Matt Brett
Viva Piñata! Filled with Crack, Filled with Crack!
Last night on the way home after picking Hannah up from school, I made a pit stop at EB Games and surprised her with a copy of Viva Piñata. She’s been waiting for this game for months and has been watching the TV series every Saturday since it started airing back in September. Needless to say, she was crazy excited and spent the majority of her evening playing it. Shortly after she hit the hay and a couple missions in Call of Duty 3 later, I jumped on to check it out. 3 hours fly by and suddenly it’s pushing 1am, I’m totally hooked and questioning my manhood. Wait a second, what the shit just happened?
Somehow, the game that I’ve been anticipating as a home run with my wife and daughter has got me so engaged that I’m having a hard time putting down my controller while I struggle to see through glazed over eyes. Hannah’s playing it as I type this and have dinner on the go and I’m wishing I was in there trying to attract new breeds of Piñata to my garden. Seriously, WTF?
Underneath the layers upon layers of cuteness is a ridiculously fun and addictive game. It’s super easy for youngsters to pick up with step-by-step walkthroughs for everything accompanied by full voice-over instructions. But it’s not too simply that someone like myself, who is normally shooting people’s faces off will tire of it in an instant. It’s absolutely stunning visually and the sound effects and atmospheric music are beautiful. The basic premise of the game is that you have been given a garden to make your own where you try and attract Piñatas. Different Piñata are attracted to different things and you need to meet their requirements in order to get them to visit and ultimately become a resident. Some times this involves sacrificing another Piñata as a meal, which Hannah was not happy about but I totally got a kick out of. 
I expect Viva Piñata to go the same route as Lego Star Wars II and provide my little family with hours upon hours of enjoyment. If you’ve already written Viva Piñata off as a kid’s game or one for the ladies, you might want to reconsider. You may just be pleasantly surprised… or you may totally hate it. So be sure to rent it. Looks like I have another game on my list to review. And speaking of which, expect some fresh reviews to start rolling out next week.
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11 Comments
I was looking at this one in the store the other day and it caught some interest from Krista, so I just might pick it up since it’s something we’ll both probably like.
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So is it sort of like an X360 version of Animal Crossing?
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Yes! Another title to win the missus over with. I’ve been on the fence with this game, but now it’s looking more like an investment with the returns being more gaming time with the family. My three-year-old girl will love this.
I had no idea there was a VP cartoon. What channel is it on?
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I will have to pick this up. Oh, and will need to get an Xbox too.
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A very colorful and nice game that not only children like. Don’t you feel sorry there weren’t so many great games when you were a kid?
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@Jeff: Yeah, I bet it would go over great with your lady. Mine just started playing yesterday morning and she’s already surpassed myself and Hannah. She absolutely loves it (and is totally addicted)!
@Paul: I wouldn’t compare it to Animal Crossing, no. You don’t have a character of your own. You play the gardener and your role is to make a garden that attracts Pinatas and makes them want to live there.
@Matthew: I wouldn’t be surprised if a Viva Pinata bundle were to show up before the holidays. Keep an eye out!
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Missed Tony: It airs on YTV in Canada at 9am on Saturdays. It’s a 4KidsTV show, so you’d have to check your local listings for channels and air times.
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The game is awesome, the graphics are splended, and the cross-breeding is twisted!
http://www.vivapinataforum.com is a must for anyone with the game
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Ya know, I’m a BIG fan of animal crossing for Nintendo and I’ve been tempted to try out Viva Pinata, especially after reading ALOT of reviews like this.
But, I’m still addicted to Gears of War at the moment.
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There should be a twelve step program. Not only did we buy the game, we bought two of them and a second 360 so we didn’t have to take turns.
Okay maybe this is more of a sharing issue…
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This game is the best ever I’m already at lv. 47 a Lengendary Gardner and the only animal i’m missing is a Roario
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