I'm a HUGE supporter of party games. HUGE. HUGE. I don't mean the drink - too - much - and - get - silly - with - your - friends kind of supporter (although that's fun, too). I mean spend - time - with - my - kids - where - they - aren't - beating - each - other - silly supporter. Did I mention HUUUGE! I also think Viva Pinata is one of the best titles ever made for children — fantastic ecology simulation, doesn't pander — but that's another review. Viva Pinata Party Animals should be like peanut butter and chocolate, two great tastes that taste great together, right? Well, yeah ... but it took me a while to "get it."

I'm a weird mom. My kids have video games but no TV. I mean we have a TV, but the reception part? Well, they'll get that for Christmas this year, and we've lived here nearly two years. Why do I mention this? My exposure to the "Viva Piñata" television show is limited to the two free episodes that you can download from Xbox Live.

My older son (age 11) and I were the first to play Party Animals. Party Island is having the Championship Challenge, the greatest sporting event ever! It consists of a series of races separated by challenge events (mini-games). The number of each can be pre-set or customized by you. We tended to play five-race, three-event challenges. In other words, we'd race then play three mini-games.

Each race is on a small track in one of four distinct areas: Beached! (on a beach), Civilized (through town), Frosty! (in the snow) and Factory (uhh ... in a factory). You run through a whacky course and, along the way, pick up piñata candy, which you can use as boosts or to slow down other players. There are shortcuts you can attempt to take along the way.

As an FYI, all events and races are four-player. The system always will add the necessary players.

We enjoyed the racing and events. Neither of us found any of them particularly difficult or unique — of course, we've played a lot of party games. We laughed a few times, opened a LOT of other challenge events, but after an hour or so, we stopped playing. My son was annoyed by the repetitive nature of the announcers. I was annoyed by how obnoxious they were. Where was the charm of the original title? Perhaps this was more like the TV show?

But I have a younger son, age 8. And there's a plethora of neighborhood children that aren't nearly as game-savvy as my kids.

Things that I have learned?

Older kids will play this together if it's only older kids. And they like the obnoxious, repetitive or not. (Suddenly my older son isn't such a discerning game critic.) They become competitive, period.

Younger children find some of the mini-games to be a bit tough. They're nearly micro-games, so by the time they get the hang of the mechanic involved, the game ends. But there's good news on this front that I'll get to in a moment.

To any parent reading this and expecting to buy a Viva Pinata title, this isn't one. This is a party game with Viva Pinata theme. This isn't a bad thing, not at all. It can make the difference when attempting to engage your child in family time. But also take into account, this title will take some skill to play, and although there is a setting called "Keep it close" to help prevent the artificial intelligence (or real people) from just stomping on other players, little hands with poor dexterity may have a hard time for a little while. The group of children I tested this with appeared to be fine around age 10; but between age 7-9, it was completely dependent upon experience and individual hand/eye coordination.

As I said, there is good news on this front. Although there are more than 50 mini-games, there are only six game types. This means only six control schemes. And the control schemes are very simple. You could play three different games, but if they are of the same category, they will use the same skill set and same control scheme, and you should be getting better with each successive game without growing bored.

The game types are as follows: Move and Collect, Aim and Fire, Smashing, Smash and Collect, Rhythm, and Reflexes. These are rather simple to understand and basic categories. You might think that the rhythm category consists only of dancing, but this is where you'd be wrong. *grins*

This is not only a children's title, it is based upon the "Viva Pinata" TV show. Rhythm does consist of a few dancing events. But it contains more than a few BURPING contests! How is this rhythm, you may ask? First, you must press a button quickly to drink a fizzy drink. Then you must press two buttons alternately (this is your rhythm; it must be alternately and quickly) to shake yourself up. Reach maximum fizz, and let it out!

Wow, do the kids love this. And yeah, they put in a way they can pick the game they want to play. Over and over and over ...

Like its progenitor, Party Animals is Live-enabled, but this time, it has multiplayer functionality. I'm iffy on this function. I like that my sons can play with other people at any time. I like even more that BOTH OF THEM can log in on my account and play — they are simply Ophelea and Ophelea (1). I'm not keen that if they want to use their own gamertag they need their own gold account. I'm even less keen that my 8-year-old asked me about playing with Azzliiker.

And ladders? I realize it's a requirement of Live-enabled titles, but Microsoft, can't you make exceptions to the rules for your own CHILDREN'S titles? Aren't our children competitive enough through normal development without the added incentive of adding ladders? Sheesh.

I can't say that *I* like Viva Pinata Party Animals, but then I'm not the target audience. Also, I realized after playing it with both of my children and watching groups of children playing it together that the humor is aimed directly at a specific age. One that I live with day in and day out and am perhaps a leetle overwhelmed with. *grins*

I can say that I recommend it for families looking for a party game to connect with their children. The games are fun, albeit a little difficult. The colors are vibrant, just as you'd expect of the franchise. Multiple settings allow you to customize the gameplay to your liking. Live lets them play with their friends. Just make sure to be a parent and take care of Live ... and let the burps begin!