Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise

The original Viva Piñata was one of the most fresh and original games to grace the Xbox 360 last year, and from the looks of it, the sequel is set to be the same. Created by super developer Rare, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise builds from the foundations that the original set by adding new features, Piñatas, accessories, and even more color to the already bright and fluffy world.

The point of the game is to create a lush garden that lures different species of Piñatas, and from there it is up to you to make them stay, breed them, and then package them off to parties all over the world. Easy you may say? There’s that nasty Professor Pester and his band of ruffians that will come into your garden to wreak havoc and smash up your Piñatas, and if you want to get the real rare species, it takes time and dedication to set the right garden to lure them out from the wild.

There are more than 100 species of Piñatas in the sequel, meaning 32 brand new species have been added to the already impressive roster. New features include the ability to leave your garden and venture off into the Pinarctic and the Dessert Desert to trap new Piñatas with bait. Other new features include the usage of the Xbox Live Vision Camera to scan Viva Piñata Cards which then appear in your garden and the ability to have up to four people on Xbox Live create a garden together.

If you look past the kiddy look to the game, you get a very deep and entertaining sim that well keep you entertained for hours on end. Rare lost its mojo? Yeah right.