Metacritic on Viva Pinata

Ok so I just ripped this idea off of Joystiq who, in turn, is just copying and pasting the pull quotes from Metacritic anyways. BUT, I had yet to hear any word on Viva Pinata at all since Gears of War totally overshadowed its release and I went digging.

90/100 from GameSpy

One of the most entertaining and fulfilling experiences available for the Xbox 360…There are countless ways you can design a garden, and countless ways to enjoy the game.

85/100 from IGN
The characters are endearing and the abounding sense of discovery can’t be denied.

84/100 from Team Xbox
The most interesting thing about Viva Pinata is the fact that it’s actually better suited for adults than it is for children. Managing your resources (er, your pinatas) can be a lot of work, and I’m actually finding the game to be more challenging than many real-time strategy games.

84/100 from DailyGame
Rare has put together a deceptively deep gameplay formula that successfully pulls you back in time-after-time again. Cutesy characters shouldn’t deter even the grisliest gamers from dropping anchor and exploring Pinata Island.

80/100 from Games Radar
A terminally cute game, so while almost guaranteed to suck the kiddies in, it’s a tough sell for the trigger-happy Halo crowd. It’s also fairly short if your goal is getting every pinata in the game to become a resident in your garden.

And for what it’s worth the average user rating is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes.

I’m intrigued and very tempted but my holiday gaming plate is full enough already with an elaborate and decadent flaming dessert on its way in the form of the Wii. Pinata Island will have to wait ’til next year.