If you're unfamiliar with the Viva Piñata series, it's essentially... well, it's a gardening simulation. That, we know, makes it sound like the most boring game since, erm, Ticket Inspector Sim, but it's really not. The point is to entice an eclectic range of piñatas into your garden where they will eat, sleep, frolic and...well, Rare calls it 'romancing'. We'd be tempted to go with something else. Although there isn't an end point to the game as such, the general aim is to have as many diff ... more >>

If you're unfamiliar with the Viva Piñata series, it's essentially... well, it's a gardening simulation. That, we know, makes it sound like the most boring game since, erm, Ticket Inspector Sim, but it's really not. The point is to entice an eclectic range of piñatas into your garden where they will eat, sleep, frolic and...well, Rare calls it 'romancing'. We'd be tempted to go with something else. Although there isn't an end point to the game as such, the general aim is to have as many different types of piñata pass through your garden as possible. See, it's fun!

The control system has been put together to enable you to play through the game using only the touch screen. Should you want to, you can bring into play the DS's old school D-pad and face buttons (with the option to switch them round if you're a leftie). Basically, you use the stylus to navigate the garden (with the help of a map - you wouldn't think you'd need a map for something as small as a garden, but it's a big help) and navigate the menu, performing tasks as you go.

Once you're into the main garden you're confronted with a blank space to make your own - or terraform, if you want to get technical. You can dig, create water features, plant, and buy in items such as houses for your piñatas and other assorted garden accessories, to make the garden the kind of place you'd sit on an evening drinking G&T.

The point of all that hard graft is to make your garden appeal to different species of piñata (of which there are over 60, including seven brand spanking new species). One type of piñata, for example, might require a certain amount of grass to be laid to visit, but also at least two buttercups to be planted to stay. If you want one, out comes the grass seed and you'll have to head off to the shop for buttercup seeds. If you want to get your buttercup to grow faster, you'll need to get some fertiliser on there. To get fertiliser, you'll need to get a Taffly to do its business after eating the colour of fruit that matches your plant. You can see how it all rolls out…

If that all sounds horribly complicated, fear not. Your journal, complete with all the information you could need, is never more than a tap of the stylus away.

If you're looking for a deep, rich and cuddly experience to share with the little 'uns, Pocket Paradise is a fair bet. << less