When Microsoft first released Viva Piñata back in 2006, there were a few Rare fans out there that thought to themselves: “This is what we’re getting instead of Killer Instinct 3?” Now fast forward to the present and those same people are probably going to look at Trouble in Paradise and say: “We’re still getting this instead of Killer Instinct 3?” What I’m trying to do here is not surreptitiously embed my own plea for another Killer Instinct game, but make it clear that the love/ hate attitudes towards the Viva Piñata series will not have changed with this iteration, because it’s pretty similar to the first game.

In an attempt to add a dash of conflict to an otherwise serene setting, Trouble in Paradise tasks would-be gardeners with the responsibility of rebuilding the Piñata Database, after arch-fiend Professor Pester wiped the records clean. Fans will be taken back to the good old garden, and begin work on enticing over 100 new and old piñatas to visit, take up residence, and reproduce (in a child-friendly fashion of course). Most VP vets will feel right at home with the toolset containing the usual items such as the shovel, watering can, and seeds to create a Garden of Eden for candy filled critters. A new trick stick has been added, so that players can permanently teach their Piñatas fancy moves, and have them perform them on the fly. The controls have remained largely the same, with the left stick maneuvering the cursor, and right stick controlling the camera, X bringing up the tool menu, and A as the select button.

In order to earn experience players will have to complete challenges assigned by Langston at Piñata Control that involve collecting certain creatures. But before Piñatas can be shipped across the world their candiosity has to be brought up to par. In the past, Piñatas could generally be fed anything, but this time they’ll be a little pickier, as Rare has made some foods harmful to certain species’ health. While reaping the rewards from these challenges, and visiting the local villagers like Costalot and Willy for more structures and flowers was nice, completing the challenges themselves tended to get a little hum drum. All that’s ever required is getting another Piñata into the garden and filling them up with candy, and although the procedures get a bit more complex the goal never exactly changes, making the garden start to feel a bit more like a sweat shop.

Fortunately, Trouble in Paradise allows the player to experience a change of scenery by introducing other environments such as arctic and desert regions that come with their own varieties of Piñatas. Players can set traps for the local creatures and have them shipped back to the home garden, where fresh surface packets and items become available to give the newcomers the feel of home. The introduction of other locales is a great idea, but there are only two of them, and the interactions that can take place there are fairly limited.