Xbox Dad:

It's Party Time with Viva Piñata: Party Animals

Published November 21, 2007

I'm a big fan of Viva Piñata™, for both me and the kids. As much as I enjoy playing Halo® 3, and as much as my son loves playing games like TMNT™, there is something to be said for a game like Viva Piñata. It has a relatively quiet pace, with happy animals frolicking about, combined with the intellectual challenge of attracting the right piñatas and managing the ones you have. It's the videogame equivalent of playing classical music to your baby: I think my son gets smarter the longer he plays. But sometimes he is looking for something faster paced and not quite so challenging. And so along comes Viva Piñata®: Party Animals with the same great characters and world, and a full set of fun mini-games.

Welcome to the party.

Party games such as Fuzion Frenzy 2, Shrek Super Party!, and others have a few shared characteristics. There's usually a large number of different games, each relatively short and simple, with multiplayer support, and the games are generally aimed at a family audience. There's no need for a deep back story, and not much of a need for a save feature. Just fire up the game, grab your controllers, and play. Party games are perfect for playing with your kids, or for several kids to play together, or for adults to enjoy.

There are only eight different piñatas to pick from in Viva Piñata: Party Animals. You can choose male or female versions of Horstachio, FizzlyBear, Fudgehog, and Preztail. Don't worry if your kids don't know the characters, or don't watch the TV show from which this game is adapted, as the characters are all quite appealing on their own. Once the characters are chosen, it's time to play. The game is split between two main types of events: races and challenges.

There are tons of great mini-games in Viva Piñata: Party Animals.

The races are fun, with great powerups like butterfly wings to fly you over the competition, or a hive full of honey to stick your opponents to the track, and there are a ton of different courses to keep things interesting. The mini-games are also a blast, with over 40 different available games. The games range from Dance Dance Revolution style dance-offs to a game where you have to drink soda and then use burps to propel a little sailboat to victory. My son especially loved the mini-game where you had to run around on a spinning circular arena while avoiding a quickly rotating bar, although I think what he really enjoyed was watching the piñatas getting smacked right off the arena.

The races and the mini-games combine together into a single match for you and up to three friends to play through. You can customize the number of races and the number of mini-games to put between each race, to create exactly the playing experience that you prefer, and start to finish you'll be done in around 10 or 15 minutes per match. These quick little sessions make this a perfect game to play with your kids, because you can play for a match, leave for a match to get back to preparing dinner or whatever else needs done, and then come back again in just a few more minutes. And, when it's time to shut the game down, it's only 10 to 15 minutes away from a point where the kids (or adults) won't complain about having to stop.

Racing to the finish line.

Xbox LIVE® supports play with up to three other players from near or far, and adds a whole new angle to the game. Single-player is still great, so the game can be a lot of fun for just one child, but give it a try and jump on in with them. Even if you're a parent that isn't really into videogames, I think you'd enjoy this one!

If you love the characters and look of Viva Piñata: Party Animals, be sure to check out the original game, now available at a low price as an Xbox 360 Platinum Hit.

Article by Duncan Festive Turkey Mackenzie