Bursting with colourful characters and exotic environments, Viva Piñata invites you to immerse yourself in its candy-oriented world. And immerse yourself you can, because once you discover the game... and the website... and the accompanying animated series downloadable on X-Box Live... then in due course you’ll be wanting toys, stickers, clothing, ringtones, and anything else with Hudson Horstachio’s papery grin on it.

So is it all just a marketing ploy? Is there a decent game behind this extremely polished image? Is it just for kids, or is there enough depth to keep big kids happy too?

First impressions are that it’s a very simple game. You can talk to other characters who give you hints, and there’s not much to do except start pottering around in your garden, gradually improving it to attract the various types of piñata. Each new piñata arrives with an animated introduction, and even the most battle-hardened gamer might be heard to utter a quiet, "Aww!" at their happy cuddly faces.

It all seems quite straightforward, new species turn up every few minutes, and some of them become resident without any real effort required. Once you get to know their likes and dislikes, you can work out how to make them breed. Just make sure you have their basic requirements in your garden, then complete a mini game to romance your piñatas, and watch the cute and not-at-all-suggestive romance dance. Your loved-up piñatas will be rewarded with an egg, which hatches into a brand-new baby one. You made that! Well done. You can bask in the warm glow of parenthood, without any of the nappies or noise.

The piñatas have imaginative names with an edible twist - well, after all, they are destined to head off to a party and burst in a shower of sweeties. So the buzzlegums (think bees) meander past the fudgehogs (think hedgehogs), whilst the sparrowmints (sparrows) might try and eat the whirlms (worms). The more difficult piñatas tend to be bigger - so for a challenge you can try and tempt a swanana (swan) or a doenut (deer) into your garden.

So. Once you’ve romanced a couple of Whirlms, planted a few nice flowers and vegetables, making sure they had enough water, and maybe even sold your produce in exchange for some chocolate coins, what else is there to do?

Plenty. The game unexpectedly draws you in, as the more challenging aspects become apparent. It’s not all sweetness in your garden, as you learn when you get visits from Sour Piñatas, who are determined to wreak havoc and make your piñatas ill. It’s surprising how protective you can get over a few papery little creatures, and you might discover new uses for that shovel...

As your garden improves you move up through the levels, and unlock more of the story, but apart from encouraging gradual improvement there are no constraints on what you choose to do next. The way to earn Achievements is to tick off all the boxes in your journal - have you had a Mousemallow resident yet? Have you romanced them? How about Master Romancer status? Whilst at first the Achievements come thick and fast, they then become more elusive, and require more hard work and skill to acquire. The more awkward piñatas are difficult enough to entice into your garden, never mind trying to get them interested in a bit of nookie before they wander off or get eaten.

The open-ended style of the game is great for a while as you decide to get obsessive over your expansive colony of Bunnycombs or Raisants, but can also mean that it can feel a little pointless. Admittedly though it takes about ten hours of gaming without a toilet break or any blinking to get to this stage.

There is so much to discover (some handy hints are gained from watching the animated series), and so many cross-breeds and varieties to develop that you are unlikely to run out of new things to try. You might find yourself turning the volume down though, as the sound effects are on the brash and jingly side, and the menu system can be cumbersome and irritating once you get used to it and speed up. It doesn’t speed up with you, and insists on checking every single action in an, "Are you really sure you’re sure?" kind of way. Presumably this is one of the catches when designing a game with universal appeal - it also has to be kid proof. Still, along with the different styles of cursor control available, maybe they could have included a "stop asking me everything twice" option.

Or maybe that’s just nature’s way of telling you to go and remind yourself what daylight looks like.