VGM Fusion

Review: Viva Piñata: Party Animals (Xbox 360)

In the world of video games it may seem that the secret to success is having the best graphics, the most sex and violence, or the most innovative gameplay. In truth though, the answer is none of these. For that, you have to as they say, “think of the children!” Yes, the kids (even though we 20-something gamers think we’re where it’s at) rule the roost when it comes to profits in the gaming industry, where except for little blips on the radar like Halo 3, that newest version of Pokémon is going to sell like crazy.

This is one fact that Nintendo knows all too well, and because of that, over the years even though they seemed to have lost us (their old core audience), they’ve still retained the children, oh have they ever. So when doing their cost-benefit analysis’ Microsoft began to think to themselves that maybe the hardcore wasn’t the only area they should be targeting. And thus was born Viva Piñata.

The game was released last year to mixed reactions (some probably due to the fact that inbreeding was almost encouraged in the game), but did manage to spawn toys and a TV show to get the youngsters hooked. The game was perhaps a little too complicated for Timmy (age 6), but the TV show wasn’t.

This year Microsoft is hoping that by putting out another Viva Piñata game that’s essentially a bunch of mini-games slapped together with an arcade racer they’ll strike it rich. You know, it just might work.

Viva Piñata: Party Animals is short on substance, and just like everything in the Viva Piñata universe, is laden with saccharine. The colors are bright, the sound effects are flowery, and the names of the characters and items are, well just as weird as they always were.

You’ll take delight in racing around the track with Paulie Pretztail or even one of the new characters like Hailey Horstachio, all the while using such wonderful Mario Kart-esque power-ups like the Flutterscotch Wings. You hear that? Flutterscotch. If that doesn’t sound like just the sort of thing your kids want to be fluttering around obstacles on, I don’t know what is.

The game is very simple, and breaks down like this: You pick a small, medium or long campaign. You and up to 3 friends (at home, or online) then compete in races interspersed with one of 50 mini-games to see who has the most candiosity. The mini-games are fun and varied, and are full of objectives like burping, and playing baseball-ish games and the like. Just the sort of things kids love.

Viva Pinata: Party Animals is not really breaking any new ground. It’s not innovative, it’s not something we haven’t played before… heck it’s not even the first of its kind on the Xbox (see others like Fusion Frenzy), but it has product tie-ins that your kid may already be into, and it’s well… cute. It’s also well made, nicely balanced, and for kids… fun. Worth the money if you want some nice kiddy-entertainment for your young ones.

Game Details:
Available: October 30, 2007
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Krome Studios
Genre: Mini-Games/Racing
ESRB: Everyone
VGM Rating: 4/5