It's time to go to bed now...
This overwhelming aspect of Viva Piñata sometimes led to frustration, but only because I ended up caring so much about the welfare of my piñatas and the garden that I had so carefully constructed. It’s disappointing when you see one of the sour piñatas kill one of the creatures that you’ve worked so hard to attract, because you were tied up tending to the Squazzil’s needs, but Rare have done a superb job at creating the empathy that you feel with these creatures and ultimately delivering a game where you end up caring about such trivial matters.
There are some minor annoyances in Viva Piñata. The control system allows you to direct any piñata to any point in the garden in order to breed with another creature or to send them to eat a piece of food, but on occasions they don’t react and you have to go backwards and forwards to make them respond. By far the biggest irritation is the mini-game that is triggered when you breed two piñatas. The game involves navigating a maze, collecting coins and gets extremely repetitive. It may be challenging for kids, but for adults it’s an unnecessary nuisance.
Click for larger imageVia Xbox live you can send pack parcels full of goods from your garden and send then as presents your friends. Apparently Rare will be releasing an update that will also allow co-operative play over Xbox live.
Click for larger imageViva Piñata is a game that seduces you with its cuteness and vibrant living breathing world. The gameplay is inventive and deep enough to draw you right in and charm you into sticking around and the challenge of attracting that Sweet Tooth (beaver) or Doenut (Deer) that hovers around the outskirts of your garden is far too tempting to reject. If you haven’t guessed already, I love Viva Piñata!
Pros
Inventive addictive gameplay
Loads of rewards
Challenging
Those piñatas are just so cute.
Cons
Pinatas don't always move when you tell them to
Mini-games are boring and easy
Can be overwhelming.
Fresh, inventive and colourful. Viva Pinata is more addictive than fizzy cola bottles.
HEXUS Awards
Viva Piñata - Xbox 360
