Question: If I like *animal crossing/sims/pokemon/harvest moon/etc* will I like viva pinata?
Answer: There is a good chance you will, viva pinata is a perfect combonation of depth meets simplicity, and plays like a mixture of animal crossing and a tycoon game (more then anything else id say)
Question: If I don't like those, will I enjoy viva pinata?
Answer: There is a possibility. I enjoyed animal crossing because I thought it was a novel idea, and was creative. I didn't like the sims because it was boring, and harvest moon really was chores made into a game. The reason viva pinata pulls me in more then those titles? I love rare, and more importantly this paticular style and mood. This is very much a rare world at it's best, and while in other games planting a seed and watering a plant would be boring, it was because I didn't care for that world at all. Viva pinata is charming and soothing to the bone, and i've grown to really love the world, so doing the fun task on top of the mundane micromanagement is all enjoyable to me.
The game is radically different then anything i've played though, while you could combine different games or styles and maybe come close, pinata is its own beast and definately recommended that you try it in some method for a few hours.
Question: Is this game teh kiddy?
Answer: Yes and no. The boxart would make you lose a lot of penis size just by looking at it, however, once the game starts the game actually is quite neutral. On one hand, things are cute, vivid and colorful, but they also have a certain sharpness that keeps them stylized (ala anime) so it never feels 'bad' cute. Aside that however, there is a lot of subtle adult humor scattered all around the game, suggestive romance dances, being able to do your own mom/dad, jokes in the plotline, and things that the helpers across the land say, it's all stuff that would fly over a childs head but an adult will smirk knowing what rare is insinuating.
Basically it's charming and funny, but not 'kiddy' in the worst sense, just like conker is cute and colorful, viva pinata isn't quite what it seems (but to a far less severe extent)
Question: Is this a good game for my kids/wife/myself?
Answer: This is a tough one, the fact is the game is kid friendly, but the gameplay might be too complex for younger people. Honestly, this is a game more geared towards people who like colorful/creative games, like nintendo fans or women (women seem to love these games). This is a great family game in that dad/mom play and maybe help the kid out, but I don't think this is a game to buy little timmy if he's going at it alone. However, the game has a pacing in which it's only as hard as you make it, but im not sure if kids would enjoy the game at its slower pace style (aka the easy way to play). There is also a simple mode, so maybe children could enjoy it, but it's really a gamble.
Basically I would not strongly advise buying this FOR a kid, but if the kid will have parental help or something then he will have a blast im sure. If you have a wife or girlfriend though, this is a GREAT game to get them playing with you, or to get into games in general. For us men, it depends on if you like the style of charm and color or must you have insane violence in everything.
Review
Presentation: 9
Viva pinata has an excellent presentation all around. The menues and everything are VERY stylized and welcoming, the story is actually funny and told in a 100 percent non invasive way, and the overall flow of events and such are near perfect. As well, there are a LOT of productions in this side of things, there are special cg videos that happen after you get a certain amount of achievements, there seem to be hundreds of pinatas all with their own romance dance movie (that only plays once per species) and just tons of little things scattered that make it great. The only downfalls are that the voice work from the tv show is indeed present in the intro video (aka the thing you see while letting the title screen idle) and the 'online safety' video. Thankfully no where else.
Graphics: 9
Beautiful, artistic, quirky and incredibly polished. Everything is so detailed and vivid, it basically looks near perfect for what the game is. The framerate rarely dips despite so much happening as well. The only reason its not a perfect 10 is that the garden and distance is fairly small, and every 5-15 minutes the game autosaves causing the game to studder for a half second or so. Nothing big but worth mentioning.
Sound: 9.5
The music in this game is amazing and moody, it's basically a softer more relaxing variation of banjo kazooie styled music, but a bit more epic as well. The voice acting is surprisingly spectacular and all the sound effects are damn near perfect. The only problem I have with the sound is that the music being so great, doesn't play all the time. I understand that quiet is good for a game like this but man, I just want to hear that music.
Gameplay: 9.0 (for now)
The gameplay in viva pinata is amazing. The structure and everything about it is just really awesome. The game starts you with a small garden, crappy tools and basically a large tutorial, not the best first impression right? Well what happens from here is a slow but certain way of jumping into a hot bath. You start by luring a pinata in the garden, doing some garden work and getting a grasp for things, but soon enough you will find that this game that was once considered a kids game and looked overly simple is actually insanely deep and complex.
