Viva Piñata: Party Animals (Xbox 360, 2007)

My 9 year old son wanted this game, since we had the first Viva Pinata game and liked it. That one was a gardening game where you plant things to attract pinatas, and you earn most of your achievements by attracting all the different pinatas. It was moderately interesting.

This game is totally different. It is a racing game (a lot like Lego Racers). After each race you play one or more challenge events. After 3 or more race/challenge cycles the game declares a winner. The races are about as good as Lego Racers, and similarly not too hard to win (that's good for small children). Some of the challenge events are a little tricky, but for most of them you can get the hang of them by just paying attention.

Overall this game looks to me like it is geared toward younger children than the first Viva Pinata game. I would think a 4-6 year old would like it. My 9 year old likes it, but I think that is mostly because he is already familiar with Viva Pinata and the characters. I doubt he'll keep playing it for long.

I've only played about 25% of the game, but it has already become pretty monotonous for me. There is not much real variety in the races or the challenges. Fortunately there are 50 achievements in the game, so that can keep the adults or older children moderately entertained a little longer than the game really justifies.

There are not many Xbox 360 games for young children, so if you're in that category, this one is probably a good choice. Otherwise I'd suggest you look for another game.

This game is the long awaited 2nd to the highly addictive Viva Pinata.
The game is quite a bit different from the first as far as game play go's,in the first one you have to cultivate a garden and feed and care for your animals,in this one your animals compete against other animals in races and challenges,this game also lets you use your Xbox 360 camera to control parts of the game play.
I first came to hear about the first version when I saw my brothers 8 year old playing it and my own kids went nuts for it.The graphics are excellent,just what you would expect from the 360 and if you have little kids like I do this game is perfect for them,my 3 year old watches me play shooter games and feels left out when the game play is to hard for him to keep up with,this game was right up his alley,and I enjoy playing it as well as earning 1000 gamer rep points.
To make a long story short,if you have kids of any age get these games.

The game is a pretty good value for the price you can get it right now. I got a used copy for about $3. It's pretty easy and you can get 800+ achievement points fairly quickly. The only thing I didn't like was the number of long loading times between mini-games. However, that's fairly common with many big console games.

I bought this game for our daughters ages 11 and 5 and they love it. The bright colors, cute characters and many races/minigames make this game fun for the whole family! We have actually played many times with the kids and we have a blast! I recommend this game for any family looking for a good clean fun video game.

I purchased this game to play myself. Now all the neighborhood teens and my husband are on it more than I am. It is a great family game with very little violence and easy controls. There is something everyone will love in the game! The game boasts 14 races that get progressively harder. There are 48 mini-games also. Yet, most games and races only require player to manipulate 2 buttons. Any kid at heart will enjoy this game!!