I also attended a demo for Viva Pinata, which I must say was a joy to watch with its colorful and imaginative graphics, and a promise of deeper gameplay (at least more than what we've seen until now). The game is definitely very open-ended, with final goals often up to the player, whether it be just concentrating on one pinata, or trying to collect all 60 species (plus surprise mixed breeds), and trying to keep it/them happy.

As you start the game, the world is a disaster, and you are introduced to game aspects by one of the 20 different humans — all wearing masks so as not to scare the pinatas — each one representing the functions of the game. Every change you make affects the ecosystem of the game, and how you make those decisions will affect whether you're able to attract more pinatas, who roam the world in black and white (signifying they aren't happy). Another fun aspect is procreation, which gets done by way of mini-games that get harder, depending on the species (or mixed-species). Yeah, this is a kid-friendly game, so don't expect any down-and-dirty action — although the mating dances that show up as cut scenes did get rather kinky.

The game promises 30-40 hours of play, which, again, will depend on what you want to do, and how far you'll want to dig — the developers promise lots of hidden content, and stuff you'll only find out by experimenting. Even though the game is firmly G rated, they are hoping that the depth on offer will attract older players, as was seen with Animal Crossing (exhibit A: my wife, who I lost for weeks on end to the DS version).

Another touch they're hoping will keep gamers addicted is the trading system. You'll be able to send off pinatas to other gamers on your friends list, and that includes any accessories you've added — the game will sport a customizable system, which should eventually include extra downloaded accessories from the XBL Marketplace, with pricing still undecided. They are also considering expanding on the game through other kinds of downloadable content, as in being able to visit other players' gardens. The whole thing is seen as a franchise, and the idea would be to see the concept appear in a variety of different game genres.

As far as how the game will tie in to to the recently launched tv series, apart from the fact that the opening sequences for the both the game and the show will be the same once the game launches, they promise that the show will offer up hints on aspects of the game that may take some time to discover. For example, in a recent episode, one of the main characters starts eating some items that turns him into some sort of altered aspect of himself, which is something you'll be able to reproduce in the game. Jean Snow