When it comes to gaming, 90% of the time I am an all action violence killing type of gamer. But every now and then there is one game that doesn’t meet those requirements but turns out to still be great.
I am talking about Viva Pinata. I bought the first one for my girlfriend and reviewed it and i recently bought her the sequel, trouble in paradise.
Now what i liked about the first game was the way you raised your pinata, like a mini simulation game taking account of their feeding, watering and happiness level, while trying to get rid of intruders and doing a bit of farming. Trouble in paradise is much the same but with a few little improvements which i think make the game. For example, in the first game you could lay down short grass and long grass. In Trouble in paradise you can lay down sand and snow and turn you pinata garden into a crazy multi-climate wander land.
But that’s not all, there are also challenges to complete. Modifying and feeding your pinatas to the right requirements so they can be sent off to parties across the world. This challenge element gives a new element to the game which i believe was lacking in the first one.
But it doesn’t stop there, one element which is possible my most favorite new thing to do in his game is to go Hunting for pinatas. Going away from your garden, setting traps and catching pinatas in the wild. A really good idea meaning you don’t have to wait around for days on end to see a new pinata who is interested in your garden.
The graphics of this game have of course been given a good revamp. The vibrant colours really jump out at you, even more so than the first game, The water effects look even better and the new weather effect (such as snow) are very effective.
One thing that i am not sure of though is the inclusion of the Xbox live vision camera. Not an essential part of the game which is good but the idea of having cards for the camera to read and then put items directly into your garden, i see as a bit of a broken system. After doing a little research on the net i have pretty much found a site that has every single pinata on a selection of cards, meaning that you can get all pinatas from the start therefore eliminating the challenge, weather there is someone silly enough out there to do that i dont know, but as i say the system even though it is a good idea seems a little broken.
With all sequels to games like this there is always going to be brand new animals, and Trouble in paradise does not skimp out on giving you new Pinatas for hunt, find and breed. You can see rare have really put a lot of thought into the new pinatas and some of them are the best i have seen yet.
So to some up. This is defiantly a guilty pleasure for me, even if it is me watching my girlfriend play it. It is a great game that brings plenty of challenge, a good intro to new comers and a lot of variety when it comes to creating your garden
