Product Description

American English version, Region Free, will work on any 360 console system

Viva Piata, the latest innovative gaming experience from leading U.K.-based developer Rare Ltd., invites gamers to create an immersive world where living piatas inhabit an ever-changing environment. Beginning with a few basic tools, players build and take control of this environment, using their creativity and imagination to attract, protect and manage over 60 different piata species that can visit their world and make it their home. Utilizing hundreds of customizable elements, players can create a unique piata paradise.

Pushing the capabilities of the hardware, Viva Piata brings a vibrant and engaging gaming experience to the Xbox 360 platform. Appealing to kids, adults, casual gamers and enthusiasts alike, this uniquely customizable and social game rewards and challenges all players regardless of their skill level. The Viva Piata gameplay experience presents a customizable, social and spontaneous world in which gamers play an absolutely crucial role. The Viva Piata world is an evolving paradise teeming with fantastic living piata creatures and vibrant plant life, all determined by the players choices and actions.

Viva Piata allows players imaginations to run wild by providing them with expansive freedom and choice. Your choice of contents will determine which of the piata species are attracted to your world, since they all have individual requirements. Sowing grass, digging ponds, planting flowers and growing trees all affect which of the unique piatas you will see. Its not just about plants, either; there is a whole range of ornaments and structures that could be decisive. Your reward for creating an appealing paradise is to watch the piatas visit and eventually reside there, which is where the fun really starts.

Once you have resident piatas, you can begin to personalize your loyal community. Piatas can be indiv

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2242 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Released on: 2006-11-30
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Subtitled in: German

Amazon.co.uk Review

In a nutshell:
Ex-Nintendo developer Rare is bringing a rather different style of game to the Xbox 360 as you tend a virtual garden to attract and tame magical talking piñatas. It may sound twee but its ability to addict is far more powerful than its cutesy graphics suggest.

The lowdown:
Unlike most first party Xbox games this is not an action game, but a gentler, more family friendly, simulation in the tradition of Animal Crossing. The basic premise is that you have a plot of land that you can turn from an overgrown mess into a beautiful garden. In so doing it will attract a range of 60 different piñatas who, depending on how you treat them, will then decide to live there. For something as simple as a piñata worm you just have to have a patch of earth for them to play in but other piñatas are a lot more demanding, while others first need to be tamed from their aggressive wild state.

Most exciting moment:
Not only can you accessorise your piñatas with items bought from Xbox Live Marketplace but you can also swap items and piñatas with other friends that own the game online.

Since you ask:
Viva Piñata has been conceived as a Pokemon style cross media franchise from the off, with all kinds of toys and merchandise already planned, as well as a new 4Kids cartoon series.

The bottom line:
At last there’s an Xbox 360 game the whole family can play and enjoy.
HARRISON DENT

Edge
Viva Piñata is rich with charm, ingenuity, artistry and genuine delight.

Manufacturer's Description:

Viva Piñata, the latest innovative gaming experience from leading U.K.-based developer Rare Ltd., invites gamers to create an immersive world where living piñatas inhabit an ever-changing environment. Beginning with a few basic tools, players build and take control of this environment, using their creativity and imagination to attract, protect and manage over 60 different piñata species that can visit their world and make it their home. Utilizing hundreds of customizable elements, players can create a unique piñata paradise.

Pushing the capabilities of the hardware, Viva Piñata brings a vibrant and engaging gaming experience to the Xbox 360 platform. Appealing to kids, adults, casual gamers and enthusiasts alike, this uniquely customizable and social game rewards and challenges all players regardless of their skill level. The Viva Piñata gameplay experience presents a customizable, social and spontaneous world in which gamers play an absolutely crucial role. The Viva Piñata world is an evolving paradise teeming with fantastic living piñata creatures and vibrant plant life, all determined by the player’s choices and actions.

Viva Piñata allows players’ imaginations to run wild by providing them with expansive freedom and choice. Your choice of contents will determine which of the piñata species are attracted to your world, since they all have individual requirements. Sowing grass, digging ponds, planting flowers and growing trees all affect which of the unique piñatas you will see. It’s not just about plants, either; there is a whole range of ornaments and structures that could be decisive. Your reward for creating an appealing paradise is to watch the piñatas visit and eventually reside there, which is where the fun really starts.

Once you have resident piñatas, you can begin to personalize your loyal community. Piñatas can be individually named and given their own personally designed tag to put on display as a declaration of their home turf. And the customization doesn’t end there. You can make the colourful critters more distinctive by customizing them with all kinds of costumes and accessories.

The Viva Piñata community is a rewarding place to be, whether you remain within the boundaries of your own world or venture out into the real world or your friend’s piñata world via Xbox Live, the first and only global, unified online console games service. Getting to know and understand the personalities and requirements of your piñatas is essential if you want them to stay happy and thrive. Make your world their ideal paradise, and they’ll want to raise a family and expand your community. Players decide how much help they want from the local guides, shopkeepers and work force. Go it alone or get them involved - you choose. Via the Xbox Live online community, players can contact other gamers to lend a hand, lay down a competitive challenge or trade items.

Viva Piñata is a constantly changing world where anything can and does happen.  It’s not just new piñata species that are drawn to your world; untamed sour piñatas with bad attitudes and troublemaking ruffians do their worst to spoil your creation and must be dealt with. Maintaining harmony within a growing community isn’t always easy when rivalries, illness, injuries and even candy-spilling fights occur. If players turn their backs, who knows what their piñatas will do?

About Rare Ltd.
Rare Ltd., one of the world’s leading video game developers, was founded in 1985 by Chris and Tim Stamper. Based in the United Kingdom, Rare is the mastermind behind some of the most popular video games available, including multimillion-dollar sellers GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. In November 2005, Rare released Perfect Dark: Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power for Xbox 360, the second-generation video game console from Microsoft.

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly engrossing
I have actually bought this title for my girlfriend for Christmas, but the sampling has proven surprisingly addictive. in short there are many similarities to the japanese 'wonderful life' franchise, where you raise a 'garden' of animals and grow foods etc. I suppose it may be a little too complex for children as you need to keep an eye on a multitude of real time events as your pinadas relentlessly kill each other offscreen, but all are easily regenerated....one complaint so far is the lack of clarity on exactly how you progress, attain larger gardens etc.. but a hdtv plasma the graphics and colours are fantastic....my first attempt lasted 8 consecutive hrs, and if you like management sims along the line of theme park etc... you probly won't be disappointed.

Very, very addictive.
I bought this game as I fancied trying something a bit different to the usual first person shooters which I usually buy. I put the game in, started playing it and before I knew it 3 hours had passed and I was frantically trying to get worms to "romance" and make sure my newly planted seeds had enough water. There are no real objectives in this game, but you can unlock achievements and earn in game points as your garden grows and you attract more Pinata. Graphically it's very pleasing with colourful animation and nice 3D gardens to appreciate. I have had no problems with the game freezing as another reviewer said, the game plays fine and an auto save feature helps to ensure you don't lose too much should something disastrous happen. Great game - deserves to be massive.

the sims, but fluffier.
bought this game couple of days ago after i read some other reviews on it. Game play and objective is basically similar to the sims, -build house, buy nice things, cultivate and watch it all fall apart! Very enjoyable game, very addictive. Originally bought it for my girlfriend but i havent let her have a go on it yet! bit of a shame there is no real online play for it, all you can do is trade things. Also sometimes there can be too much going on and not enough time to do it (classic sim problem). Maybe i need more practice..........