Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise

We smash open Rare's sequel to Viva Piñata.

	Version 360, PS3, PC	Developer EA Pandemic	Publisher EA	Genre Action

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In addition to carved stones, picket fences, leaf piles and other decorative paraphernalia, Trouble in Paradise serves up accessories with which to pimp out the livestock and a "Trick Stick" with lets you teach your Piñata show-stopping moves. As with almost every other ability on offer, doing so increases the ripeness or "candiosity" of the Piñata involved, racking up the rewards when you finally boot them off to fragmented, birthday party heaven. Again, you can name and create labels for your creations for added personality.

If turning out an attractive garden sounds like too much hard work, you can also trap Piñata in one of the game's two new wilderness regions. To do so you'll need to identify the right bait - Sweetls, for instance, are pretty fond of Yams - plonk it down on a trap, and fend off undesirables till the chosen Piñata sees fit to get itself caught. Despite hailing from harsher climates, trapped beasties can be assimilated into your temperate garden without much fuss - though you'll need to make sure you put down a little snow or sand to suit more rugged tastes.

As the most substantial new element on offer, trapping is a little underwhelming, and the sense that Trouble in Paradise is so much delightful but well-trodden ground never goes away. Additional nick-nacks are all well and good, but we'd have appreciated some real mechanical advances - the option to raise or lower terrain, for instance, or cultivate different kinds of soil in different climates. Perhaps Rare's Xbox 720 debut will deliver the goods...

If the single player game is merely Viva Piñata with added candiosity, the multiplayer modes have seen more extended attention. Where the original bizarrely forced two players to share a single cursor in local co-op, the sequel grants your sidekick one of his/her own and all the best tools from the get-go. If you'd rather not jostle for screen space, you can join up to three other players online, with the items and Piñata on offer being determined by the highest level player.

Given the game's warm, nurturing ethos, we encountered few of Xbox Live's more raucous denizens, but if somebody does look like they're going to blight your Titchmarsh-worthy estate, you can always limit them to a spectator role. Beyond agriculture, there's a batch of superfluous but inoffensive minigames including golf, beauty contests and racing. Trust us when we say that you haven't lived till you've seen a Lickatoad ride a Fudgehog's slipstream.

Lack of core innovation aside, then, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is another fine specimen from one of Microsoft's most talented studios, and more than worthy of a spot in your living room. Especially if you enjoy hitting defenceless animals with garden implements. You sicko.

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