What Pixar does for animated movies, Rare does for cute, cuddly kids games. On the surface, the bright colors, youthful humor and playful characters appeal to the young ones, while there is also something on a deeper level that appeals to adults. 2006's Viva Pinata utilized this winning formula, making it a game that parents and their kids could both enjoy. Viva Pinata: Party Animals takes most of what made Viva Pinata so wonderfully addictive and boils it down to its base components, churning out a bare-bones racing and party game.

It's hard not to feel like Party Animals is little more than a quick cash-in to draw kids who are either fans of the TV show or parents who are looking for an Xbox 360 game for their children. Once you decide on how long of a game you want to play, you either set up a local multiplayer game or one over Xbox Live, then let Party Animals throw a string of random mini games at you until you just can't take it anymore. These mini games, usually involving uncomplicated activities such as stomping on bugs, collecting candy on a spinning platform, attempting to be the first to bust open a pinata or drudging through an overly simplified rhythm game, usually require only a few button presses and lack any real need for skill. As such, none of them warrant multiple plays.

The remainder of game play is foot races. There are eight pinatas to choose from, but none of them offers any real advantage in the races (or the other games, for that matter). There are only a handful of courses, and they differ from one another, at least in art style. Much like in the plethora of kart racers on the market, there are power-ups that litter the course. Some of them are quite useful (various speed boosts and attacks), while others rarely work as well as you'd hope. These races are fairly competitive and fun so long as you turn off the option to "Keep the Game Close," which gives the race the rubber band effect of always forcing AI opponents back to the front. Still, there is not much about the races that make them feel unique, and they offer few sharp turns and hazards to provide more challenge for seasoned gamers.

Visually, Party Animals holds true to its source material, as the developers created some decent environments, and each of the pinatas feature impressive animation. There is the occasional occurrence of pop-up or a framerate stutter, but not enough to hamper the experience. The game's music, on the other hand, is derivative, and the commentary provided by Pecky Pudgeon and Pierre Parrybo repeats a lot.

If all you own is an Xbox 360 and you want a game for kids, Viva Pinata: Party Animals will probably fill those shoes, but if you need a great party game that offers any amount of depth, this one falls well short of the mark.