Getting the game during the LAN party tomorrow from Djinn

Its time to compare pinatas! LOL

LOL we need some balance...so cute + violence...and i heard u can kill ur pinatas

Anyway, micro managing as in a Sim game kinda micro from what I read..

Its Animal Crossing except you can't visit friends gardens. Which is sad actually considering the fantastic Xbox Live experience.

You can however send pinatas to your friends.

I read that you can kill ur own pinatas too

Because....used to killing things in GoW?

And you get to see candies fall out of them when u smash them..

Ahhh omg this game is so addictive...

was tending to my garden from midnight to 3.30am...

Haha I wanted to stop but each time got new pinata come visit, so i go do somemore stuff to make them resident...haha...

Haha yeah...time flies when ur playing the game because there is jst so many things to do..

we should change this thread title to "Pinata Pimps" because thats essentially what we are..

ok..i got bored..and started writing this so i'll post it just cause I can... bwahahaha *evil laugh*

Viva Pinata - A review by zio @ nicklwc

When I saw the interactive video on XBOX Live Marketplace, I downloaded it because it looked colourful and the concept of Pinata sounded funky enough to warrant a look. The video impressed me. A lot. The colours were vibrant and the gameplay smacked of Animal Crossing on the big screen. After much violence in Gears of War, it seems that this kiddy game from Rare is set to appear in my collection for a quick fun getaway from all the blood and gore. Oh boy, was I wrong.

The premise of the game is that you live in Pinata Island and it is where wild pinatas reside. You build a garden to attract them and make them residents of your garden. From then, you can matchmake them and they will breed more pinatas for you. Of course, you can then sell it for money and also ship them to the Factory. The Factory is where pinatas are sent to parties and they get smashed. The ultimate joy of being a pinata.

All is not rosy of course, as there are sour pinatas that bring illness and overall bad things to your garden. There are also enemies out there who do not want you to succeed in making the pinatas happy.

Published by Microsoft and developed by Rare, whose credentials include Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero, the game seemed like it was going to bypass the adult gamers. Of course, if you look at it now, most of the gamers playing it would be adults because it is just that appealing. I will get into more of that later but let's look at the game in my usual Graphics, Music, Gameplay and Misc style.

Graphics

Bright, colourful and a joy to watch. The pinatas are lively and the game looks so colourful, it is hard not to just stare in amazement at your own garden. However, it must be noted that these brand of graphics might not be everyone's cup of tea. Some might find it to kiddy especially after coming from the realism of Gears of War.

The animation of the pinatas is very well done as well. They move, they interact and the whole lot of animated activities on your garden means you won't be looking at the same thing over a period of time. On occasions, I find myself just looking at all the things going on in my garden.

Sound

The music is definitely one for the kids and it brings a very fun theme to the game. The choice of music suits the game very well and it feels very well integrated. It is like a good lounge music, where you know its there, but it doesn't intrude your space.

I can't really say the same for the voiceovers though. Although they do a great job representing the characters, I find myself tapping the "Continue" button just to get on with it. But it is a kid's game after all so it is understandable that the voice actors need to read their script slower than usual.

Sound effects on the other hand are top notch. Combined with the colourful graphics, the sounds you hear from the pinatas and surrounding environment really brings your garden alive.

Gameplay

Finally, we reach the crucial section of the game. Viva Pinata, although advertised as a kid's game, is more than that. The micro management in this game is quite vast and its easy to see kids getting overwhelmed by the things they need to do after a while. Even I find myself getting swarmed with things to control after leveling myself up. Good news is that you can pace yourself so that you can build your garden at a leisurely pace.

You control the game using a simple cursor which you can change to different items depending on what you need. The controls are intuitive and it is easy to learn. Most of the things are spelt out for you on the screen. The easy controls certainly help to move the game along considering there are so many things to learn.

And that brings us to the complexity of the game. There are so many things to do and so many things to pay attention to in Viva Pinata that I am quite surprised its being labeled as a kid's game. Although the occasional hints and tutorials help, I find myself flipping back to the journal and checking just what needs to be done. Your tasks of managing a garden do not stop at planting trees and flowers or beautifying the place. You also have to make sure the pinatas are happy, rival pinatas do not fight too often, keep sour pinatas away, and most important of all, matchmake your pinatas.

But does the complexity make the game bad? No, in fact it makes the game so addictive that you will find it hard to pry yourself away. The joy of seeing a new pinata arrive in your garden is very satisfying and even more so, when they take up residence in your garden. Without the micro management, the satisfaction factor would be lost because it would seem too easy.

Misc

Building your own garden and having your own pinatas are all well and good, but how does it work with Microsoft's amazing online experience? The verdict is not too bad, but not entirely fantastic. You have a leaderboard and you can send gifts to your friends playing Viva Pinata. You can send friendly pinatas or even sour pinatas. Hopefully you don't have a lot of enemies online. The gifts are known to the receiver until they opened it so it's a real surprise. Of course, the receiver can just send it back to you without opening it.

That is all you can do on Live, which is pretty sad considering because the potential to do more with this game was always there. I expected an Animal Crossing experience where you can visit friends' gardens but the developers certainly didn't factor that in. However, do not let this minor fact tarnish the game because it is a very good game indeed.

In conclusion, Viva Pinata is a game you would not regret adding to your collection. The game is addictive and it serves as a different option for gamers looking for something lighter, something more fun. And nothing is more fun than pimping pinatas.

haha thanks..

get the game...get the game..get the game

Ermm the limited edition is only slightly more expensive than the standard ed..RM10 or so..

It has a plastic thing that will make it fit ur standard dvd stand i believe..ill try to take a picture and post it here..

hey tnsai, the viva pinata LE has a weird shape packaging after all. Even the plastic thing that covers it is shaped with a curve on the top. Something like this:

Looks more like Franklin the bear

Ahhh....took me so long to finally lure the squirrel to be a resident..

now my garden is out of place...i cant build my syrupent house!! and the newtgat still refuses to reside...grr...



This post has been edited by zio: Nov 22 2006, 02:22 PM

Nothing with going there alone man...i go there alone all the time hahaha..

Oooo nice...but if you spend your money in the new garden, will it be reflected in the old garden?

My garden too messy already..time to specialise..

Your garden might be too full. Try selling some pinatas off.

Haha ok..that was what I wanted to know..if i spend money in garden 1, and then load garden 2, will garden 2 have the old amount of money or the money after i spent it

no loophole there i guess

err i only get lag during saves. other than that, no hang so far.

By selling my worms. Lol although now i am selling bunnycombs more..coz i have this daisy and buttercup farm right beside the bunnycombs home.. easy mating..

I think ill start a flower garden to make money....first garden too messy already..then start a water garden like coriandery...

as for the fighting, find out the conflicting species, then choose one to keep...cant keep them all

ermm whats ur gamertag? I'll send you a mousemallow when I get back tonight..

check the wiki on viva pinata...horsatchio is not that easy to lure..

Yeah u got to pay more than 1k to turn the beggar into a dealer.

I have Syrupents, who wants them? Trying to make the 2-headed snake but then i would have to sacrifice my lickatoads