Nintendo has announced the release dates for the first games in its New Play Control range. Pikmin is the first game to arrive on 6 February and Mario Power Tennis will be released a month later on 6 March.
Both games are part of Nintendo's New Play Control range which sees GameCube classics being released on Wii. The games have been tweaked to make them compatible with the Wii controllers so you'll be pointing and selecting with the Remote in Pikmin and waving your Remote to hit the ball in Mario Power Tennis.
Pikmin has you playing as Captain Olimar, a spaceman who has crash-landed on a planet inhabited by little flower creatures called Pikmin. With their help you can rebuild your spaceship within 30 days.
Each type of Pikmin has unique strengths, which Olimar must use to his advantage. Red Pikmin can withstand high temperatures, blue Pikmin can survive in water, while yellow Pikmin can destroy obstacles by using bomb-rocks. Players can control 100 Pikmin at any one time and you can select them with the Wii Remote.
Also, the new version of the game has an updated save mechanism which allows you to restart play from any day you please.
As for Mario Power Tennis, you'll be using your Wii Remote to play backhands, smashes and power shots on themed courts. There is plenty of Mario madness going on as the Tournament mode has you playing on regular courts and Gimmick courts such as the Luigi's Mansion arena where you have to scare away ghosts.
There are also some mini-games to play. Artist On The Court lobs special paintballs at you and challenges you to knock them onto the appropriate areas of an uncoloured picture. In Terror Tennis, you have to hit balls at moving ghosts.
That's all for now but there will be more New Play Control games on the way including Pikmin 2 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.
