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Reviews
If you hated the original, Trouble in Paradise isn't going to change your opinion. If, however, you somehow missed out the first time around...
My relationship to my piñatas is a strange one. Like every normal human out there, I think they're adorable, but I don't let myself get attached to them. Otherwise, I'd feel like an evil tyrant when I break up their little piñata families and sell them off when they can no longer provide me with experience. What can I say? I'm practical...and the MMORPG player in me covets a level up in any game, forcing me to harden my heart and put aside my normal love for all things cute.
Leveling up is why the original Viva Piñata remains an addiction of mine; it still surprises me just how fulfilling it is to cultivate multiple gardens and complete tiny objective after tiny objective in order to attract a new species of piñata. Which is why I love Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise even more. While it's not groundbreaking and is pretty much the same as the original, the myriad refinements and user-friendly changes make the game even more welcoming. It's easy to appreciate the new interface additions, like the ability to more easily locate a specific piñata in your garden or quickly plant a certain seed. The handful of annoying and tedious actions from the previous game were rethought and streamlined, making everything smoother -- and a lot more fun. Even the stuttering framerate that would occur during the autosaving is mostly gone, which really helps keep your focus on working your green thumb rather than noticing how much your own thumb hurts from playing for hours on end.
Click the image above to check out all Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise screens.
Other new features more dramatically change the way you can experience Viva, if you so choose. Trouble in Paradise features both local and online multiplayer (two players on a couch or up to four online), but it's the community aspect that has the potential to really take off. Players can take in-game photos to upload straight to a community site or scan special Piñata Vision cards -- which they can create themselves -- that allow them to make instant changes in their garden, including the immediate acquisition of more coveted piñata species. I, for one, can't wait to share the gardening fun with friends. And if you're worried about someone trying to screw up your immaculate garden, you can always adjust their permissions so that they have limited interaction with your world.
And for those of you who just want to play casually -- not worrying about Ruffians and having less conditions to meet for attracting piñatas -- you can now play the Just for Fun Mode. This mode not only gives you what is essentially an infinite supply of money, but it also gives you the largest garden and full access to the items in the store. And don't think that you can exploit this as a way to send yourself items and piñatas for free, as Achievements and mail are disabled when in this mode. Personally, I find it more gratifying to earn each seed and piece of garden decor, but I think this is a fantastic option for children and players who just aren't interested in the blood, sweat, and tears of running a little piñata gulag.
Click the image above to check out all Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise screens.
If you hated the original, Trouble in Paradise isn't going to change your opinion. If, however, you somehow missed out completely on the piñata party the first time around, I implore you to check it out now -- it's certainly much deeper and more addictive than its playful visuals would lead you to believe.
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