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How Viva Pinata's Choclodocus was reverse engineered
You could be forgiven for not staying abreast of news related to the now year-and-a-half-old Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise. Heck, we're almost kind of relieved; you have no idea what a hassle it is to dig our "Ñ" key out of the storage shed. But scattered across the globe is a resolute fan base that's unwilling to let the game drift off to the Great Piñata Garden in the Sky. When developer Rare ran out of the Piñata Vision barcodes that injected new creatures and items into the game, the PinataIsland.info community sprung into action. Here, community admin Jim McQuillan tells it better than us: "Our members noticed that there were still of Piñata Vision cards that weren't available such as the Choclodocus, the big daddy of all piñatas. These members reverse engineered the barcodes on the Piñata Vision cards to discover how they worked. By comparing different species of pinatas and attempting to fill in the gaps in the barcode of the choclodocus, they eventually found success! In simple terms you can think of this like Jurassic Park where they took the dinosaur DNA and mixed it the DNA from other species of animals to fill in the gaps. It's just that our dinosaur happens to be a Choclodocus pinata instead." Finally, the fruits of their labor, the Choclodocus Egg Pinata Vision Card, is available for your enjoyment. Just don't tell piñata Jeff Goldblum what they've wrought.
Have a Jukebox for your Viva Pinata garden
Rare has a pretty neat promotion lined up for the holidays this year. First, the company is offering Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise players a new jukebox to decorate their in-game gardens. To grab the jukebox, simply scan the Piñata Vision Card found after the break. Of course, the jukebox isn't just for decoration. From now until December 10, Piñata Island will be conducting a poll to uncover the top 10 romance dance songs. Once the songs are decided, Rare will release one a day as special Piñata Vision Cards. Don't worry if a jukebox isn't your thing, as Rare will be releasing other special cards throughout December.
Metareview -- Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
In the terrible glut expected this holiday season, it's good to see Microsoft and Rare bringing a piñata to the party. According to reviews, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise doesn't seem to bring anything radically new to the fiesta, but it does make significant improvements to the formula introduced in the original. If you didn't like the original, it appears you can just move on. But, if you found the sweet candy fix of Viva Piñata addictive the first time, it looks like you'll be in for another treat. 1Up (A): "If you hated the original, Trouble in Paradise isn't going to change your opinion. If, however, you somehow missed out completely on the piñata party the first time around, I implore you to check it out now -- it's certainly much deeper and more addictive than its playful visuals would lead you to believe." Game Informer (83/100): "Keeping your piñatas happy can still be monotonous in task, but the expanded content and finely made multiplayer relieves some of the repetition that plagued the first game. Viva Piñata retains its child-like charm, but the content is layered with deep strategies and entertaining gameplay that can suck anyone's life away." GamePro (80/100): "There are also some minor additions that attempt to sweeten the pot but they don't add too much. The new trick stick, which allows you to teach pinata tricks, and a wide range of toys are fun to play with, though. There's also support for the Xbox Live Vision camera which allows you to scan in special pinata cards, but it's a gimmick at best. Still, despite some irritating design elements, Trouble in Paradise is a fun game that retains the charm of the first Viva Pinata." GameDaily (80/100): "Rare could've easily slapped a couple of minor changes into this game and given us an expansion pack. Instead, Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise offers enough to make it a worthy sequel. It'll be a little too cute for some, but others will see past the adorable exterior and find the delicious treats inside, just like a real pinata." %Gallery-22744%
Viva Pinata 2 community website and UK treasure hunt [update]
Update: After a little digging, we've been informed that the piñata hunt is for the UK version of Xbox.com only. Of course, there's nothing stopping North American gamers from visiting the UK site... In celebration of the release of Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, Rare has informed us that the brand new community website will be launching today at midnight PST. The community website will allow gamers to share photos of their gardens and upload any Piñata Vision cards they have created. Also, Viva PiñataAceyBongos (think of him as the European version of Major Nelson) is launching a piñata hunt on Xbox.com. Starting Friday, piñata eggs will be hidden on Xbox.com. Mousing over them will cause a piñata to pop out. Clicking on the piñata will open a PDF of a Piñata Vision card that can then be imported into their gardens. Then you're just stuck with the (somewhat awkward) choice of either printing it out or holding your Vision camera up to the screen.We'd opt for the first choice, especially if you're at work. After all, people might suspect something if you drag your entire entertainment center into your cubicle.
Shipping this week: Oh no you didn't edition
Have you been dreaming of an open world game with massive firepower and fully destructible environments without all the pesky legal repercussions in GTAIV? Mercenaries 2 just might be your game. You get to blow things up ... a lot ... with cruise missiles. Let's not forget online co-op either, which means you can blow things up with cruise missiles ... with friends.As though Mercenaries 2 wasn't enough, we also have all of these: Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Warhammer: Battle March Rapala Fishing Frenzy Infinite Undiscovery FaceBreaker NFL Head Coach 2009 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise? Infinite Undiscovery? FaceBreaker? Yeah, so apparently "Holiday 2008" is already upon us.
