For some reason, after lamenting the middling sales of the original, and multiple articles on all the big websites that more people should have been paying attention to the original game, the sequel seems to have been almost universally ignored by most gaming sites, despite being shown several times over the past year at various conventions, such as E3. So it actually came as a surprise to me that the newest entry in the series (and last most likely the last, given the complete lack of promotion that MS seems to be giving it yet again) is actually being released this coming Tuesday, 9/2. So I just wanted to throw together a little thread to drum up interest, maybe build up a list of names for multi, etc.
Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise
What is Viva Pinata?
Viva Pinata is the critically loved (and woefully underselling) virtual garden/life game by good ole developer Rare Software. The main gist of the game is you, the new owner of a run down garden, are responsible for turning your plot of land into a habitat suitable for drawing in, raising and breeding various species of pinata life. This time around there is also a bare bit of story to accomidate the alteration of the mission system (the pinata central orders) of the original.
What's New?
The base sandbox gameplay is mostly unchanged this time, though they are offering different modes to lighten things up a bit for younger players, and allowing for players who just simply want to jump in and play in their sandbox without having to worry about upgrading their tools, etc.
- Player Guide - A mode intended for younger or newer players, where the fundamental aspects of the game are explained and the game pacing is relaxed.
- Standard Mode - The primary game mode, which includes challenges from sour piñatas, Ruffians, and other forces.
- Just For Fun Mode - A mode where players can hop in and immediately begin working on a garden without worrying about running out of money or having to unlock various items. However, certain more exotic piñatas are not available in this mode, nor are Xbox Live Achievements.
Other additions this time around include:
- Contests - Players can enter their piñatas in beauty contests and races, the latter of which requires piñatas to race along a course collecting sweets and avoiding loathers (Pester's evil red bombs).
- 30+ new pinatas, bringing the total to over 100.
- Two new areas, an icy arctic area, and sweltering desert to accomidate some of the new species (also giving you new tile sets to edit your garden with).
- 2 player local co-op, and 4 player co-op over live (though I've not seen any real talk about the features for this other than everyone will have maxed out equipment, so it sounds like it might be the Just For Fun mode, and not your personal single player garden).
- Live Vision Camera Support: In a manner similar to what is done in titles such as Eye of Judgement, the camera is able to optically scan an image from a card and use the embedded matrix barcode to allow in-game content to be imported or activated.
Demo Incoming
Via Xbox360fanboy
Viva Piñata 2 demo in certification, releasing soon
Posted Aug 20th 2008
In an interview with Eurogamer, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise lead programmer Will Bryan confirmed details regarding a Trouble in Paradise demo releasing to the Xbox Live Marketplace saying that it will release "as soon as possible."
According to Bryan, the demo is finished and is currently in the hands of Microsoft's certification team. Then, once it's approved by cert, it will be released to the Xbox Live masses. As far as demo specifics go, we're being told that it'll include 25 minutes of gameplay from the core game including a few Live features and the "Just For Fun" game mode. Sadly, the demo will not include any co-op support, local or Live, so we'll just have to imagine playing with three other piñata gardeners. Imagination FTW!
Anyway, there's some basic information, and I'll expand on it more when I get home this evening, and get some pics of the new pinata types and such thrown in. So yeah... VP2.
Posts
XBL/PSN/Steam: APZonerunner
This determines whether I buy this game or not.
I also found it hilarious my wife would get home from work, and the first thing she would ask is "did you get the unicorn pinata yet?"
Also will pinatas in my garden have any AI beyond walk around/sleep?
I liked the raccoon one that ran around like it was on crack stopping to sniff everything.
I am pumped for some pinatas. Pricing this at $40 is probably the nicest thing MS has ever done for me.
this was a huge issue for me as well, until I realized that you could hold down the button and it pounded much quicker... could do a whole garden in about 3 minutes? yeah, I'll probably play this one too.
Hmmm, no... Closer to Harvest Moon mixed with the old PC game creatures, than anything else. You don't catch the creatures like in Pokemon, you draw them in by having aspects of your garden enticing to their species, whether it be certain types of plants/foods growing, or certain pinatas lower on the food chain than them (for example, if I remember correctly, the Pretztail foxes would only come into/join your garden if you already had mice, which they were the natural predator of).
Yeah, it's basically like Dungeon Keeper or the newer Evil Genius, except with pinatas.
And for the vision thingy, I assume they are selling packs of cards?
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Nope. This is the beauty of it. Taking a picture of a Pinata with the in-game cam and sending it to the Viva Pinata website allows you to login there with your Live ID... and print off the card for that creature. You can then share with a friend. I think cards may be one use only or something, you'd have to print a second for a second person or something, so as to step cards for every single Pinata ending up on gamefaqs within the week.
XBL/PSN/Steam: APZonerunner
That said, I wonder how many people are going to get snookered by the "Trouble in Paradise" tagline and all the invasion-looking materials in ads and expect something, well, combat-oriented?
I'm looking forward to picking up my TIP copy tonight. GOing to go home and big a big old candy colored nerd on my couch all night long.
XBL/PSN/Steam: APZonerunner
Edit: Also... I may... MAY pick up the stupid camera for this. Boo.
edit: Just talked to the wife, she seems to be so interested in getting this game right now that she is willing to pay for overnight shipping.
As does IGN. They also like it.
Is it sad that I keep looking at the clock, dreaming of when I get to go home and start [strike]shovel whacking[/strike] candy feeding pinatas?
I'm also really excited at letting my daugter go nuts in "Just for Fun" mode...so she quits spending all my damn chocolate coins on things I don't want or need.
And um, am I the only person in the first game that turned off the tower of sour? I was good at hunting down the candy, and I never really had a problem with any of them actually attacking my pinatas. And to be honest, most of the sour forms were much more awesome looking/acting than their tamed counterparts. Macaracoon and Sherbat were just too damned fun to watch wander around.
Another couple things I've read now, all pinatas and all their mutations are in this (though no new mutations like the abomination that was the pigxie) and all pay for download DLC from the first game is included on disk with this one as well.
Ohhhh, also head to here and you'll find your own personal page on the Viva Pinata site that keeps track of your stats, screen shots, pinata cards, etc.
awesomesheep