I purchased this game to take a break from some of the recent shooters coming out. Let me just tell you that this game is one of the top 3 games I have ever played. The game features mutiplayer co-op. Which is just 2-4 people sharing the same cursor. It really helps if you are playing with younger kids or someone new to video games.

Pros

good graphics

easy controls

lasting appeal

great game for kids or adults

Cons

seriously I cant really think of any.

All in all this is a terrific game if your an adult and you choose to overlook this game because it looks a little-kiddish than thats your loss.

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My 13 year old son asked for this for his birthday and I was quite surprised. It is a very pleasant change from the brain numbing shoot em ups. He really enjoys it and gets quite in to it much to my amazement. A similar premise to SIMS I think where you are building up your garden and the things in it to attract pinata's.

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This has to be one of the most surprisingly fun games I've played in awhile.

I'll be honest, I have no idea what's going on with the story nor have I ever even heard of the television show so I don't really know the whole point of the game but I do know one thing, it's a lot of fun.

So the game begins with you at your farm which you were just given the deed to. There is this green lady crying over your farm and she later gives you a shovel to get to work on fixing the place up (if she had the shovel why didn't she do anything about it?).

As you begin to change the atmosphere of your farm (by breaking down the tough dirt, planting grass, or digging pond space) animals begin to take notice and join into your ecosystem. As the animals join others who prey on those animals also come. You can also plant flowers, trees, or vegetables in order to attract other forms of animals.

The animals interact by preying upon species which they find to be tasty. For example, the fox pinatas will eat the rabbit pinatas that they see in your garden so you have to be careful if you want to keep them around.

As you progress you're given new abilities (like digging the ponds), you attract better pinatas, and are given more land. So the game starts off fairly simple and becomes more complicated as you go which is the correct way to handle the learning curve. It's a beautifully designed game in that sense, I must say.

As for the level of maturity of the game, I'd say grade school children could probably easily play. Reproductive related activities are present in the game between pinatas but they just do a love dance and a flying faery lady comes by and drops off an egg. The food chain preying also isn't too bad and when the pinatas crack open candy comes out (just make sure the kids don't start thinking real animals have candy in them).

The game also has an XBox Live component which was nice of the developers to work in but I have yet to experience it so I'm sure someone else here can give a better review regarding that.

All in all a great game and just as much fun for us adults as for kids.

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As you may have heard, this is the game for all ages. Even my 13 year old son who lives for shooting aliens likes this game immensely. You have to cultivate your garden and attract pinatas that hopefully become residents. They form an ecosystem that needs to be nurtured and strategized. This game is not wimpy by any means.

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A rather challenging video game -especially if you don't look up hints online. A great way to raise your xbox 360 gamerscore without going into a bout of post traumatic stress disorder. It's marketed for kids but once you get past the high cuteness factor you'll end up spending hours and hours playing. Good clean fun.

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Great game and truly for all ages. Love the animations. Easy to learn. Provides many, many fun-filled hours of gameplay.

Only drawback: Watch out - it can get addictive :-)

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The amount of color simply on the box is astounding, and it really shows in the game too.

This game is as lighthearted as you want it to be, but if you want to be serious about your gardening and truly maximize profits, then you can do as you please.

There is A LOT of variety in this game. Initially, like all games, you start with very little, but once you catch on and start leveling up and doing new things (thus unlocking new items and pinatas), you will have a blast trying to get new stuff.

This game looks like a kiddie game (similar to Rare's other recent work, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts), but it really isn't. Like N&B, you can give a little kid the controller and they might find their way around (or you can simply plug in a second controller and give them a helping hand cooperatively). What I find most impressive is the amount of detail given to everything, things that young kids will easily miss: the descriptions of EVERY single item in the game, the clever species names, the witty dialogue, the interesting story that is unlocked as you go along, the trial and errors, etc. I've been playing for a great deal now, and I was astounded to realize one of my pinatas had a special variant simply because I decided to feed him an apple for the hell of it. Things like that may easily be overlooked by young ones, but they won't miss out on the bright colors, and cute pinatas for sure.

This game will have you working around the clock (well, not literally, in the game world at least) to tend to your garden and everything inside. If you want to keep making money and leveling up, you will not have much of a break as the action is nonstop. Thus, you will always have a difficult time putting down the controller and saving your game for next time.