Rare says no to Viva Pinata 2 DLC, yes to 'something new'
In a recent live chat with Rare devotees, Rare's Justin Cook made it clear that there are no plans for any Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise downloadable content. Furthermore, Cook says that Rare is "taking a break" from the Viva Piñata franchise in order to "make something new." Just what this something new is, Cook failed to elaborate. The "new" part makes us suspect it won't be a return to Rare's other franchises like Perfect Dark or Kameo, but there's no way to be sure. Cook added that even Rare's plans regarding another Viva Piñata could change, so we'll just have to wait and see. Still, is it too much to ask for a new Battletoads? Be sure to hit the source link to read the whole chat. It covers plenty of nitty-gritty details in VP2. [Via Joystiq]
Rare: No plans for Viva Pinata DLC, working on 'something new'
Worried that game dev Rare lost its knack for shooting stuff, taking a prolonged three-game detour through kiddie-town? First Viva Piñata, now Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, but what of the Goldeneyes and the Perfect Darks and the Conkers? In a (lengthy!) Q&A with Rare's Justin Cook, Trouble in Paradise's lead designer, says the team doesn't have "any plans for DLC" and "are taking a break from VP for a while to make something new." Of course, Mr. Cook doesn't elaborate on what that "something new" may be, but it would appear we can safely cross "Viva Pinata DLC" off the list of anything else possible in the world. The rest of the three-page interview is chockablock with details on the new game so, if you're really curious about those new pinata races, hit up that Source link.
Video: Making of the Viva Pinata BelieVe videos
Some of you may have had your fill of the Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise BelieVe video series, which is sorta understandable. But, being the hardcore Viva Piñata fanboys that we are, we can never have enough. That's why when we came across the latest BelieVe video, we had no doubt in our minds that we wanted to share it. Though, in all actuality, it isn't a new video, it's more of a "making of" behind the scenes look at how the videos were created. Simply put, to create a Viva Piñata BelieVe video all you need is a few BK toys, some chicken wire, newspaper, boxes, styrofoam and a healthy dose of creativity. And it's that creativity bit that gets us every time.
Viva Pinata 2 demo in certification, releasing soon
In an interview with Eurogamer, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise lead programmer Will Bryan confirmed details regarding a Trouble in Paradise demo releasing to the Xbox Live Marketplace saying that it will release "as soon as possible." According to Bryan, the demo is finished and is currently in the hands of Microsoft's certification team. Then, once it's approved by cert, it will be released to the Xbox Live masses. As far as demo specifics go, we're being told that it'll include 25 minutes of gameplay from the core game including a few Live features and the "Just For Fun" game mode. Sadly, the demo will not include any co-op support, local or Live, so we'll just have to imagine playing with three other piñata gardeners. Imagination FTW! %Gallery-22615%
Viva Pinata 2's four player co-op isn't gimped!
As was semi confirmed via some leaky achievements, Rare has informed us that four player online co-op will be a part of Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise and (best part) it won't be gimped! Just like local co-op, four player online co-op will allow players to join the "host" in their garden and only their garden. Meaning that everyone who enters the a garden will only make changes or do damage to the host's garden while having no effect on their game saves. All four players will have the ability to interact with the garden and have access to normal player tools. Simply put, there's no co-op gimpage! Not only will players be able to visit and play in eachother's gardens, but everyone can partake in 2D top down races, competitions and win monthly leaderboard prizes. It's like the online Viva Piñata experience we've always wanted! Also, we've been told to expect much more Trouble in Paradise info (including more co-op specifics) to be released during Leipzig, so keep your eyes peeled. To recap: Trouble in Paradise will sport local AND four player Xbox Live co-op where players can interact with and edit the host's garden with access to all normal in-game tools. Yup, we like! %Gallery-22615%
Video: Trapping pinatas in Viva Pinata 2
Brand new Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise media released earlier today showing off some gameplay and how much the game looks, plays and feels just like the original Viva Pinata. Not that that is a bad thing, really, it's just an observation. Though, we can't help but say it mirrors its predecessor in every way, but is more refined, perfected and feature-rich. In other words, it's what Viva Piñata should have been, four player online co-op and all. Give the videos (one embedded after the break) a watch, take in all the piñata love and see how to trap pinatas. Yup, in Viva 2 you can box up those piñatas who are unlucky enough to be attracted to your garden by a vegetable. How devilish!
