Publisher:
Microsoft
Developer:
Krome Studios
Release date:
Oct 29 2007
Reviewed on:
XBOX360

What do you get when you take the racing fun of Mario Kart, mix in the mini-game style of Fuzion Frenzy, and stir in a bunch of colorful paper machete animals? A romping good time for you and three friends. Until now, great party games on the XBOX360 have been limited almost exclusively to the Rock Band/Guitar Hero style music games, while those gamers looking for more variety have been given little love. The first party game in the Viva Pinata franchise, brought to us by Krome studios and Microsoft game studios, attempts to bring the colorful and amusing characters from the cartoon and game series to those of us looking for a more social experience.

If you have seen the Viva Pinata cartoon on Saturday morning, then you will find that the voice work for Party Animals is spot on, and just as comical. Between rounds, we are treated to a breakdown on the game’s progress and some funny banter. It’s too bad there isn’t more of it. After a couple of play-throughs I got sick of hearing the same taunts coming from the characters. The race and mini-game music is bland and unforgettable.

Party Animals is a very colorful game, from the pinatas to the environments. Race tracks take you from icy mountain trails to beaches and towns, all of which are fairly detailed and attractive. The game also suffers from absolutely no lag whatsoever, even with four players online. The cut scenes have the exact same graphics as the in game play. The characters are adorable, but there are way too few. Only eight characters are available, and half of them are merely opposite sex versions of the other four.

In fact, the game could really use more of just about everything. Within a couple of hours, all the mini-games will be unlocked and several are merely minor variations on the same theme. There is one game where you run across the play area painting the ground, the object being to have the most paint on the ground of your particular color when the time runs out. Another only adds erasing opponent’s paint by jumping in the air and slamming the ground, while a third that has you erasing by rubbing the ground and slamming the ground creates a splat mark on the ground in your color. There are far too few races and they are very short, being only point to point instead of lap races. The majority of the power ups during races work the same way too. Wings that let you fly faster than you run, candy that speeds you up, and soda that causes you to grow larger increasing your stride. This kind of thing forces the question: What is the point in putting shortcuts in the races anyway?

Party Animals keeps things light hearted and entertaining, making it great for casual gamers and those with children. My four year old daughter loved it and our forty year old neighbor, whose game experience ended at Pac-man, had a great time playing with my wife and myself. Hardcore gamers will find little here in the way of challenge, even by toggling on the “Keep things close” option. This can help compensate for a lack of skill during the races by slowing down the AI controlled opponents, but also speeds them up to keep up with players doing well. To put things in perspective, with this option off I let all the AI animals get a hefty head start then ran the race without using any power ups or shortcuts and still came in first.

At its core, it is a party game and it does bring people together for a fun time. Its great for a rental if you have got a couple of friends coming over with varying interest, but not worth the time to buy unless you have little kids in the house. Even then, with so little in variety you would be better off picking up Mario Party if you have a Wii.

Grade: C