By Billy Teo, a freelance writer

WARNING: Do not start this game if you need to go to school or work tomorrow.

Once Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise sucks you into its addictive garden-building world, you will find it hard to stop playing.

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the original title, Piñata revolves around cultivating cute cuddly creatures in your walled garden, which you attempt to build into a veritable Garden of Eden by planting crops like corn and carrots and setting up homes for all the Piñatas you can lure.

Piñatas can be attracted if you know what motivates them: some come in because of your bountiful orchard or because you have created a sandy area where they like to hang out at.

This sequel brings more of the same fun gameplay but a villain, Professor Pester, spices things up in Paradise, making for a stronger storyline.

There are also new Piñata species you can capture from two new locales - a desert and an Artic island.

A new co-op mode allows parents to hop in with a second controller and potter about the garden when their child needs help - or vice versa.

Be warned: This game is no bed of roses.

Peel away the cutesy graphics and there's a game about the art of governing hidden inside.

You worry about building homes for your citizens (the Piñatas) and new amenities like a pond or footpaths while struggling with the limited land.

Social engineering is required too: you need to spur on your citizens' procreation process to increase the birth rate.

Even in this world, you have to attract foreign talent continuously, while keeping native Piñatas happy.

There is also a fair bit of economics worked in as you juggle the trading of Piñatas and farm produce to build up enough capital to buy more upgrading items - from seeds to fences - for your garden.

It is entirely possible that ministering to your garden will give those brain cells a good workout, folks.

The best thing about the play here is that there is no set formula to follow: you can tweak your garden haphazardly and Piñatas will still wander in.

Planning well and learning how to satisfy all Piñata preferences is a must if you intend to capture the more than 100 species available.

Fun for all in the family, Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise is heaven for fans of the original.

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 8, 2008.