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Viva Pinata Pocket Paradise
by illogicology
Viva Pinata was something of a flop on the Xbox 360 back in 2007. A somewhat sedate, colourful, child friendly game on a console known for shooty exploding things and obscene name calling whenever you played online. It's a pity because it was an absolute gem with some of the most stylish, endearing gaphics and surprisingly deep yet ... accessible gameplay. A few spin offs and sequels have followed but the series just hasn't captured the audience it deserves. So, developers Rare have taken a punt on the Nintendo DS; the unofficial home for innovative and original games that can't find an audience elsewhere. Essentially the game is a remake of the original Xbox 360 release, I was expecting a significant amount of dumbing down but it's remarkable just how true to the original Pocket Paradise is. A few hours of gameplay and you'll probably feel like Viva Pinata was designed for the DS.
The game opens by placing you in control of a small plot of soil full of rubble and junk. Providing you with tools such as a handy spade, seeds and a watering can you are left to restore your patch of land and turn it into a flourishing garden. Spruce the place up a bit and you'll begin to attract Pinatas, paper animals filled with sweets that each have their own needs and desires. Meet their needs and they'll move into your garden for good and forever be worrying your turnips. Pinatas come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments. Overcrowd the garden and you'll have a fight on your hands. it's a great concept for a game and generally works out well in practice. Managing your garden while keeping your own little ecosystem working can be tricky but it's always fun and everything is done with a bit of charm. It's the best kind of game for kicking back with on a sunday afternoon but also works well for quick sessions on the train or just for a break from other jobs. It has enough depth to occupy one for hours with Pinatas to feed and breed or long term goals for you garden to work on but it compliments this with excellent pick up and play characteristics. It's easy enough to just turn it on, water your seed and harvest a few crops, manage your garden a bit and then put it away and come back later. It's full of options while keeping interaction fairly simply, I wouldn't say this is an ideal game for very young children as it relies on some basic reading skills and a good head for menus and sub menus but I think it would absorb a ten year old.
As a DS title it's exemplary, touch screen controls are always responsive and it uses the bottom screen for the main game while leaving information on the top. Thoughtfully, it include a screen swap button so you can easily switch the blurb to the touch screen and probe for further details if you need to. It runs smoothly and with the amount of gameplay on offer I'd imagine it's eating up a very large portion of the cartridge. Its biggest strength is that it never feels like a more sophisticated game that has been shoddily wedged onto the system. Rather Rare has taken the time to rebuilt Viva Pinata from the ground up with the DS player in mind.
A slight niggle is in the graphics. For a DS game I have no complaints and they always represent the game well but it's such a shame that the DS can't quite carry the phenomenal patterns, colours and textures of Viva Pinata that the original had. While that might sound like a petty gripe, it was one of the most immediate attractions of the console version. While the DS' limited power rarely prevents it from running some great games, it does still have its drawbacks. Slightly less obvious but equally disappointing is the limitations on the size of the garden, while it expands as you develop, it never quite opens up enough to breath.
A few other things didn't make the cut to the portable version but these are minor really. Mating Pinatas no longer requires playing the minigames though the little mating dances are still here. Tools are a bit simplified and missions are intergrated into the main game a little more. Most of these changes are positive and help make things feel a bit more streamlined.
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise is not for everyone. It's for fans of open ended, interactive gameplay. Fans of games like Sim City, Harvest Moon and maybe even Animal Crossing. It's not too pacey and not too complex but does require planning and patience to get the most out of it. For people who enjoy that sort of gameplay then it's an absolute pleasure and offers a huge range of different activities and ideas. It's a game that you can sink a lot of time into and get a lot back in return and it's a first class DS game, making the most of the console at all times. Players of the 360 titles might find the lack of eye candy a little disheartening but should warm to the idea of the same excellent gameplay on a handheld system. Highly Recommendable.
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Race Driver Grid (DS)
by djaaum
My personal review on race driver grid for the ds.
Codemasters
Firebrand Games
GT / Street Racing
Release: Aug 8, 2008 »
PEGI: 12+
About £10-15 in the shops
The game offers a good variety of games and events. Its so easy to get into a simple race which is good and I like a lot. Robust ... track creator lets you easily make tracks and share them with friends. I dont usually see apps like this on games, so I used it quite alot, and was so fun, you can to the turnings, and how long the track is etc. There is a good variety of different good looking cars, some known, some just made up, which is pretty good. There is some odd car animations which makes the whole feature muddled. When you accelerate there is so backround image showing the car moving forward, its just so plain, so I did not really enjoy that a bit. The graphics are not totally that good, the sound however is the opposite, sounds so realistic. The ps3 and xbox version of the games is so much begtter graphic wise, but I suppose the game is what matters more. Much like in the console version, you'll spend your time in Grid hopping around the globe completing races and events in an effort to increase your reputation and become the best driver in the world. You build your reputation by earning medals. Each event offers three medals, though you only need one to move on. Events include a wide variety of activities: races, braking tests, steering and drift challenges, time trials, survival races, blueprint challenges, and more. Winning medals unlocks more events, cars, part upgrades, and track pieces. The CPU drivers start out easy but gradually get tougher as you move on, making it increasingly difficult to snag three medals from every event. You can use the touch screen while in a race to control your car which is pretty useful, and you can make it to turn corners and back the other way again, which again is extremely helpful, and so much more easier to steer, as well as it being quick. From bulky American muscle cars to sporty Japanese coupes, Grid offers a nice variety of licensed vehicles to drive, each of them handling a bit differently. The cars don't drive with as much realism as pure simulation racers do, but the damage system requires you to drive with more precision than the average arcade racer. Cautious breaking and smooth drifting are the keys to success in Grid. When you slam into a wall similar like gta your car gets smashed a bit, and you can see sparks of metal coming off the car, if to much damage smoke will soon come out of the back and top of the car and it will be very hard to handle it, as well as it being slow. After you race you will earn medels and stuff, which can be used to purchase and then can be equiped to the custom car, to make it look nice , as well as go faster and have better grip. Grid also offers a number of multiplayer options, in single-card, multicard, and online varieties. Most of the single-player events are also available in multiplayer. You can race with up to three other people, and after doing so you can add them to your friends or rivals list, making the whole friend code thing less of a hassle. There is plenty of informative detail in the cars and tracks which makes it seem so realistic when driving.
Overall its definitely a great game, just the graphics put it down a bit , apart from that great game. Its a game that will want to keep you occupied hours on end, so will relieve bordem if you have restless kids.
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