The batch of cards are all themed after classic Killer Instinct characters that fighting game fans know and love, and they include: Orchid, Fulgore and Tusk.
As with previously released Viva Pinata Vision Cards, you will need an Xbox 360 Vision Camera to take advantage of the cards. While in your garden, either hold up a printed Piñata Vision card to your LIVE Vision camera, or point the camera at the card on your computer screen. Make sure the card fits within the in-game scanning window and the edges aren’t obscured by anything, fingers included. This will add the corresponding Pinata into your garden.
And just in case you were confused, no you do not get ACTUAL Killer Instinct characters into your Viva Pinata game from these cards, but rather you receive Pinatas named after the Killer Instinct characters.
Now one wonders why Rare would do such a thing. Could this be their viral way of slowly building hype and interest back into Killer Instinct? As we all know that Killer Instinct 3 is definitely one of the most wanted games from Rare. I guess we’ll find out in the future, eh.
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise hits store shelves today in North America and packs in everything you loved about the original Viva Pinata into a tight little DS cartridge for easy traveling when you’re away from your Xbox 360.
The game is based on the original Xbox 360 version of Viva Pinata and includes all 60 species of Pinata in addition to seven new ones as well as a few new features.
The game was developed by Rare’s handheld team and is their second DS project after Diddy Kong Racing DS. It has so far received very positive reviews and looks to be an impressive game on the Nintendo handheld.
The original Rare team behind Viva Pinata has reunited to bring gamers Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, the newest pinata adventure that invites gamers to return to magical Pinata Island. Unfortunately, not all is well on the island, as Professor Pester along with his gang of Ruffians have wiped out Pinata Central’s computer records, which poses a threat to parties everywhere. To help Pinata Central, players must gradually rebuild the computer database by sending pinatas at full candiosity to parties all around the world. While thwarting Professor Pester’s evil plot, players still build and maintain pinata gardens — using their creativity and imagination to attract, trap, protect, train and manage more than 100 different pinata species.
Now with full cooperative and online gameplay modes, the Viva Pinata franchise opens its doors even wider with a new game that provides hours of fun for gamers of all ages, fans of the animated series and animal lovers alike. Family members and friend now can share in the joy of creating a garden by simply plugging in an extra controller. The second player has access to all tools, actions and activities, but he or she also can collect magic by helping. Player two can spend magic by tinkering items, healing a sick pinata or filling a pinata candiosity meter. It’s a new way to play.
Trouble in Paradise also offers a vast level of customization within your main garden. Now, along with planting grass, trees and flowers, and digging ponds and lakes, players can place sand and snow in their garden to make exotic species of pinata feel more at home. Players also can choose to enhance their garden with themed object packs - make your garden into a space center, a pirate cove or a haunted graveyard. Buy objects to change the weather, or new toys for your pinata to play with. You have total freedom to create any kind of paradise you want! Thirty-two new species of pinata can run, crawl, fly and swim into your garden. Large, small, fierce and cute, the new pinatas will join all your favorites for thriving activity throughout your garden. Among these new species are sour pinatas that will infiltrate and wreak havoc in the garden.
If only real animals had candy inside. Find out all about the it in this Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise video review.
Key Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise features are:
* The world of Pinata Island is an inviting and rewarding place to be. Family members and friend now can share in the joy of creating a garden by simply plugging in an extra controller. The second player has access to all tools, actions and activities, but he or she also can collect magic by helping. Player two can spend magic by tinkering items, healing a sick pinata or filling a pinata candiosity meter. It’s a new way to play.
* Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise allows players’ imaginations to run wild by providing them with expansive freedom and choice.
* Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise reinvigorates the franchise with additional game modes and features that make it even more accessible to players of all ages and skill levels.
* Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise is a constantly changing world where anything can and does happen. Rivalries, injuries, illness and fights — if you turn your back, who knows what your pinatas will do?
To quote the video review: “Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise is a satisfying experience and should appeal to gardeners of all ages. And although Rare is not presenting anything remarkably new, it has added nearly everything many gamers found missing from the previous game, thus creating the definitive Viva Piñata experience. If you’ve never played the original, this is definitely the version to buy. If you already own the first Viva Piñata game, then whether or not to buy the sequel depends on what you found missing from the original. If you’ve been dying to play online with friends or on the couch with your kid, then the multiplayer modes in Trouble in Paradise will be reason enough for a purchase. Otherwise, it’s really just more of the same, much of which could have been handled through an expansion rather than an entirely new game.”
