When multiple piñatas are satisfied, the player can "romance" two to make a baby piñata. The player uses an in-game encyclopedia to learn each piñata type's preferences, which grow in complexity: advanced creatures require more transformative changes to the garden or many other piñatas to eat. For instance, a piñata might be attracted to a garden with a specific plant, type of piñata, or amount of soil.
New types of piñata creatures visit and eventually come to reside in the garden when certain prerequisites are met. The player plants seeds, tends to plants, and digs ponds within the garden's boundaries. Creature types include horses, raccoons, foxes, frogs, and bees, as well as new species like ladybugs, crabs, geckos, gorillas, and vultures. The creatures are stylized like piñatas but have the qualities of animals. Two players, indicated by the shovel and watering can, gardening in cooperationĪpart from a few new features, Trouble in Paradise is nearly identical to its predecessor, the 2006 Viva Piñata, in gameplay: The player acts as a gardener whose land is visited by piñata creatures. Trouble in Paradise was later included in the developer's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay. Critics were mixed on whether the sequel would attract new players to the franchise. Reviewers praised its game design tweaks, but were mixed on its multiplayer modes and camera integration. Critics considered the game more accessible to newcomers and a worthwhile improvement on the original, but altogether closer to an expansion than a unique sequel. The game released to generally favorable reviews in September 2008. The team re-used many of the development infrastructure set up for its predecessor and exhausted their gameplay ideas for the piñata gardening concept. Microsoft considered Viva Piñata a success and the sequel's development team sought to make a more definitive version of the original.
New features to the series include a cooperative multiplayer mode, a new plot, additional types of piñata creatures, Xbox Live Vision Camera support, and two new areas for capturing piñatas. Developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Studios, the game builds atop its predecessor, in which the player tends a garden and the piñata creatures that come to live there.
Up to four players can build a garden together via Xbox Live, where whimsical activities such as races and golf are available along with online leaderboards.Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is a 2008 simulation video game in the Viva Piñata series for the Xbox 360. Prized plants or piñatas can also be turned into cards for trading with others. Owners of the Xbox Live Vision camera can add new creatures to their garden simply by scanning cards in front of the lens. In addition to creating suitable habitats, you'll venture off the island to explore new arctic and desert regions. Environments can also be customized with an assortment of plants, terrain types, and toys. Thirty-two new species are available in this sequel, bringing the total number of piñatas to more than 100. Gardens can also become overrun with weeds if they are not properly maintained, and "sour" piñatas can spoil the harmony of your paper mache paradise if they remain untamed. The main game once again takes place on the colorful Piñata Island, where you begin by creating and caring for a garden designed to attract various piñata "species."Īnimated piñatas will interact with one another and can perform tricks, create rivalries, pick fights, suffer injuries, and even become sick over time. You'll now have to rebuild the lost information by sending piñatas to parties around the world. Piñata Central's computer database has been erased thanks to the antics of one Professor Pester. Candy crammed paper animals spring to life in Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, the sequel to Rare's quirky virtual life game.