August 30^th, 2004 (12:00am) - With their heads sporting leaves, buds and flowers, the alien Pikmin might be mistaken for garden plants. But this is one hyperactive garden club. A single whistle mobilizes a multitude of Pikmin to gather treasure, fight enemies and solve puzzles.

The only place these tiny, hard-working creatures can be found is in Pikmin 2, a unique video game made only for GameCube that launches today. In this mass-strategy sequel, Captain Olimar and his assistant, Louie, must find valuable objects to save their company from bankruptcy. They enlist hordes of Pikmin to help.

"With a new character to control and new kinds of Pikmin, players will experience twice the action in this one-of-a-kind adventure," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "The inclusion of brand-name products, a first for Nintendo, means players will find unique value in the familiar items they uncover through the game."

Pikmin 2 improves on the original in every way. Players can switch control between Olimar and Louie to expand the action and find new ways to solve puzzles. They also will encounter two new types of Pikmin: powerful purple and poisonous white.

Unlike the first version, the game has no time limits, so players can fully explore the world of the Pikmin at their own pace. Time even stops when players enter the new cave environments, but the underground areas offer their own tactical challenges: Players can’t grow new Pikmin there, so they must marshal their forces strategically to fight the various enemies. Pikmin 2 has a new split-screen battle mode that lets two players compete to see which of the Pikmin armies has the most skillful commander.