Summary One of Gamecube's Best

Pros: The game is very addicting, with alot to do and this time, an infinite amount of time to do it. The game does require a lot of skill to complete, but it isn't so hard you quit playing it. Collecting treasure, and creating vast armies of Pikmin is always fun, and the game's graphics and controls are some of the best I've seen.
Cons: Not hardley anything... Some sounds are slightly annoying, and the music isn't perfect. Losing a large amount of Pikmin of course can be frustrating but it's your own fault if you do.

Reviewer's Comments

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS GAME:
I have got all pink flowers in challenge mode (lost no pikmin) twice, I have created a total of over 25,000 Pikmin, I have completed the game 100% twice, earning over 30,000 Pokos each time and over 100 ultra-bitter sprays, and ultra-spicey sprays. In other words I'm a pro at this game.

Graphics:
Smooth edges and a good amount of detail contribute to the fact that overall this game has pretty good graphics. The lighting is another graphics feature which excels most other games, as the day becomes night during your adventures. Although certainly not Gamecube's best, they're still exceptionally good.
Rating: 8

Controls:
The controls are logical and usually pretty easy to use even for a beginner although aiming requires a bit more skill. The camera in this game is basically perfect; you can change it so it's behind you (enabling quick camera rotation), you can zoom it in or out, you can get an areil veiw to see things not easilly seen before, and you can also switch to a ground-centered veiw to see long distances ahead of you.
Rating: 9

World:
In Pikmin 2 there are four worlds(the last becomes available once you repay the debt) you can explore each with there own sets of deep, complex underground caves. The first level is a wintery environment, the second, spring, third, summer, and fourth, fall. Though the four worlds themselves aren't exactly huge, the caves greatly increase the vastness of Pikmin 2's world. The caves and areas are all quite different offering a fresh experience each time.
Rating: 8

Personal Skill/Difficulty:
Pikmin 2 isn't an easy game. Several caves and situations can be quite challenging. Although defeating enemies has alot to do with rapidly chucking purple pikmin onto them, and using freeze and hyper potions, there are many other techniques which when mastered, can effect the chances of successfully defeating an enemy. Knowing when to call them back, how to use enemies against eachother, leading bulborbs into traps, aiming your Pikmin correctly, ect. are all marks of a skilled Pikmin player. Though the puzzles aren't so bad, they too require intelligence, and skill to master.
Intuition can also play a major role in success in this game. You'll need to know when you've been beat and when it's time to change strategies. The A.I. isn't very impressive, but that doesn't mean the game isn't exceptinally challenging.
Rating: 8

Combat:
Like I just said, there are many techniques you can master to fight better. Different techniques and tactics for different situations or enemy types. No matter how you do it, the game's combat is usually very fun (especially when you're fighting several enemies at once) and requires a good amount of skill.
Rating: 8

Items:
Pikmin 2 has quite a few items that can be used to enhance your abilities aswell as potions to aid you in battle. The abillity items can be found by defeating bosses. Although there's not a lot of collectable upgrades all-around the items are all unique and important.
Rating: 8

Sound and Music:
Unfortunately not one of the game's better elements. A few sounds are rather annoying and the music is rather strange and dull. The music changes to a remix when combating enemies which is pretty cool. You can almost use it as a radar to tell if there's an enemy near by that's hidden. The sounds and music are high quality and sound proffessionally made so it's not that bad.
Rating: 7

The Point of the Game/Story:
Basically there are several big objectives which you complete one after another, each with it's own story. They do flow together nicely though, and going from one objective to the next offers a fresh experience and makes it more fun to advance. The first point of the game, what you're trying to do, is to repay the 10,000 Pokos debt with Luie's help. After that, without giving too much away, you must return to find and rescue a trapped friend, and finally collect all the treasure although really storywise, saving your friend is the end. Then of course you can gather more Pikmin, get a bit more pokos, and complete challenge mode to unlock the game's final cutscene. Although the story is rather shallow and simple, it does a good job of explaining the what, where's, and why's of your next objective.
Rating: 7.5

Gameplay:
There's plenty to do and really it doesn't get very boring very fast. There's alot to learn at first which keeps you excited, and plenty to do once you've mastered how to complete your tasks. This time, there's no time limit so you can go through the game at your own pace although even a pro going through very fast usually takes about 14 hours (that's how long it took me) to complete all your objectives. With a nice length, fresh experiences along the way, plenty of techniques to learn, and all the time you want to complete them, Pikmin 2 generally gives an excellent gaming experience you'll want to have over and over again.
Rating: 8.5

Replay:
As I mentioned before, there's plenty to do once you've completed the game. Create Pikmin, earn additional pokos, stock up on potions ect. Really you can return to anything you want whenever you want with plenty to do when you have. The replay couldn't be better.
Rating: 10

Overall Rating: About 8.5.