Gamernode: Previews - Viva Piñata Preview

Viva Piñata Preview

In an obvious attempt by Microsoft and Rare to go after the younger crowd, along comes Viva Piñata, a title which is being pushed out there hard on a variety of levels, including a game, a Saturday-morning TV show, action figures and who knows what else. And while it will inevitably have to fight thePokémon-ripoff comparisons when it comes to franchising, it's looking like even adults will be able to enjoy this surprisingly deep game -- provided they can get past thekiddy atmosphere. To lay it out simply, the premise of the game is this: you control and manage a garden which will come to be populated by piñatas. As unimaginably dull as that may sound (and who could blame you for making that assertion)Viva Piñata actually manages to have an extremely deep, but accessible gameplay system that is bound to hook gamers of all ages. Raising full-grown, happy piñatas is the main goal of the game, so that they can be sent off to birthday parties where they will undoubtedly be met by ferocious children wielding baseball bats.

Depending on your choice, the control scheme will contour to a more simplistic or advanced setup. Kids' mode sports a stationary camera, whereas the regular mode enables control over it. In a further attempt to simplify things, a plethora of functions will be assigned to the left stick.

Additionally, you'll have plenty of choices in regards to what you do within the game. It's almost a hybrid sandbox/Animal Crossing game; aesthetics aside, the options for what to do are quite plentiful and allow for the raising of piñatas to be the focal point, or for farming to take center stage. Regardless of your decision, all of these tasks need to be completed, in addition to even more tasks which will only become more and more plentiful as time goes on. Of course, piñatas will consistently need to be recruited to join you, and once your garden grows to be a large community, attention will need to be paid to each piñata to ensure that everyone stays happy.

Eventually, you can help the mating process and get your piñatas producing some babies by means of a mini-game. However, a variety of things need to be accomplished before you can get to this step. For example, certain piñatas will only mate in certain houses, and by extension are only attracted to certain locations -- such as a particular type of grass or wetland. You'll need to make use of the tools available to you, by using tools like a shovel or watering can in order to create an ideal living environment for your guests.

Sour piñatas (which are wild, enemy piñatas) will attack your garden from time to time, and they will need to be fended off. Thanks to the shovel, this can be accomplished with a good smack. The shovel also serves a more practical purpose, as it will allow you to create the aforementioned wetlands that some piñatas desire, among other things.

Piñatas can be customized once they are a member of your community, from their name to the outfits that can be purchased for them. Tags can be designed for each piñata, allowing for further customization and more ways to make sure that these are truly your own original piñatas.

Xbox Live will allow for you to travel to your friends' gardens, where you can trade items, help out with their tasks or compete in a variety of challenges. While playing, you can even send a crate to a friend with a piñata inside; if you decide to put a sour in there to be a bother to your buddy, that's your decision. But due to the fact that you can't know what's waiting inside a crate, don't be surprised if he or she returns the favor.

What was touched on in this preview is just an extremely brief look at what could potentially be a very deep, rewarding game. Due to its nature and its kids' mode, this is the sort of micromanaging, open-ended strategy game that could be fun for youngsters, but thanks to the more advanced mode and Xbox Live support, could be a hit with the older crowd as well. Don't judge this title by its outer shell; this piñata just might be filled with gems.

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