Viva Pinata - or how i learned to smash the cute but non profitable animal

I don't exactly know how or where to start this review. So i suppose i'll start with a synopsis of what exactly this game is about. Viva Pinata is game for the Xbox360 made by Rare ltd., the company that brought you titles like: Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country 1 2 3, Banjo Kazooie, Narc, GoldenEye, and Kameo. A very well known company that was backed by Microsoft Game studios to launch this game that was partnered with the tv-series. The TV show is on Fox Networks Saturday Morning Lineup and is about little pinata animals who live on an island and do strange things that kids are supposed to think are funny. While the TV series is absolutely ridiculous the game has a different edge to it that makes it almost forgivable that it was spawned from a terrible idea for a tv series.

Now i can't start the actual review without pointing out the main attraction of this game, and that is, it's god damn adorable. Every little creature on this island has a really clever and cute name to match their strange animal combinations in addition to their over the top character designs that make them all the more lovable.

For instance a BuzzleGum, a weird fat bumble bee that makes amazingly adorable sounds. There are so many cute things in this game that i could go on and on about but i will avoid and recommend just googling Viva Pinata under images to see for yourself. So why dont i talk about the actual game play. The interface is really simple, there are basic controls that a little kid can figure out and it has good flow except for the fact that there is no quick travel options. This game would work amazingly on the PC because they could toss a mini-map in the corner of the screen and you could hop from point A to point B without a hitch. But because it's a console you assume a ghost camera with a circular (auto locking) reticle that allows you to grab specific things in your garden.

One extremely annoying thing that i did find about that reticle, is the auto lock feature. The auto lock on is a buggy because it pulls the reticle to the nearest object in sight. This is extremely annoying when working in small places on the map that have lots of objects in them. Once again just a minor part of the interface that was annoying but hey it wouldn't be a review if i didn't nit pick. The game is a discoverable game play style that enables you to have to figure out different ways to attract pinatas by either growing different trees or having x amount of water or x amount of grass. It's a build and tear down system that forces you to constantly change your garden to maximize the total profit you can make from your pinatas. This leads me to the most hellhairyass part of the game.

MATING, that's right you get to breed these cute monsters! once you've found the cutest ones or if your a business tycoon the most profitable ones you can reproduce them and stock up on living profit. Mating the pinatas puts you through a minor labor pain of either feeding them certain produce or feeding them other pinatas. once you have fulfilled their carnal needs you can then further their lust into making them produce baby pinatas by playing a mini game that puts the male pinata (assuming there are sexes, which there aren't) in a mine field of evil bomb creatures, he has to venture through a maze where he collects coins and eventually reaches the warm embrace of his lover. Once the two pinatas have successfully connected on a spiritual level they make their way back to their home where they do a "dance" that brings them a child. Yes yes, what a twisted way of teaching children the wonders of life...

Finally the game in my opinion is extremely fun and doesn't force you to be completely loyal to it, meaning that you can pick it up and play for how ever long you feel without losing touch with it. It has an easy learning curve and can be extremely addicting. There are plenty of other features in this game that if you want to pursue i suggest you do so because it is one of the more notable titles that are out there in the next gen world. Warning there are possibilities of overdosing on cuteness use caution when around girls because of the loud high frequency awws and ohhs that you'll hear. In conclusion a great buy for anyone who enjoys fun cute games for the xbox360.

oh and here is one of the cutest things in the entire game...

called a Galagoogoo..