Viva Piñata

Find your new life on Xbox 360 with Viva Piñata from Rare.

	Version Xbox 360	Developer Rare	Publisher Microsoft	Genre Adventure

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By Stuart McAndrew

Viva Piñata is the latest from Rare, turning your Xbox 360 into the cheeriest looking machine this side of Borat. For all Nintendo fans out there put off by the blood and guts of Gears of War and military based shooters, Viva Piñata is a game that might make the white box a worthwhile investment by itself.

Basically a gardening sim, Viva Piñata sees you take on the role of a start up gardener, taking over a run down garden from a past champion in retirement. When you first get your garden, it's not a terribly pretty sight. The soil is baked hard, and junk such as broken fences and sheds clutter the land. Taking your first tool, a rusty spade, you can smash the junk and turn over the soil to make it more inhabitable. Shortly afterwards appear your first inhabitants - worms.

Whilrms, as they are known on Piñata Island, are cute paper worms with big eyes and are incredibly easy to please. If you have some fresh soil, buy them a house, and they're ready for romancing - not only are you a gardener, this game sees you get as many couples together as possible. Once you've met the requirements for an animal to feel lurve, a little heart will appear above it's head. Direct two of these animals together and a mini game opens up.

Here, the two piñata are surrounded by loathers, pumpkin-type creatures who explode on touch. A good job the collision detection here is excellent, as more expensive piñata will have a tricky job reaching each other. Once you have directed your stud to his mate, voila! The Romance Dance begins. Once you have successfully mated a species, you can buy romance sweets, which when eaten will put the animal back in the mood. These sweets are very handy, as meeting romance requirements for the bigger animals is a time consuming and sometimes expensive business.

With the kids in mind, you won't see any Patrick Swaze manoeuvres on the dance floor, however some of the dances are naughtier than others. The first time you manage to romance a new species, you will see their dance. After that, it's behind closed doors although you can have a sneak peek inside the house while they're at it, if you feel voyeuristic. Every dance is distinctive, from the punk rock thrashing monkeys to the line dancing hoe-down that the beavers enjoy when the TV isnt to'o good that night.

With furry cuteness its main selling point, Rare has done exceptionally well making the most out of the critters which will visit your garden. Everyone will have their own favourites, but each animal looks great. With each piece of paper on each animal holding up to a close look, Viva Piñata uses more of the Xbox 360's power than you might suspect.

Notice the effects such as the rain splashing on the camera, or the mist which appears over your garden in the morning before it lifts as the sun comes up, and you question if Rare could have made the graphics any better without losing the cartoon look.

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Video Coverage (Latest Videos & Video FAQ)
PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO ANY MEDIA FILE ON KIKIZO
Description	Dur.	Size	Details
Viva Piñata 20-minute gameplay demonstration with Chris Kimmel	19:26	142MB	CAM, SD, 16:9 640x360p30 1Mbps
Viva Piñata 20-minute gameplay demonstration with Chris Kimmel	19:26	51MB	CAM, Low, 16:9 640x360p30 0.3Mbps
Viva Piñata Direct feed gameplay 1	00:32	68MB	DF, ED, 16:9 856x480p30 3.0Mbps
Viva Piñata Direct feed gameplay 2	03:07	11MB	DF, ED, 16:9 852x480p30 3.0Mbps
Viva Piñata Announcement trailer	1.04m	10MB	SD, DF, 30 640x360 1.4Mbps
Viva Piñata Meet the characters!	6.18m	72MB	SD, DF, 30 640x360 1.4Mbps
Interview with Scott Henson Including Piñata talk	22.36m	145MB	SD, 25 640x480 1Mbps