Viva Pinata - secret best game of the year?

nitzmoff

Has anyone had the chance to spend some time with this one? It's suprising very good. Not a kids game at all really, far too complicated and deep for the tots, but something you could certainly play while they're in the room no problem.

It's basically a Sims/Animal Crossing/Harvest Moon type affair where you grow a garden to attract Pinatas to come and live. The real fun is watching them interact; which entails their fighting, screwing and cannabalizing each other... great fun.

If you get the chance to try it out, take it. I think it's the best game Rare has put out in the last decade, maybe even ever.

Asmuel

If anyone hasnt seen it...

http://www.gametrailer.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=2487#trailers

looks fun, kinda reminds me of Jet Set Radio Future

skankerzero

I have it and I like it, it just came out at the same time with a bunch of other good games.

Toomas

You know Nitz, kids are not really that stupid. One of my relatives played RollerCoaster Tycoon when she was 3 or 4 and she did really well. Extreme eye-hand coordination and complex interface are usually the problem for kids.

Fuse

Has anyone else noticed ? It quite a good looking game, in it's context of course. But seriously, it's quite a vibrant and visually exciting game with some real good art direction and generally impressively realtime visuals for a game of that type of genre.

In the world of monochromatic next-gen grittyness, this is quite a jem

For some reason i saw a kid's cartoon that had these same pinatas, is there a connection ?

Toomas

yes the cartoon ties into the game atleast thats what i understood, i cant really remember how exactly.

acc

The scenarios in the show give you hints (or outright tell you) how to attract certain pinatas in the game. Or so I hear.

I've also heard that Bungie is suffering from somewhat of a pinata invasion. Apparently, they can't get anyone to stop playing it

Perhaps there is hope for Rare after all.

HonkyPunch

You just ruined the secret.

SHEPEIRO

its the first game that makes me think forkin out for a 360 and FINALLY going next-gen might be worth the price tag

Ryno

The guys at work here are obsessed with it. Apparently someone just got a Fizzly Bear to be a resident in their garden. Big excitement, as would be expected.

I haven't delved into it as much as the others, but I must say that the game is wonderfully charming and fun. I just got a 360 at home, and am dying to get a copy of this, as I think that my wife would love it. (Couple of years down the road, my kid might too.)

It really is a fun game. You can pretty much play it how you'd like in a sim-esque manner. The graphics are better than most 3d weekly cartoons, and the design and animation is totally fascinating.

nitzmoff

Yeah, the game really promotes experimentation and exploring. There is no 'thing' you must set out to do other than general matinence of the garden (which if you totally booch it, you can wipe the slate clean and start anew). It's pretty clear you won't ever see all the content with the choices you make in a single garden. I really like the approach.

Joshua Stubbles

I still have to download it

Been busy lately.

hawken

cute!

nice furry grass and such like

iangrafix

All I have to say is, I havent seen one of my good friends for weeks since he's had this game. And the worst part is, we thought he was playing WoW - lol

Rhinokey

i picked it up after work today and played it for about 5 hours. its a beautiful game, but has the same problems as most games of this type,, huge and wide open game play,, but i'm to franticly making sure that my pinatas are not fighting and that stupid tiki man doesnt come in and break my pinats to be able to enjoy much,,

nitzmoff

Rhinokey- Strange as it sounds, you kind of have to get used to the fact that things are not always going to work out. The game does a pretty good job of letting you recover from 'disasters' fairly quickly as more than likely you still retain the requirements necessary for getting new pinatas of the ones you lost. If you're desperately trying to achieve some kind of homeostasis, you're just going to drive yourself nuts.

Personally, I've found that focusing on nor more than 2 or 3 types of pinatas at a time is the way to go. That and using fences and gates everywhere (albeit your hired 'help' does a great job of leaving gates open all the time).

Rhinokey

i got the hang of it, i had to get rid of my fudgehog cause he was a complete ass, and always starting fights, also got totems to get rid of sour sherbats and shellybeans,

just had a ruffian show up, and sour crow. have to deal with them, just this morn i tamed a doenut, and turned my quackberry into a juicygoose,, just hope i can get another gooseberry before my juicy goose and remaining quackberry start causing problems. been making heaps of money with twingersnaps and redhotts. addictibe game

sledgy

[ QUOTE ]
i got the hang of it, i had to get rid of my fudgehog cause he was a complete ass, and always starting fights, also got totems to get rid of sour sherbats and shellybeans,

just had a ruffian show up, and sour crow. have to deal with them, just this morn i tamed a doenut, and turned my quackberry into a juicygoose,, just hope i can get another gooseberry before my juicy goose and remaining quackberry start causing problems. been making heaps of money with twingersnaps and redhotts. addictibe game

[/ QUOTE ]

Speak English!

Rhinokey

well got all the sours tamed, and got all the statues to keep out dastardos, prof pester, and the ruffians, so now i really don't have to worry about anything going wrong in the game. just trying to get all the critters in my various gardens, working on a safari garden now, planning to put all the safari / jungle creatures in. slated to go in are
roario, bonboons, buzzenges (kinda a stretch) chippopatmus, cinnamonkey, cocodile, elephanilla, parrybo, zumbugs and a galagoogoo

i've got them all showing up, and i've got them all tamed cept the roario and galagoogoo (tho he's walking over to the tulip plants as i type this.. maybe he will eat them...) and the roario.. and the roario is pissing me off, i have all the requirements met for him, i have a huge field full off zumbugs and doenuts.. all he has todo is walk in and eat some of them.. but he's just not doing it he just walks around!!

Rhinokey

well the roario thing was a bug i had to start a new garden,, then he came right in and ate them.

pretty much beat the game just trying to get all the extras now, just dug up the dragonache,, working towards chewnicorn now

nitzmoff

Does the game just keep on going or does it ever tell you that you've basically become the grand master of pinatafication and to just keep on doing your thing.

I've so far been so very pleased that I really haven't been told to do anything. the game keeps rewarding me for doing whatever I feel like.

Rhinokey

well the guy told me that i had surpassed him in skill , and thats pretty much it, still a lot of pinatas i havent got yet,, basicaly i considered the game "beat" after you get teh stuff that makes it where no bad guys / pinatas can come in,, after that its just making gardens