Viva Pinata - Thoroughly Charmed

Was looking around for something to play this afternoon, since I really wasn't in the mood for more Bad Company 2, and happened upon Viva Pinata.  We had bought it a while back for really cheap ($5, maybe?) because the wife thought it was "cute."  Just never really decided to play it because it was such a "kid's game" and I'm into action!

So I stuck it in the Xbox and sat down.  The opening montage is extremely cute, almost too much so.  I thought I was going to have a sugar overdose (and this wouldn't be the first time).  The game then introduces you to wasted plot of land where you will be setting up your pinata garden.  The goal of the game is to create (and attract) a thriving community of cute little pinatas to the little garden plot that you're assigned.  As the game goes on and more pinatas join you, these in turn attract even more types.  You can choose to plant various types of flowers and buy other types of garden items that will turn your garden into a thriving paradise.

As pairs of animals move in to your garden, you can entice them to "romance" (how you do so varies from type to type, but one requirement is always that you build them a house, because I guess they like their privacy).  Once they have paired up, you have to complete a simple mini-game to consummate the relationship.  Don't worry, there isn't any graphic pinata sex.  They do a little dance, and voila!  The Stork-like pinata brings an egg!

The 3-D graphics are extraordinarily cute, the audio even more so (this is definitely a "kids" game, complete with sing-song voice-overs and tinkly music).  It's the quality of the graphics that make the little pinatas so endearing.  I love Scottish accents, so it's no surprise that I really like the voice of Leefos, your main garden helper who explains all of the intricacies (if you can call them that) in the game.  I think if you play this game for too much at a time, you will get overloaded with "cute," but in small doses, it's pretty good.

This is not a review of the game, as I have only played it for all of an hour. But I did want to acknowledge how thoroughly charming the game is, and I only hope that I don't end up hating them for crossing that line between "cute" and "annoying."

There's just one thing that's mildly bothersome (at this point).  You need coins to buy things for your garden.  After you've destroyed all the junk that's in your initial plot of land (which usually produces coins), you have to find things to sell.  Hey, your pinatas have resale value!  So you end up breeding pinatas so that you can sell them.
The circle of pinata life never ends, I guess.

I'll let you know if the fun wanes, but right now I've just got a smile on my face.
For those of you who might be too embarrassed to admit playing a kids game like this, listen to this Palette Swap Ninja song (fronted by the great Dan Americh).



Edit (4 hours later): Ok, I've now OD'd on cute...