Sunday, March 11, 2007
Viva Piñata
I got to borrow the company XBox 360 over the weekend, since I don't yet have one of my own. I also brought home a goodly stock of company games for the machine, to try out for research. And it really is research. I got the chance to fiddle around with a bunch of XBox Live Arcade titles as well.
King Kong and Gears of War looked pretty cool, but I couldn't play them for very long without thinking, "Man, this game would play so much better with a mouse and keyboard on the PC." The 360 version of Bejewelled 2 was great, though it was still Bejewelled 2. Cloning Clyde is, of course, awesome. :) And Project Gotham Racing is great, though I kinda prefer Gran Turismo 4. Maybe it's just a familiarity thing. And the fact I don't have an HDTV.
But once the family got a chance to check out Viva Piñata, I pretty much found myself kicked off the system for the rest of the weekend. My kids and my wife are all hooked. It's a very cute "Sim" game about growing a garden, breeding animals (um, Piñata animals), fighting off invaders, and managing the whole food chain (aka "Donut of Life").
Innovative and outstanding. Kudos to Microsoft and Rare on a great game.
Labels: Mainstream Games
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 9:32 PM (Permalink)
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Naturally, no discussion of Viva Piñata is complete without reference to PA.
But once the family got a chance to check out Viva Piñata, I pretty much found myself kicked off the system for the rest of the weekend.
I recently (and finally) managed to snag a Wii, and one thing I'm noticing about this generation of games is that non-gamers can actually (and finally) enjoy them together. To paraphrase from Family Guy, thank goodness we live in this time.
But once the family got a chance to check out Viva Piñata, I pretty much found myself kicked off the system for the rest of the weekend.
I recently (and finally) managed to snag a Wii, and one thing I'm noticing about this generation of games is that non-gamers can actually (and finally) enjoy them together. To paraphrase from Family Guy, thank goodness we live in this time.
Heh - I'd forgotten about that Penny Arcade comic!
I think that if you are curious as to whether or not the rumored EXPLOSION in casual games is actually making an impact, you need look no further than the Wii and XBox 360 (mainly on LiveArcade, but Viva Piñata is a retail-based example) for your proof.
Although Nintendo has a long tradition of games that would probably count as "family friendly" or even "casual." I mean --- sheesh, Harvest Moon anyone? There's a precursor to Viva Piñata for ya. But I don't think that weakens the point.
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I think that if you are curious as to whether or not the rumored EXPLOSION in casual games is actually making an impact, you need look no further than the Wii and XBox 360 (mainly on LiveArcade, but Viva Piñata is a retail-based example) for your proof.
Although Nintendo has a long tradition of games that would probably count as "family friendly" or even "casual." I mean --- sheesh, Harvest Moon anyone? There's a precursor to Viva Piñata for ya. But I don't think that weakens the point.
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