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise parties with four player online co-op
If those pesky Achievements for the game are to be believed, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will support four player online co-op. 360sync.com lists all the "bleep bloops" for the upcoming candy-filled animal simulator and one 10-point achievement, named "Full House," comes with with the description: Play 4 Player Online Co-op for 1 hour. We're still not exactly sure what co-op entails, as there also Achievements listed for playing two player co-op, both online and off, for one hour. We should get more details soon before VP: TiP starts getting whacked at retail on Sept. 2. [Via X3F]
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, now sporting 4 player ONLINE co-op
The achievements for Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise have just made their way onto the interwebs and among the traditional gardening achievements we spotted an extremely interesting and feature revealing "Full House" achievement. This 10 Gamerscore earning "Full House" achievement pretty much confirms co-op details we never knew about Trouble in Paradise, reading "Play 4 Player Online Co-op for 1 hour". That's right, the once thought to be only two player local co-op Trouble in Paradise will now sport four player online co-op! That is, if the achievements can be trusted. We already have our Vision camera warmed up and ready to go, bring on the four player online piñata fun!
E308: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise screens
We kinda feel bad. When Viva Piñata came up during the Microsoft Press Conference we pretty much skipped over it to report on the new hawtness but we wanted to publicly say that we're excited for the game. If you're put of by the art style of the game -- or just think you're too 1337 to play it -- you might want to take a look at Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise. Adding more content to its original vision, Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise is a definitive version of sorts. Sporting addictive and fun gameplay and a ton of extras we recommend you take a look at Viva Piñata: TiP when it lands in stores this September. We've added the latest images in the gallery below for your viewing pleasure. %Gallery-27721%
Viva Pinata sequel busts open in early September
All you Nerds worried about wasting Mounds of time waiting for Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise should stop being such Airheads. The anticipated sequel will be Star-bursting onto the scene on Sept. 2 in North and Latin America and Sept. 5 in Europe and the UK. That leaves plenty of Paydays for you Smarties to save up the $59.99 you need to buy it. That's not a Whopper of a price ... much less than the 100 Grands it would take to travel to ... Whatchamacallit ... Mars. You see, piñatas are filled with candy ... [Via X3F]
Viva Pinata sequel will release the first week of Sept
Earlier today, Microsoft narrowed down Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise's oh so vague "September 2008" release to actual date dates. Pending any unforeseen delays caused by uncooperative Horstachios or Buzzlegums (they can and do get out of hand), that release date will be September 2nd for those in North America and for Europeans, a few days later, on September 5th. So, look forward to hopefully to a cheaper and online co-op enabled (fingers crossed) Viva Pinata experience the first week of September! Joy!%Gallery-22615%
Banjo and Viva sequels only $39.99 at Gamestop?
This generation of games has seen the average price for a title rise to $59.99, so when a game looks to possibly be released at a price point lower than that, we take notice. Over at Gamestop's website, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts are both currently listed at the price of $39.99. Now while this could just be a simple error (Amazon has them both at $59.99), we'd like to hope that there's more going on ...The rest of this is only speculation, but there are a few connections between the two games. They're both from Rare and so they're both Microsoft first party games. Now it could just be wishful thinking, but we'd like to hope that Microsoft might be willing taking a bit of a profit hit on these two to get them to be must-buys for a larger audience of gamers (read: kids).
Trouble in Paradise trailer teaches us evil
Rare just released a new Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise trailer today and even though we don't get to see any in-game goodness, we do get to be completely entertained. You'll have to jump over to Eurogamer to watch the vid, but it's worth it because you'll get to watch Professor Pester detail his evil plan to his fellow henchmen and hilarity ensues. Hmm, now after watching the trailer we have a mad jonesing for some desert dessert and chilled penguin on a stick ... yummm!
2008 Yearbook: Microsoft Game Studios
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/2008_Yearbook_Microsoft_Game_Studios'; After a solid year for the Xbox 360 in 2007 many thought the system could never showcase the same amount of quality exclusives in a single year.In the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios Yearbook, we've compiled a list of this year's graduating class with a detailed account of each title's current status and the stories surrounding them.From heartbreaking cancellations, surprise feature announcements and expected sequels, the 2008 MGS Yearbook is filled with fun facts and information on your soon-to-be favorite titles. Also included in the yearbook are special joke awards given to each title that releases in 2008 that poke fun at the details most commonly argued about in the comments.From Ninja Gaiden II to Alan Wake, the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios Yearbook will have something for everyone.Ladies and gentlemen allow us to introduce the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios graduating class ...
Peep this: Viva Pinata card
Don't expect to find these Viva Piñata cards in stores; this guy above is just a mockup, made specially for the folks at Microsoft's Spring Showcase yesterday. Hold it up to the camera and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will process that barcode on the right side, plopping the character into your game. The feature, while impressive (and early), was temperamental in our demo; however, when working correctly, it will let users share their piñatas by creating a card through the game's website. The camera is surface agnostic so you can print the card out, or stick the image on a forum, save it on your iPod, or just email it to your entire address book (that always goes over well). Check out a shot of the process in action after the break.
