Viva Pinata Review

For all of its successes in entering the videogames industry, Microsoft still have many barriers to break through if it hopes to emerge victorious in the latest collection of consoles. Launching first and beginning to establish a catalogue of critically acclaimed titles is one thing, but hoping to push past fanatical Bungie fanboys is something entirely different. A dilemma Microsoft presumably hopes to solve with the £200 million cheque that enlisted the support of one of the UK's most illustrious studios.

Eager to rekindle the magic that Rare discovered during its many years of working closely with Nintendo, Microsoft obviously sees the UK studio as being the key to breaking through to the mainstream and finding appeal amongst an audience not typically acquainted with the Xbox. Struggling to achieve this shortly after the acquisition with the ill-fated release of Grabbed by the Ghoulies for the original Xbox, both Microsoft and Rare have seen greater success with the recent release of Kameo: Elements of Power and fan-favourite Perfect Dark Zero, though it's fair to say that both outfits have some way to go before re-establishing former glories. Marking one of the most prolific periods in the history of the studio, Rare are back with one of their most ambitious titles to date - a game that Microsoft hopes will take the Xbox 360 to new audiences and one that moves beyond just being a videogame.

Teaming up with 4Kids Entertainment, the Viva Pinata franchise has already achieved success across North America with the run of a TV series geared towards a younger audience. I say 'geared' because Viva Pinata strikes a similar approach to that of Pixar and Dreamworks finest works, appealing to wider audiences with layered humour, good stories, and a great cast of characters. A similar approach lies behind the design of the game. On one hand the bright, vivacious visuals, kooky sounds and the pinatas themselves will find instant appeal amongst the demographic that Microsoft appears to be chasing. At the same time there's enough in-jokes, multiple layers and depth of gameplay to keep Rare fanboys happy and perhaps even change the opinions of one or two gamers that typically wouldn't go anywhere without an Assault Rifle and Frag Grenade to hand.

Set on the tropical, Latino paradise of Pinata Island, Viva Pinata is flowing with animals of a different kind... particularly if you're more accustomed to sticking the tail on the donkey as opposed to whacking seven shades out of a papier-mâché creation dangling from a rope! An open-ended game that defies classification, Viva Pinata is best described as a gardening-sim... but, seriously, don't let that put you off, "Alan Titchmarsh' Gardening 64" this most certainly isn't. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Nintendo's Animal Crossing and Hudson's Harvest Moon, Viva Pinata introduces you to the basics before plonking you in the middle of a junk filled plot of land with the objective of transforming it into a blossoming paradise, bustling with pinatas living in peace and harmony...

The tools of your trade and those that will earn success are initially limited to a patched up watering can and a shovel that has seen better days. With this a wide variety of actions are at your dispersal: pounding bad ground to make it fertile, watering plants and of course occasionally whacking the pinatas open to reveal their sweet insides (not advised if you want to hang onto that particular species of pinata). Progress through the game rewards you with upgrades to the basic equipment, opening up further abilities such as digging holes large enough to make ponds or chopping down trees!

Naturally, with their own TV show the stars of the game are the pinatas themselves, brought to life in a manner fitting of Rare's pedigree and closer to the works of an animation studio then a videogame developer. A developed ecology provides the basis for Viva Pinata, bringing to life more than 60 different species of pinata, each with their own demands and place in the pinata food chain. Beginning life as a wild monochrome pinata, players must tempt a specific species to 'Visit' with the right conditions, before convincing them to explode into vibrant colours upon becoming a 'Resident', and ultimately getting down with the birds and the bees and 'Romancing'. A simple objective, but one that hides deceptive challenge and entertainment, as you attempt to balance the vibrant ecology and maintain your garden at the same time.

On top of the normal 'Sweet' pinatas, Viva Pinata also has a variety of 'Sour' pinatas that will generally cause problems in the garden. Spewing sour sweets that will make any normal pinata sick or poison a water supply, Sour pinatas can be turned into their Sweet variant by meeting the right conditions, the only way to discovering these types unless you get a friend to send one via the Viva Pinata Post Office.

