When Rare announced that they were parting ways with Nintendo, it caused shock waves throughout the gaming world. Let’s face facts, when the creators of Golden Eye and other huge hits decides to leave, it makes news. Then Rare made even more news when they announced that their first game without Nintendo would be for the Xbox family. The rest is old news but after a successful release of Kameo and then of Perfect Dark (while not that perfect), it seemed Rare had left their mark on the Xbox 360.

At E3 behind closed doors, Rare showed off their latest creation, a game based on a unique idea. Piñatas come to life in a magical garden with a tie in to a children’s TV show targeted at all ages. The game won over the press at E3 in the early stages, but as we all know E3 hype is one thing. What about the final game? Is Viva Pinata as good as they claimed it would be? Read the full review to find out as we take a whack at Rare’s Viva Pinata.

The game has a pretty easy story to understand and is geared for the whole family. Now while some may get turned off at the idea of working in a garden in hopes to lure rare piñatas, it actually is highly addictive. The whole game is like playing in a giant sandbox where no one will get the same results. At first the game seems very simplistic. You start out in section of land with a packet of seeds and a shovel. Once you break ground and lay down the grass seeds, the action starts right away. Piñata has its own food chain so to speak. You’ll lure in the lowest piñatas first, but they have a major purpose as a resident in your garden as well as food for the bigger ones that will arrive as the garden gets better.

Once the first residents make their homes in your garden, then the game begins to pick up and gets interesting. You have a guide in the game, who happens to be a master of seeds. Planting the right flowers and trees will draw in new creatures as well as trigger upgrades and more useful tools to use. Rare was smart enough to make the game simple to learn for the younger gamer while having an option to try and draw in the rarer piñatas for the older players, or make it seem more special for the youngsters who manage to do it right. Parents now can play a game with their children and have fun at the same time. This is the real draw of the game and why it’s a perfect title for the holiday season. In the magical garden Piñatas don’t die, they burst into candy which is also useful to draw in others to their gardens. Parents may need to explain a few things for the youngest players, but Rare really made the story and the events G-rated while keeping it exciting and fun for everyone.

Children will be able to draw in piñatas, growing one tree and plenty of flowers with little frustration. Parents or older siblings may want to build a pond and grow a few trees, which will require more time since the trees need to be watered. You will also need to tend to the piñatas that get sick due to eating fruit or veggies that become old and have turned bad. For parents wanting to help their younger children enjoy the world of Viva Piñata the most, you will want to create a garden with less trees and plants that drop a lot of items. You will then need to watch for those that become bad. It’s easy to get rid of the bad trees by hitting them with your shovel, but younger players may get a bit frustrated.

While the premise and story seems very simplistic, the gameplay adjusts for any skill level. Parents or older players will have more options and younger gamers can watch and learn, then try as their skills grow as they play the game. I like this fact and the game lives up to the hype it got at E3. Hands down this is the best family game of 2006.

Controls are very simple thanks to a friendly interface and easy to learn options. For younger players the learning curve will be about 30-45 minutes and older gamers will get the basics down in 15 minutes or less. The game will adjust for the skill level of the person playing. Everything you earn or use in the game is recorded in the game’s journal. The journal allows for easy access to information and is very helpful for the younger player.

While there is no online multi-player option or feature, there is a way to use Xbox live with friends. You can gift wrap a piñata, plant or other item to draw Rare piñatas into your friend’s gardens. They can also return the favor to help you. This is a nice idea and works easily by using the same features as when messages or a friend’s request is sent. It would have been neat to see a Co-Op mode, but the game seems fine without it. Maybe they will add a deeper online element in the sequel?

Viva Piñata is a joy to play and watch thanks to the colorful animations and characters found in the game. It has a cartoon-look without over-doing the concept. Rare used the change of time and weather to make the game appear real time and it works perfectly for this title.

Viva Pinata Xbox 360 Screenshots

The music and voices fit the family theme and will help create the world you enter. While the music is well done, it can get a little old for some players. Each character you meet comes to life by the talented voice-over artists. Perhaps this game shows some of the best use of voice-overs in any game this year.

While Piñata uses the virtual sandbox idea, the game has a unique twist that makes it fresh and it never seems to get old. You will find that nothing happens in a certain order. Every time you play it will be different. The fact that it adjusts to the player’s skill helps increase the replay value a great deal.

Overall Score: 8.8/10 [not an average]

What looks like a simple kid’s title turns out to be worth the hype and one of the best titles to be released this year. I hope more developers will follow Rare’s thinking and make more family games that are fun and entertaining. Viva Pinata also shows that Rare has not lost its originality.

• Viva Pinata Xbox 360 Cheats and Secrets
• Official Viva Pinata Web Site

Review by XBS Head Writer, Rich Reed

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