Although Viva Pinata isn't perfect by any means, it is still a great game and one of 2006's best.
You start the game out with an old plot of land that has very hard dirt and various objects scattered throughout it. This part of the game serves as a tutorial although it doesn't feel like one. Slowly, the game introduces new items and abilities when they are needed so you don't get hit with too much information at any specific time. You must "smack" the dirt with shovel in your garden in order to make it soft enough for planting grass and other plants. You can also smack the objects in the garden to get some "chocolate coins" to get you on your feet.
Once you get the ability to plant grass the game takes off. Planting enough grass will attract the lowest species in the food chain, the "Whirm". After the whirms move in to your garden you may attract other species, such as the "Sparrowmint", without even lifting a finger. Other species may decide to visit your garden based on a number of factors ranging from having enough water in your garden to having certain types of plants.
Of course not all Pinatas get along with eachother. Some will hunt other Pinatas (the sparrowmint hunts the whirm), and other times fights will break out between clashing species. Fights are always harmful because one Pinata is going to end up "ill". When your Pinata is ill you must call the doctor (who is a man in a monkey suit that drives on a little clown car) before "Dastardos" comes. I won't reveal exactly who he is, but if you Pinata is ill he will be on his way to break it (a.k.a. kill it). Fences are the biggest solution to stopping fights in your garden.
There are a few other characters that you need to know about and I'll explain the two basic ones since you will encounter them rather quickly. Leafos is your helper in your garden. She doesn't actually do anything for you, but she gives you hints and tips when you need them. The other character is Seedos who visits your garden on a daily basis. You can talk to him and he will give you a seed (sometimes one you don't have already) or you can smack him with your shovel and he will drop many seeds. Beware of hitting him however, because the next time he visits he will drop weeds all over the place.
The gameplay in Viva Pinata is the best part of the game. It is excellent at what it sets out to do which is to create an innovative game that will interest all audiences. The controls are easy to learn for anybody and that is on the advanced setting. Sometimes it is rather difficult to select things in the garden (especially fast moving Pinatas) and sometimes when you select things they will deselect for no reason. Hopefully an upcoming patch will fix this issue.
The graphics have their own unique flavor. They certainly aren't going for the realistic look but look good regardless. The colors they use make knowing what you are looking at an easy task. Some (very rare) framerate issues occur, but they don't take away from the overall experience.
The sound is also "colorful", but in a good way. The Pinatas sound peaceful even when fighting. Music plays at appropriate times indicating when danger is near or animals are fighting. When nothing bad is happening, peaceful music plays softly in the background telling you everything is ok.
Viva Pinata is easily one of the best games of 2006 and is, at the very least, worth a rent for every 360 owner.