Viva Pinata Party Animals Review

Those of you who were expecting a full-fledged “Viva Pinata 2” will probably be disappointed with Viva Pinata Party Animals. It’s not a bad game at all, but Viva Pinata Party Animals does a complete 180-degree turn in terms of gameplay from last year’s original Viva Pinata. Rather than micro-managing your own garden full of Pinatas, you take control of one Pinata and participate in fast-paced foot races and an assortment of mini games. Think of it as Fuzion Frenzy with Pinatas, but a lot more fun. The result, while not a true sequel, is perfect for those gamers who have been looking for games to enjoy with their children.

Before starting the game, you have to choose which Pinata you want to play as. There are several to choose from, such as Hudson and Hailey Horstachio, Furgy Following each race, you compete in several mini games, some of which are fun and others of which are very repetitive. Most of these games involve picking up candy while trying to push the other players out of the way. Other games focus on shooting targets, rhythm games and smashing things by pushing the buttons at the correct time. The better you do in each mini game, the more points you earn, which are tallied at the end of the tournament to determine the winner. Again, it’s a lot like the Fuzion Frenzy and its end-of-stage rounds. After each mini-game round, it’s back off to a foot race.

Unfortunately, several of the mini games is just a variation of another mini game. For example, in one game you need to bump into some bad pinatas and make them drop candy, which you in turn pick up. In a later game, you need to stay in the spotlight while running around img class=”floatright” src=”/images/thumbs/vivapinataparty.jpg” width=”200″>and picking up candy. This is clearly derivative, but it’s still entertaining for kids. On the other hand, there are also some very fun games, such as Color Me Not, in which the object is to paint the floor by dropping paint on it while you do ground-pounds to remove your opponent’s paint. Don’t forget that your opponents can also ground-pound your painted sections.

There is also a dance game in which you have to press the correct buttons when prompted to make your pinata dance, and the longer you dance, the more points you get. My daughter’s favorite game is “Who’s Left,” a mini game in which the pinatas walk onto a stage from the left and go behind the curtain. Some will leave the stage from behind the curtain as more hide behind it, and eventually you’re asked how many pinatas are left behind the curtain. It was fun watching my daughter trying to keep track of how many were coming and going.

With that mini-game in mind, it’s obvious that Viva Pinata: Party Animals isn’t going to entice the same crowd of gamers that the original Viva Pinata did, but it’s really not supposed to. Viva Pinata Party Animals is just as colorful and cartoonish as the first game, and it’s enjoyable for the whole family, albeit for different reasons. As you would expect from these types party games, Party Animals supports up to four players on the same Xbox 360, as well as four-player Xbox Live support. I highly recommend this game to people who want a good family game to play with the kids. Also, if you’re an older gamer looking for some very easy Achievement Points, you might want to rent it for a weekend.

— Randie Kilgore