The game has a structure in that it has a linear series of things you should aim for and do, but is also very open ended and free form style. Example, you start with a small piece of land and obviously want to expand it to twice the size right? Well it will take leveling up for that to happen, a linear goal that is achieved in a very open ended way. As well, throughout the time you play linear events happen to change the flow and dynamic of the otherwise open ended gameplay, so it's always varied and challenging.
Aside from the structure, everything in the game has a simple start and a deep finish. Initially a low level plant is something you plant and then just throw water on, but eventually balancing how you water it, throwing special kinds of dirt on it, etc, can change how it grows and evolves, forming something different or more valuable. The same applies to everything in the game. A pinata of the same species can be mated, but if you dig deep you may figure out how to cause the species to actually change into something different thats not even recorded yet. Hell cross breeding is said to be possible (rumor).
Everything in this game has these deep facets to them, but the execution is done in a simple way controls wise. What you have is usually one execution per button on the varied items, it works very well. The skill part is that learning the facets, how to apply them, and how to multi task EVERYTHING, it can be very daunting and difficult. But as you learn more you figure short cuts and more proficient ways to do things, it makes the game very rewarding. As well, as you level up more items and things unlock to buy, the fact is when rare opens up the feature of online co op, I look forward to roaming around the gardens of the people on my list, because there are SO many possible things to customize.
The best thing about this game is, a good 15 or so hours in and you're still seeing new events pop up, different ways to do things, and you've barely scratched what can be done. By the time you somehow beat every single linear aspect of the game, you will have SO much cool stuff that the 'infinity' of the game will kick in, making it near endless.
The core gameplay is very well done as well, you have the start button for system options, the X button brings up the stores/services/primary tools, then the dpad can hotkey important items like the shovel or water can. All of this is simple to do and fun as well, the only problems with the core game are when trying to move pinatas to something specific, it usually works but doesnt always and can be annoying, as well, reaching flying pinatas takes patience.
Aside all that, a story unfolds in the form of book chapters that are read off, so as you unlock them you can listen/read them at your own pace, never interferes with the game.
Another great part of the game is really just how perfectly everything comes together, the fact is, there is always a goal to go for, always something you should be doing, but if you just don't want to goal hunt then by all means relax and enjoy the garden in an open world sense. There are few games with a better pacing then viva pinata, as long as these games are your style. As well, every single thing you do is saved to one profile, so say you're level 25 as a gardener but don't want to do it all over again just to make a new one. Well you don't have to. EVERYTHING aside from the literal things in the garden carries over into new gardens, so you could start a new garden that is bare but maxxed in size, all the money is unified accross the gardens, etc. It really is very well thought out. Just be careful if friends/family don't have their own gamertags (which are free) as they could screw your economy just by making a new garden and blowing your chocolate coins.
What keeps viva pinata from being a perfect 10 in gameplay, aside from a couple annoyances listed, is the fact the game isn't complete feature wise. Yes it's an amazing single player game, but the formerly promised online/offline co op seem to be absent, and to me this hurts it enough to lower the score. Eventually though, rare plans to (for free most likely) upgrade it so you can have a friend or two visit your garden offline or online, and with your permission even do garden work there. As well, rare has said things about eventual online tourneys, mini games, etc, so the potential is really limitless. I can't wait for online co op, but i'm scoring it for what it is and not for what it might be. There are also some reported bugs and we don't know how extensive they may be within months.
Overall this is probably the best sims/tycoon/etc style game i've ever played in terms of its gameplay mechanic, I love it. Just remember, this games throws a LOT at you and is pretty fast paced and frantic if you let it get out of hand.
Replay value: 10
The game will take people hundreds of hours to really slap into place, and even then it doesn't end, it's just one of those games that will last some people forever, and with future tournements, the leaderboards, co op being added, etc, it really is limitless. As well, the achievements in this game are some of the best yet, 50 achievements and all of them lined accross the various possible goals to achieve in the game, and not some stupid redundant crap found in other games.
Overall: 9
I could review this game 10 times the amount I Just did and still barely touch on what the game really is, but the problem is no one would read that much. You'll just have to take my word for it, this game is amazingly good, complex, deep and charming all around. It's great for the adult and family minded gamer, but falls pretty flat on its face as the next game to get kids talking. If this game is mildly interesting to you, buy it, rent it, do something because you will most likely stick to it. Hell the official gaf thread is brewing with positive lust so far.
[Xbox360] Viva Pinata promosso a pieni voti.
Originariamente Scritto da krizalid
purtroppo e' sparita davvero!!!
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