their ships. The ships release seeds that grow into more Pikmin.

In the first game you have 30 days to recover the 30 parts of your ship that went missing when you crashed. After 30 days your life support fails and you die.

In the second game we find out that while you were missing a co-worker had his cargo eaten by giant space bunnies. The boss took out a loan to pay for the lost cargo and then had to sell your ship to pay off part of the debt. You and the idiot co-worker have to return to the planet of the Pikmin in his beaten up old ship to find treasure to pay off the debt. There is no time limit.

There are 3 basic types of Pikmin. Red ones can survive being set on fire. Blue ones can survive under water. Yellow ones can carry explosives in the first game and survive electricity in the second. Yellow ones also weigh less so you can throw them higher.
The second game introduces limited numbers of two more types. White ones can breathe poisoned gas. Purple ones have the strength and weight of 10 normal Pikmin.

The second game also has combat mode. You and someone else control different armies of Pikmin. You have to collect 4 yellow marbles or the marble located under your opponent's ship.

This game is acceptable for all ages.
It's designed to play on the Nintendo GameCube but also plays on the Nintendo Wii.
A third Pikmin game is in development and I probably will buy it.
The first two Pikmin games are hard to find since most people who buy them don't want to trade in their used copies.