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise for Nintendo DS is based on Microsoft Game Studios’ highly-rated original Viva Pinata game for Xbox 360. Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise features an array of content exclusive to Nintendo DS and an intuitive control scheme designed to take full advantage of the DS touch screen and stylus, making it a breeze to navigate through the garden as the first gameplay videos below will show.
In Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, players will inherit a neglected garden on Pinata Island and turn it into a pinata paradise by tending to all aspects of cleaning the garden, growing and maintaining vegetation, caring for and breeding pinatas, as well as attracting new pinata species. The game features seven all-new pinata species, each with new requirements, houses and unique cut scenes. Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise also includes twelve full motion video clips that serve as tutorial levels within the game. The videos feature the stars of the Fox 4Kids Viva Pinata TV series, including Hudson Horstashio, Fergy Fudgehog and Paulie Pretztail. The brand-new Playground mode allows players to create a lush garden full of exciting and exotic pinatas in a very short amount of time. In addition, certain rare pinatas can only be acquired by using the Nintendo DS local wireless connection, where players can transfer items from their garden to a friend’s garden.
Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise on Xbox 360 gives you more choices about how to play the game, the sequel will includes multiple modes:
1. Player Guide — A mode intended for younger or newer players, where the fundamental aspects of the game are explained and the game pacing is relaxed.
2. Standard Mode — The primary game mode, which includes challenges from sour piñatas, Ruffians, and other forces.
3. Just For Fun Mode — A mode where players can hop in and immediately begin working on a garden without worrying about running out of money or having to unlock various items. However, more exotic piñatas are not available in this mode.
Trap, attack, and collect your candy in this Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise animal gameplay video.
The E3 2008 trailer shows more environments, new pinatas and a few surprises are featured in this colorful sequel.
The game is due September 2nd in America and September 5th in Europe.
The first gameplay footage of the upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive sim game Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise has been released by Rare. The game will be released in September 2008. Take a look:
Going along with it is the cartoon-based teaser that shows Professor Pester plotting to obtain more Pinata candy as he shows his “comrades” at what new Pinata Island locations he plans to execute his evil deeds.
Microsoft’s Gamer’s Day event will be held in San Francisco tomorrow, but the first screenshots of the upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive games Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise and Banjo-Kazooie 3 have already been leaked. Although we’re sure to get new info on the way they play tomorrow.
Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise: Shown above are the animals from Microsoft’s Pinata Park that are said to return in a more focused and accessible Pinata life simulation game. There are new Pinatas too, like penguins, which indicates the game has different land climates. Most notable is that there are two cursors on-screen showing that Viva Pinata 2 has co-op gardening for two players at the same time!
Banjo-Kazooie 3: It seems Banjo and Kazooie have landed themselves in many different worlds in their new magical adventure. Banjo is shown racing (with others in multiplayer) through an entirely mechanical world, and doing some platforming in a Middle Ages era landscape. — In response to the leaks Rare have commented their most spectacular feature is the gameplay mechanic. Could this surprise be the rumored Wii Remote-derived controller for the Xbox 360? We’ll find out tomorrow.
PS: Other new games that were revealed are Scene It? 2, Ninja Blade and Lips.
Who said party games weren’t on the Xbox 360? Fusion Frenzy 2 and Rayman Raving Rabbids have company. Viva Pińata wasn’t a smash hit the first time around. Maybe this party animal edition hits the casual spot.
If you haven’t bought the game already, and it looks like a lot of you haven’t, a demo of the game is now on the Live Marketplace for your consumption. Even after some would call critical acclaim for ”a kids game” by many reviewers, Viva Piñata still can’t seem to shake that kids game image. Coming in at around 1.0 GB (US only) and all a side, here’s your chance to try it out.
Well another video review has come out from the gamertagradio staff and Miss Irie and Godfree pretty much second what I said about this game. If you haven’t played VP atleast give it a try or just rob your local gamestop(Please Don’t)
The GTR staff has announced that the long awaited 2nd annual xbox community awards will be released on December 15th so mark your calenders or if you forget don’t worry since I will be posting up a link to that anyway.
I’m also going to link you off to GTR’s latest episode which features an interview with actor Danny Trejo and a developer interview about the space racing arcade title Novadrome.
As with previously released Viva Pinata Vision Cards, you will need an Xbox 360 Vision Camera to take advantage of the cards. While in your garden, either hold up a printed Piñata Vision card to your LIVE Vision camera, or point the camera at the card on your computer screen. Make sure the card fits within the in-game scanning window and the edges aren’t obscured by anything, fingers included. This will add the corresponding Pinata into your garden.
