Finaly Rare has done it.
User Rating: 8.9 | Viva Pinata X360
It may not have the draw of some of Rare's Nintendo games, but Rare has done good by me. This game is really open ended, the only direction you get is from achievements and rewards for leveling up, but none should affect the way you play much. The design is cute, but really pleasing to the eye. I've read some reviews saying that too much micro-management, but I have not found that to be true for the way I play. If you pick and chose which pinatas you keep in your garden then you should be able to avoid most fights. There is a limit to how many pinatas you can have in your garden at any one time, so I find it best to focus on a few and master them and move on, but my wife finds pinatas she likes and holds on to them. That brings me to my one big complaint, my wife has been hogging my xbox 360 even since she get me this game for Christmas. But, it has been a way for me to get her back into gaming. As a rule she doesn't play video games. The last game I was able to get her to play was Animal Crossing. 
