WARNING: Playing Viva Pinata in the company of your buddies may
result in thorough ridicule and insults. I learned this the hard way when I
first inserted the game into my Xbox 360. After a wild week of Gears of War,
the gameplay of Viva Pinata was not as welcomed to
our household as I expected. So I did the rational thing and began looking
for new roommates. Simply put, Viva Pinata is NOT just a game for kids.
Sure, Microsoft has employed the services of 4Kids Entertainment to create a
new animated series based on the game. And yes, giving characters names like
Fizzlybear and Fudgehog
doesn’t induce feelings of masculinity and boldness. But giving Viva Pinata a
fair chance will expose you to a new kind of game you may have been
subconsciously craving, a delightful exploration into a vibrant world.
Viva Pinata is fairly similar to the well-known titles Animal
Crossing and The Sims. Now, I have never been a fan of simulation video
games. Micromanaging monotonous tasks endlessly such as maintaining my
characters health always felt like doing homework. However, Viva Pinata does
a great job in keeping you motivated throughout the experience. The game
starts out on the vibrant Pinata Island where lush plant life sprawls and
curious creatures roam. From the beginning, you are given a small area of
land for which to cultivate a garden. You meet a girl named
Leafos who will guide you through the basic
gameplay mechanics. After handing you a shovel,
water can, and a green seed packet, you begin gardening what will soon become
your home. Because the target audience is clearly aimed for young gamers who
can barely hold a controller, the game starts out gradually allowing for a
great learning-curve. The steps to successfully growing a garden are simple
enough: get rid of the junk in your garden, smash up the dirt, lay down seeds,
and pour a little H2O. The controls, which include maneuvering a cursor via
the left thumb stick and A as the action button, aren’t as accurate as I
wish. At times, I executed the wrong command (smashing the dirt is a lot
different than whacking a baby Pinata, but both are equally satisfying).
I have learned that not all plants are created equal. Planting
fruit trees requires some decision-making as to what to grow. Some plants are
more effective in producing fruit than others, evident in the number of
different pinatas that will visit. The pinatas will even change colors
depending on what types of food they eat. Of course, the ultimate goal of
Viva Pinata as the name suggests is to get as many pinatas as possible to
visit and eventually stay. There are about 60 pinatas in total, each having
their own specific requirements (viewable in the game journal provided) that
the garden will need to offer before they settle in. From the lowly
Whirlms that first call your garden “home” to the
larger and more unique species including Elephanilla
and Horstachio that require more attention and
space, some sacrifices will need to be made for the good of the garden. You
can’t become too fixated on obtaining a particular pinata as I have learned.
Doing so could jeopardize your garden’s success. Experience points are given
to you whenever a new species visits your garden, decides to become residents,
and populate.
Other creatures called sour pinatas will also visit your
garden. They basically exist to stir up trouble until you kick them out or
tame them (tough love doesn’t mean taking a bat to them). Once you have two
of the same kind of pinatas living in your garden, you can begin the
highly-entertaining process of procreating. Ironically, what should be the
most delicate subject in a game directly for children is one of the most fun
things about Viva Pinata. After building a shack to house the animals, the
pinatas display pink hearts over their heads indicating that love in the air.
A mini-game will ensue where you must aid their coming together while avoiding
obstacles (it sounds more mature than it really is). Once they find each
other, a heart-felt process of dancing to music from a jukebox will occur
(sadly, the soulful sounds of Barry White and Air Supply aren’t in the track
list). An egg is delivered to the proud parents and you have a brand new
Pinata to add to the population. I must note that there are no gender
differences between the pinatas, so don’t be concerned if you pair two animals
together that might share the same “pinata pieces.” Later in the game, you
will be able to access a number of stores to help you expand and improve your
garden. You can sell your plants and even pinatas to buy new things including
other plants and pinatas. The game’s currency system is also useful,
featuring chocolate coins that can be earned when completing certain tasks.
I’ll admit, I downloaded the promo-cartoon show on Xbox Live
Marketplace (for research purposes only…). After watching the show and
playing the game, I realized a sharp difference. The animated series focuses
on the pinatas themselves. However, when playing the game, you are the
gardener. It’s important to consider the pinatas as assets that you own
rather than friends. Like I mentioned before, you can sell them. It does get
awkward when you grow attached and start naming them, but you must make
sacrifices for the good of the garden. Each pinata that you own will be
branded by your own customized labels that can be seen anywhere, no matter
where your pinata goes (there are subtle similarities to that of colonial
slave trading, but we’ll move on). As your garden gets bigger and becomes
home to more and more pinatas, micromanaging becomes less attractive.
Luckily, you can hire helpers who can do all sorts of things from watering and
maintaining plants to preventing pinatas from fighting each other.
Interestingly enough, certain pinatas have conflicting personalities which can
often result in dangerous fights. Learning who gets along with who is
important for safety sake and the health of your garden.
One of the games major shortfalls- if not the only shortfall-
is the lack of integration for Xbox Live. Multiplayer functionality is
limited to just sending and receiving pinatas across the Internet. While
there is no arguing that exposing children to the “unique” conversations that
often come through the Live headset may jeopardize the game’s E-rating (I
myself have learned some new words that don’t bear repeating), visiting a
friend’s garden to explore their world would have been a nice touch to an
otherwise great game.
The graphical details are very impressive. The island is lush,
the plants are colorful, and the pinatas are fully animated adding to their
uniqueness. On my high-definition television, it’s easily the most vibrant
title I have ever played. The sound is also pretty good. The pinata sounds
can become annoying at times, but some of the garden-environment sounds are
awesomely charming.
There is so much to Viva Pinata,
it’s difficult to get into the specifics without playing it for yourself.
Simply put, this game is a lot of fun. Although clearly for children, gamers
of all ages can enjoy the simple pleasures of watching a
Whirlm get his groove on, extracting honey from the
Buzzlegum to sell, and turning on the Xbox 360
knowing your pinata friends are waiting for you on the other side.
Border-line pathetic? Maybe.
But altogether, I think that even the most battle-hardened videogame fanatic
will find something enjoyable in Viva Pinata.
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Gameplay:
8.7
Despite
occasional control issues and a not-so-impressive online component, Viva Pinata
is a game worth experiencing.
Graphics: 9.0
Although
simple, the graphics are pure and lush. The colors are vibrant.
Sound:
8.5
The
sound definitely adds to the games ambiance with the exception of some animal
noises.
Difficulty: Easy
Concept:
9.0
When I first
heard about the concept of the game, I scratched my head in confusion. But
Rare has done a great job.
Overall: 9.0
Tired of
chainsawing Locusts? Bored of sniping Nazis? Give Viva Pinata
a shot. Experiencing a vibrant world full of animals that react to every
decision you make in your garden is not a typical simulation videogame. For
$49.99, it’s a great Christmas gift idea and designed for everyone to enjoy
(it is rated E for Everyone, after all).
