Viva Piñata Review
System: X360
Dev: Rare
Pub: Microsoft
Released: Nov. 9, 2006
Players: 1 - 2
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Review by D'Marcus Beatty
Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best
One area where the game is severely lacking is Xbox Live support. It seems that the game should allow players to interact more fully than they do, especially considering the customizability of each garden.
Basically, the player can compare the specs of their garden to a friend's garden over Xbox Live and a player can send a crate of goodies to a friend. Other than that, there isn't anything else that can be done using Live, which seems like an incredible waste.
One problem is that there are occasionally ill-placed dark themes in the midst of the otherwise light-hearted game. Aforementioned predatory piñatas will attack and break open other piñatas and devour the candy therein. Also, some piñatas don't get along and will attack one another until one emerges victorious and the other winds up injured. The injured piñatas will expire if the doctor isn't called soon enough. Even though there isn't any blood or guts (if you can ignore the candy insides), the issue of death comes up regularly, and seems oddly misplaced in the otherwise cutesy game.
Overall, Viva Piñata is a unique experience that can appeal to a wide audience. There are an insane amount of things to accomplish in the garden and a number of things that can be done whether to player focuses on breeding, gardening, farming, or all three. Even with skimpy Live support and its unbearable cuteness, Viva Piñata can appeal to children or adults looking for a challenge or simple entertainment.
By
D'Marcus Beatty
CCC
Assistant Site Director
Features:
– Your world. Your choice of contents will determine which of the piñata species are attracted to your world, since they all have individual requirements. Sowing grass, digging ponds, planting flowers and growing trees all affect which of the unique piñatas you will see. It’s not just about plants, either; there is a whole range of ornaments and structures that could be decisive. Your reward for creating an appealing paradise is to watch the piñatas visit and eventually reside there, which is wherethe fun really starts.
– Your piñatas. Once you have resident piñatas, you can begin to personalize your loyal community. Piñatas can be individually named and given their own personally designed tag to put on display as a declaration of their home turf. And the customization doesn’t end there. You can make the colorful critters more distinctive by customizing them with all kinds of costumes and accessories.
– Interact with the piñatas. Getting to know and understand the personalities and requirements of your piñatas is essential if you want them to stay happy and thrive. Make your world their ideal paradise, and they’ll want to raise a family and expand your community.
– Interact with the characters. Players decide how much help they want from the local guides, shopkeepers and work force. Go it alone or get them involved — you choose.
– Interact with other players online. Via the Xbox Live online community, players can contact other gamers to lend a hand, lay down a competitive challenge or trade items.
– It’s happening outside. It’s not just new piñata species that are drawn to your world; untamed sour piñatas with bad attitudes and troublemaking ruffians do their worst to spoil your creation and must be dealt with.
– It’s happening inside. Maintaining harmony within a growing community isn’t always easy when rivalries, illness, injuries and even candy-spilling fights occur. If players turn their backs, who knows what their piñatas will do?
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Preview
Finally, something we CAN shake a stick at.
by Ryan Schultz
Ah Rare, a company never afraid to present gamers with some truly bizarre gaming concepts. After the lukewarm response of Kameo: Elements of Power, Rare is now offering up a family and kid friendly experience involving piñatas. Yes, that’s right…piñatas. Viva Piñata, in the simplest of terms can be described as a nurturing/evolution title with bright cutesy graphics. However, the game is much much more than this.
The world of Viva Piñata, as you might guess, revolves around the cute and candy filled party favorites. In fact, each piñata creature has a candy themed name such as Wurm, Syrpent, and Fizzily Bear. These aptly named and decorated piñatas all roam about on Piñata island. In the beginning of the game, you start off with nothing more than an empty patch of farmland. It’s up to you to clear, flatten, and plant seeds on your land in order to attract the happy little creatures. Keeping in line with the candy theme, you can collect chocolate coins, which you can use to buy ponds, fences, and even piñata playgrounds.
While the premise of the game may seem unconventional, fans of The Sims and Animal Crossing will appreciate the open-ended style of play. It’s an open world, and you can shape it to your liking. Of course, doing things in different ways will change the flow of play. The piñata’s will act and react differently to each other say, for instance, if you have them in too cramped of a space or don’t give enough food. You can also teach the piñata’s teamwork and useful social skills in order for them to accomplish different tasks.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this game deals with increasing the population of piñatas. In what can only be described as hilarious and maybe even a little unsettling, when the time is right, two piñata’s will perform their own “mating dance”. Now keep in mind, this is a child friendly game, so don’t expect anything “adult”. These dances are literally that, a dance, set in a dance hall with a jukebox playing in the background. Classic Rare.
Rare has big plans in store for the Xbox Live marketplace with Viva Piñata. Through Xbox Live, you can purchase various items not found anywhere else. You will also have the option of special delivering a custom made piñata to a friend. However, the best aspect of Live compatibility is the ability to let a friend come a visit your virtual garden. Here, your invited friend can help raise your piñatas, clear more land, or just be rotten and let the “evil” Ruffian piñata’s wreak havoc on your landscape. The possibilities are nearly endless.
With a reported 60 different piñata types, valuable items to collect, and Xbox Live support, Viva Piñata should keep kids and adults alike very busy with this unique title set to hit the Xbox 360 on October 2.
By Ryan Schultz
CCC Freelance Writer
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