Unfortunately, if you happen to be a big fan of Viva Pinata, than Party Animals might not be your thing. Party Animals isn't a sequel, but a collection of mini-games and character races built around a decent 4 player experience both online and off.

Players will have 8 characters to choose from, and the characters are based off of the children's TV show. There isn't much variety within the 8 though, in fact, there's really 4 different types with gender opposites to make up the entire 8. It doesn't matter too much though, as they all play in an identical fashion. I never noticed much of a speed difference in racing (except maybe with how they start), and there definitely isn't any difference when it comes to how they perform in the mini-games.

The core of the game is centered around the mini-games, but to bind everything together the game features 8 different races as well. The races play out in a similar fashion to most kart themed racers, with power-ups scattered about the track, along with various shortcuts and speed boosts. There are a variety of races to choose from, and eventually you can unlock reverse versions as well.

Each game starts off with a race, and then delves into the mini-game portion. At the beginning of the game you can choose between short, medium, and long matches, as well as a practice mode designed to allow you a chance to just play the mini-games, and a custom mode that lets you choose how many races and mini-games you want to play in a particular game.

The mini-games themselves are pretty fun, at least for a short while. I would have preferred to see a bit more variety between them. There are a few that are very identical in how they play, with just slight variations between them. The game does a good job of switching up the mini-games though; you'll rarely encounter an instance where you've played a particular game more than once within a single match.

The visuals are incredibly nice, especially considering that Krome used new assets for this title to get in particular animations they couldn't achieve using the pre-existing stuff from Rare. The world is still vibrant and colorful, and I didn't notice any major hitches or framerate issues.

The music is largely forgettable, and while the game does feature some voice work it ends up being pretty limited. You'll grow tired of the "announcers" quickly, and the little character voices at the end of a game or during a race are equally annoying after time.

However, audio quibbles aside, you'll probably have some fun with Viva Pinata: Party Animals. For parents looking to play something with their younger kids you really can't go wrong with this. The game is pretty simple against the AI opponents, but if you toss in some real players either online or at home you'll end up with a decent challenge. During my time with the game I did have a bit of difficulty finding full online matches that didn't cause me to wait around for players to join, but that might not always be the case.

All together Viva Pinata: Party Animals is a decent entry into the franchise, but nothing that will keep you entertained for very long. In short bursts it can be a lot of fun, and it's kid friendly appeal will make quite a few parents very pleased.