Establishing the right conditions, building Pinata houses, and creating a garden of magnificent wonder is just the tip of the iceberg; for a game aimed at a younger audience, Viva Pinata delves into considerably deep gameplay, which hopefully won't be overlooked by an audience more akin with an AK47. Growing crops of flowers, fruits and veg not only provides a steady supply of income (fancy water fountains cost a bundle of chocolate coins), but also the means to begin experimenting with the confectionary makeup of the pinatas. Each of the sixty species of pinatas can be altered or evolved, often as a consequence of experimenting with their diet such as feeding the bottom-line Whirlm with a Turnip to quickly change his skin to a fetching shade of purple. Demonstrating your godly powers over the garden comes from the challenge of discovering the eight evolved pinatas within the game, resulting from specific combinations of certain pinatas and items. Customisation is an obvious element of Viva Pinata, beyond designing the garden Pinatas can also be cheered up with a variety of accessories. Although an Elmur Fudd hunting cap suits a Mousemallow, experimenting with combinations can also bring extra benefits such as protection or prompting pinatas to perform certain tasks.

Budding horticulturists can get heavy with the fertiliser and embrace the benefits of GM crops, growing flowers with multiple heads, trees that yield extra fruits and pumpkins the size of planets. Further still one of the many advisors in the game can 'tinker' objects into further items, such as turning an apple into a toffee apple, honey into medicine or a pumpkin into a jack 'o lantern, all of which are crucial to success in achieving harder objectives such as taming certain sour pinatas. A variety of other characters of the typically "Rare" kind pop up throughout the game, often to lend a helping hand, sell items or offer advice. Working against you, however, is Professor Pester and his legion of Ruffians that will quickly trash the most perfectly planned garden.

The masterstroke behind the whole Viva Pinata experience is the parallels that Rare, Microsoft, and 4Kids Entertainment have drawn between the game and the TV series. Hints as to how to tempt a particularly rare Pinata out of hiding or a beneficial dietary combination, are often found in episodes of the TV series. Unfortunately, it's something only North Americans and Canadians have been able to check out given the lack of a run in the UK at present, but hopefully the appearance of two episodes on the Xbox Live Marketplace is a suggestion that the entire series could appear on there at some point.

A lot of Viva Pinata's appeal stems from the future possibilities of the game. Ideally suited to the Xbox Live Marketplace, the life span of Viva Pinata seems solely limited by how much support Rare and Microsoft plough into the game.

Naturally, safe online play is an area of paramount importance to Microsoft in a game so deliberately aimed at a younger audience. Although it seems Microsoft are still considering the scope of full online play and the ability for Friends to visit your garden and lend a helping hand, Viva Pinata goes out of its way to ensure a fun and safe experience when taking advantage of the Xbox Live options. An episode styled after the TV series outlines basic safety precautions, whilst the ability for a second player to take control with another pad to offer advice or watch over is a nice touch. Hopefully, Microsoft and Rare can work 'Crufts' styled pinata tournaments and 'Chelsea Flower Show' events into the game via a future update, expanding upon the sense of a community that's only hinted towards in the game as it is now. With each pinata raised in your garden wearing a custom deigned label, Viva Pinata could also usher in Microsoft's vision of user created content, selling "designer label" pinatas of your own creation on the Marketplace.

Curiously, Viva Pinata's biggest strength is also one of its biggest misgivings. The overall ambiguity of the title and the lack of any specific challenge could alienate gamers that are typically accustomed to mission objectives and a definitive level start/end. Although the structure is more accessible then the real-time progress of Nintendo's Animal Crossing, it's still a game that has a certain appeal - one word of warning though, prepare to become fanatically obsessed in the finer arts of pinata breeding and plant culturing if you're willing to give it a go.

One of the early criticisms stems from the garden's apparent lack of size and the inability to house all of the Pinatas that lurk within the game. Modelling such a sophisticated ecology obviously comes at a price, however, Rare have expertly woven this into a strong aspect of the game's design. Limited solely by the space on your HDD, Viva Pinata encourages players to create multiple gardens, linked by the same cash pot, skills, and abilities that are currently unlocked. This technique encourages experimenting with different formulas, embracing strategies such as using one garden solely to generate maximum profits by focussing on crops with a high chocolate coin return.

In a game that's hard to find anything but praise there are one or two areas that cause a few frustrations. Evidently based around customisation, it's nice being able to personalise pinatas with accessories and unique names, but touches such as a random name generator would have been useful when the garden quickly fills up and all you're left with is a series of numbers. Designing your garden is hampered by having to endure quick but noticeable load sequences every time, which can get a little irritating when all you want to do is expand the fencing of your garden by a few grids. In a game where the sole goal appears to be creating the most impressive looking garden, it's also a shame that there's a lack of precision over the art of flower arranging. Perhaps the biggest complaint is when pinatas and characters frequently get stuck into the scenery. When this occurs, you cannot select the character and direct them to safety, instead having to sell or break the offending item that is getting in the way before the pinata or helper is thrown into a pit of despair and disappears from your garden.