Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise

Sweet indeed...

Let's get one thing straight before we plough head-long into the rest of this evaluation, I love Viva Piñata. The Xbox 360 original may have had its problems, but I relished every garden enhancement, shovel upgrade and new creature that Rare's unique virtual pet-come-garden simulator threw at me. Sadly, not everyone quite 'got' the original VP - perhaps in part because the Xbox is a console designed for likes of Halo, BioShock and Gears of War.

Little surprise that the machismo-laden system failed to quite embrance the mass market-bating vision that was VP1, then, the game seemingly having been created with another audience altogether in mind. Just imagine, then, if Rare's overlords allowed a special version of the game to be created for a platform seemingly purpose built for the colourful papier-mâché garden 'em up. Long no longer, Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise is here for the Nintendo DS.

The first thing I noticed when dropped into the new game was that the visual look has survived surprisingly intact. The garden is still present in rich and colourful 3D, and while the incredibly detailed paper textures of the 360 don't quite make it, the overall art style of the game carries very much on in the same spirit as the ethereal 360 version - a pleasant surprise given the lowly innards of the DS when compared technically with the mighty microchips that reside within Microsoft's next-generation console.

The game starts off much in the same way as the 360 version does, too, giving you a spade with which to begin transforming a barren stretch of Piñata island into a beautiful paradise (or whatever your garden vision should look like) in which to home a selection of weird and wonderful Piñatas. Different animals demand different things of your garden. Want a Quackberry (the game's duck-alike) you'll need water, want a Syrupent (a snake) you'll need grasses, and so on. Higher level beasts have greater demands; other creatures to feed on for example.

As you build your garden, planting trees, bushes, vegetables and more, you'll be able to sell produce to generate funds. This currency can be invested in housing for your animals, a key factor if you want to "romance" (breed) your charges. Romancing will result in baby Piñata - and as your population grows you'll find yourself selling animals in a bid to free up space for different beasties. Likewise, Rare keep things nice and open so you can add and remove features from your garden whenever you like - changing the kinds of Piñata you can ensnare.

Those of you that enjoyed the 360 version will be delighted by the faithfulness with which the developers have been able recreate almost all of the original experience on the handheld; quite a feat with a nod once again towards the limited power of the DS. Indeed, the DS even has one fairly obvious advantage over the 360 - its controls. Where as before you needed to navigate around the garden using analogue sticks, on the DS you can simply drag the view around with the stylus - selecting items and moving or placing them using the touch-screen. It works a treat, and once again shows that Nintendo's disruptive interface is more than just a gimmick - it can work better.

Taps deal with digging, and you can also 'draw' grass across your garden - Rare offering up a minimal interface that still loses none of the depth people enjoyed so much in the 'big' version. Couple the interface implementation with an increased array of animals to lure and Viva Piñata is looking very much at home.

Once again the encyclopedia is an essential tool in aiding the sensible development of your plot to attract certain creatures, and unlike the original game you can now look at animals on the periphery of your garden, which is always exciting when it comes to fresh sightings. You can re-name your Piñata too, should you wish to get really involved, while Rare have taken on-board feedback by making menus simpler and faster - things like getting the doctor out or buying items from the shop now a far speedier affair that is less likely to grate after hours of extensive play. This icon based system works a treat, and it is unsurprising to see that elements of this approach will be integrated into Trouble in Paradise; the full 360 sequel.

Given the mass market nature of the format, Rare have made an effort to introduce more 'family friendly' elements to the game. For example, the Episodes mode will help introduce non-hardcore gaming types to the world of VP in a friendly manner - brimming with character - while the Playground is an area outside of your garden where (perhaps younger) players can just mess around with the Piñata unlocked so far. Romance sweets (acquired later in the experience) also make it easier for newcomers, reducing romance requirements with a simple aphrodisiac, which may in fact rile hardcore fans who prefer the hard route to success.

The visuals may not delight to quite to the same degree as the 360 version, and the view can be a little close-up at times, but new features like wi-fi animal trading, the interface, and of course the icon-based menus that are much more intuitive, make for an experience that can hold its own against the original title and will hopefully attract a few new players to the series too. Now, back to the Sour Cocoadile taming...

90%

By Luke Guttridge