How would you like to raise Pinatas for fun and profit?
Besides gaming, I like gardening. Yes, really. Gardening isn't really exciting for a lot of people and sounds like it would be a boring game, but even if you aren't a gardener, you might just find something to like here.
As a Nintendo fan, I am still jaded over Rare leaving us to make games for Xbox and so far they hadn't produced a solid hit since their move. "Grabbed by the Ghoulies" was bad, everyone had already played Conker on the N64 and "Kameo" managed to cover up the stench left by "Perfect Dark Zero." But finally Rare managed to produce a quality Xbox 360 title.
You begin the game entering an empty field that was once a Pinata garden but has fallen into disrepair. The dirt is dry and garbage is strung out everywhere. A young girl named Leafos helps you get started by giving you a shovel, a watering can and a packet of endless grass seed. Shortly into your work wild Pinatas begin to take interest in your garden. As you progress, more and more Pinatas take interest in your garden, your tools gain more abilities and more items become available to you. Various shops open in the nearby town where you can buy supplies, hire workers or send Pinatas to friends via Xbox Live.
The game is addictive. My husband picked it up one day out of boredom and played for four hours straight. Sadly for some, they may find it gets repetitive after a while especially once you hit Level 50 and have maximum garden space and all the tool upgrades. There will still be plenty of animals to gain but the higher level ones like Roarios and Elephaniallas are extremely hard to attract and can get frustrating after a while. Sometimes you finally get a rarer Pinata in your garden only to have one of the sour Pinatas or ruffians kill it.
The game's graphics are very good. The game has a colorful sense of whimsy and you see Rare's distinct style in this. The sounds and voice over work suit the game well. Many Pinatas make realistic sounds like their real life animal counterparts. Others just sound stupid.
Sadly this is a great game on the wrong system. This game didn't sell well primarily because Microsoft tried so hard to push it as a kids game, but just beacause your a manly "Gears of War" guy, doesn't mean you should pass this up. Just say you're buying it for your kid.