Viva Pinata (PC)

So cheap and a great buy. Really happy with it. Came in perfect condition, although not with a plastic covering so was a bit nervous of its condition but it was fine!

Only manages to play on this game once and then it wouldn’t load up properly or even start

goodvalue

I still play this game on an older PC so I can't guarantee specs but here is my original review for this game :)... This is a great game all about raising these cute funny piñata. I'll start with installation: The game installed easily on my windows vista PC but it took a long time to initially install due to a problem with the pc not recognising the disc. A few words of warning straight away, I used to have a 512MB graphics card but this game only played well when I installed a new graphics card with 1GB of VRAM, before that it functioned but with a very choppy frame rate. Secondly the game comes with a code inside the box but this serial code was never asked for in my computer, instead the code seems to be needed when you connect online, but this game does NOT need any online activation and I have never been online with this pc. The game also has one more annoying problem which may just be down to my pc having a problem. When I try to activate this game by clicking on the disc drive it just doesn't want to start...When I leave the disc in the pc when the pc is turned off the pc won't start. This seems to be due to the fact that my computer can't spin the disc in the drive. This made installation take a long time and means that if I try to start the game by launching the disc it just doesn't want to work, to the point that the pc gets stuck and can't register any other function...my only option at this stage is to turn the pc off and start again. This problem may be my own problem with my computer but I'd advise to launch the game from a shortcut and never leave the disc in the drive if you turn off your pc. Now the gameplay is actually very good: The game starts by asking you to make a windows live profile. This doesn't require you to go online though and just needs you to put your name in a box. After that you will always start the game with your profile and your same gardens. Viva Pinata starts off with a really funny intro movie. This gets you into the funny silly mood of the game, but this game is not an action game, in fact it's quite a quiet game. You are given a garden to start with and a shovel to pat down the cracked dry earth. A character talks you through everything in a tutorial style so it's very easy to play without a manual. When you have flattened the dry earth and have some nice soil, your first piñata will arrive in your garden: A whirlm (like a piñata worm). These are the first piñata and really introduce everything to the game. The whole point of the game is to encourage new piñata to enter your garden, become residents, mate and ultimately be chosen to take part in kids piñata parties around the world. The whole game though is just you raising your piñata in your garden. The game is very open-ended allowing you to decide which piñata you want to raise, and if you want all the different piñata in your garden at some point or another you will spend a VERY LONG time playing this game. The game has a story running though it about the different characters who you encounter in the garden, and there are lots of things to read in an encyclopaedia on piñata, plants, characters, etc. The game has online capabilities such as sending things to friends but I've never been online so this feature I can't comment on. The game has a lot of funny videos too of piñata doing a mating dance. For anyone who might be concerned about mating in a childs game then don't worry. You know that the piñata are due to mate, they have to find each other in a mini-game first. You play as one of the pair trying to reach the other through a maze. Then you watch a very funny video of the piñata mating dance which is always something funny, cute and silly such as piñata mimicking each others moves, or one bouncing around the other while the second one just stares at it. It's always done to funny music and always makes me laugh. After that the piñata exit their house and an egg arrives. Everything about this game makes it great for kids. The whole game is made to be fun and cute but it is also a great game for adults to play too. The Bad: Apart from the installation and running issues I've mentioned the gameplay does have some problems. After starting the game and playing through it a bit you can never re-enter the tutorial mode or start a garden over from complete scratch. What I mean is that I played this game a few years ago, forgot about how to play and character etc. Apart from an encyclopaedia I was lost. I'd forgotten how to play and there was no way to re-learn in game. You can start a new garden but your profile carries over to all new gardens so everything I had earned and learned was carried to the new garden, the game expected me to remember everything. This is not such a terrible feature but I was lost and had to start over to truly get to grips with the game again. There is a limitation to the size of your garden and the amount of piñata you can have at any one time. Pinata also suffer from not liking each other in certain combinations so prepare for fights. This is a bit of an annoying feature as I really want to be able to keep all the piñata I want in a garden and not get rid of certain species due to incompatibility. Apart from that I can't fault this game. There is a lot to unlock in this game and being a game with no true goal other than that which you decide to make for yourself it really is fun but in a relaxed way. There are lots of features that I haven't mentioned such as expanding gardens, plants, decorations for piñata, etc. All this makes the game feel like there is a LOT to do and explore, even if you are limited to your small garden and the amount of piñata. I'd recommend this game to both adults and kids. Everything is very cute but be prepared for piñata to eat each other and also beware how long you will spend playing. I can't believe how long I've spent in one session playing this game. It's surprisingly addictive for a non-action game!