 |
| Source // Moby Games |
Gardening. We're not all fans of it, that's for sure. I'm quite happy to look at a garden and enjoy the life within, but getting out there and maintaining it... Nah. I let nature take its course. Which is why I spent the precious few moments of sunshine yesterday indoors, tending to a virtual garden full of strange little cartoony critters in Viva Piñata.
Battered shovels at the ready, because we're about to create a thriving ecosystem in our digital backyard.
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
Frustrations
I'm playing the Xbox 360 release of Viva Piñata and after a colourful, cartoon-show-like introduction video/theme song, we're dumped into a spot of wasteland occupied by a crying leaf-woman. Riiiight.
This is Leafos, our gardening guide, and she sounds exactly like the ever-cheerful, clearly spoken children's TV host that you need to educate young folks about the world around them. This is going to be a little annoying to get through. Everything is colourful and kid-like. This gardening simulator is, indeed, aimed at younger audiences, but it's not excluding older players either.
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
This Doenut, for example, loves that I've covered my plot with grass, if memory serves, but they're not quite ready to move in yet. I need to do more to get them from onlooker to active participant.
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
Often, that means completing a series of steps that subtly teaches us about the food chain, and ecosystems. Here, some Whirlms have liked what I've done with the place, moved in, felt comfortable enough to live here and have become the colourful Piñata they were destined to be. When I've got two of them, they can engage in a romantic minigame to get busy with the next generation, which will eventually arrive and grow and continue the species' existence.
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
Unless they get eaten, of course. But to be eaten, while unfortunate for the Whirlms (especially if you bothered to name them individually), is good for the next rung of the ladder. These birds don't feel like cosying up together until they've both eaten something and I've built them a house.
As the in-game days roll by, you'll see them go about their business, responding to your prompts where necessary, flourishing in their new habitat. It's nice to see a garden, basic though it may be, come to life in that way.
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
But it is a waiting game. I saw a Bunnycorn sniff around my patch, and it stole my carrot. It's nearby, but I haven't welcomed it in yet. Other Piñata are looking but not happy to settle, and others still haven't come and said 'hi' outside of their short intro animations. From butterflies to deer and beyond, there are plenty of Piñata to cater for.
Do you want to?
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
 |
| Source // Moby Games |
Final Word
I don't, no. While I didn't use the 'Fun Times' heading, Viva Piñata isn't all that bad. In fact, as I say, it's nice to have something come alive after knowing what it looked like at the start. Creating something is always an achievement, even if it's as simple as grass or a birds nest.
Watching the Piñata first pop their noses in to explore, and then finally decide to settle, whereupon they bloom into their colourful final form is a treat, but then you've got to satisfy a whole load more objectives to push them into their next phase of life and attract newcomers, the cycle repeats, but slowly, you eventually get bored...
I can see the joy to be had in Viva Piñata, and I had a teeny tiny bit of it. I left my garden after two lengthy in-game days, which doesn't sound like much, but I had a bunch of critters in or close to my garden and had met many of the weird-looking locals, from builders to shopkeepers and seed merchants.
There are many more mechanics that I'm yet to partake in, I'm sure, and much more to do beyond plating some flowers. I know, for example, that you can fence in some of your guests to protect them from other Piñata, should you not want nature to take over completely. You can make your garden your own, though I don't know what kind of customization options there are to jazz it up.
This isn't a straight-up kids game. I think it may be a little too complex for some kids, perhaps, but then I've not exactly worked with kids to know how smart or stupid they are, in general. I just get the impression that it looks like a kids game but doesn't really play like one. You need to keep a lot in your head, it seems, if you want the very best for your garden.
If you just want to see what happens, though, sure, fire up Viva Piñata. It's colourful, it's quirky, it's charming, and it'll pass the time until you've had your fill and decide to move on. Nothing wrong with that.
Fun Facts
There was an actual kids TV series about Viva Piñata, though I've no idea how it did.
Viva Piñata, developed by Rare, first released in 2006.
Version played: Xbox 360, 2007.