Lastly, don't ignore this game because you are not a gardener/breeder/landscaper in real life. I am none of those, and find this game immensely enjoyable. Like all games, it is not for everybody, but it is worth trying. As a cheap Platinum Hit (one you can play with your family nevertheless), there is nothing to go wrong.

Also, I have not played the sequel yet (Trouble in Paradise), but I am led to believe it is very similar with some extras and maybe a bit more plot. I, personally, think it best to start at the roots with Viva Pinata, then if you enjoy it, you continue with the sequel, and if you don't, then maybe VP: Party Animals is more for you ( :P this is more of a kiddie game with simple gameplay, it got decent reviews, not like VP and VP: TiP).

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I bought this game this pass weekend and I am hooked to the game. I must admit when I saw the commercials for it on T.V. it looked really stupid and dull like other kiddie games are for adults. However, after reading some gaming reviews and seeing that it was voted the best game never played for 2006 I was curious and wanted to see what they were talking about. I have yet to be disappointed. I play all genre of games on game consoles so i have a wide range of games and game types to compare Viva to and this game ranks up there with Halo, Gears of War, etc. I know it not a shooter but it's addicitng and it makes you not want to get off until you have accomplished a certain goal that you have set for yourself.

Also, it makes any "macho" gamer keep coming back for more. My husband, who never plays any of the "cutsie" games, has started a garden after watching me and now we are actually trying to compete against each other to see who will get all the pinata's first, who can get the most accomplishments first, and who has the better garden. This game is all around fun, enjoyable and has a lasting appeal to it. Yes this game you actually have to do some thinking and figuring out where to put what and to make sure that your pinatas have met all the requirements for certain things but hey not all games can be just point and click.:)

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I bought this for my son and he loves it. Keeps him busy caring for his garden, enticing new pinatas and figuring out tricks to make big money.

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i love this game it is fun and wild for all ages at least teens and adults

enjoy

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this is the best game ive ever played...i love the garden and that the garden becomes huge! there are tons of different animals that can appear in front of you. my friends say "Oh they're so cute!". its an addicting game.

the aspect that most of the animals are built on real animals, is awesome. one thing that does stink really bad is that when your pinatas are sick they can be smashed..............

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After opening the package, I popped in the disc intending to play for about 20 minutes or so; I just wanted to get the feel of the game and controls.

Cut to five hours later and I'm commanding myself (out loud) to put down the controller and go to bed!

I love Viva Pinata and have been recommending it to all of my Xbox 360 friends. This is a truly fresh twist on god games, suitable for gamers young to old. My children (8, 10 and 12) and I each have our own gardens and enjoy the freedom of tending them however we want.

The "tutorial" is very good at telling you what you can do in the the game without telling you what to do. Your resources (journal and helpers) are easy to access and use, but how you use them is entirely up to you.

Conflict between pinatas is inevitable, as are the hard decisions you'll have to make to have a productive, lively, and profitable garden. But it works so well that any lip-biting is quickly forgotten as you accumulate chocolate coins (currency), attract new pinatas, protect and expand your garden, create pinata variants through diet or other conditions, accessorize your pinatas, romance your pinatas, keep everyone happy and healthy, and more.

The game is brilliant and I can't recommend it enough.

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This game was entertaining and appropriate not only for my 5 year old but my teenagers have become hooked on this game as well.Hours of good clean fun a break from the violence of most games.

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My kid's asked to buy this to replace the demo game. They love it and play it often.

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I've always enjoyed Animal Crossing style games where I can go about my business without any real structure. This game sure fits the bill. I've only played for a few hours now, but so far it is fantastic. The colors look brilliant and the gameplay is fabulous. This game is a great game for people of all ages, but be warned, it's pretty addicting. I was playing last night and before I knew it, it was 2 hours later. The only downside to the game that I've found so far is that it's a bit slow at the beginning as you are forced to do certain tasks (sort of like a tutorial) to learn the general features of the game. This tutorial is helpful, but seems to drag on at times (all told it's only about 5 minutes, so this isn't even much of a complaint) Overall 5 stars!

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