Stage 1: Impressions |
Stage 2: Analysis |
Stage 3: Evaluation |
In eight years, Nintendo has pumped out eight Mario Party games. While Nintendo fans have always sought to buy the most first-party titles for each of their consoles, it's rare to find any gamer with all eight of the Mario Party games.
Reason being? They're all the same. The same mini-games are repeated over and over in each Mario Party, from Nintendo 64 to GameCube, with only a slightly different scenario. Same premise, same idea, same movements, just a different board and a few new items. With that said, gamers are always looking for that must-buy Mario Party title. Has Wii produced that game?
All aboard the party train! Crashes may occur.
Even though Mario Party 8 features familiar gameplay, it starts off in an unfamiliar fashion: the first stage is designed with no mini-games. Yes, you read that right; there are no mini-games played after each turn. Instead, players walk around the board collecting enough coins here and there to earn two stars before the computer-controlled opponent reaches them. Sound pretty quirky? You bet it is. Like a regular board game, the roll of the dice determines pass or fail. No additional coins here. I'll look further into single player in the next two stages of this review, but multiplayer is probably what you're really after.
The regular Party mode is pretty satisfying. The stages aren't insanely huge, which allows for more stars and more events to happen in a less overwhelming area. Wii Remotes in play will take on screen-pointing, controller-shaking, stamping, slamming, twirling, and other gestures. Thankfully, the motions aren't too extreme, which helps ensure that they are reliable, even if they might seem limited to those who played WarioWare: Smooth Moves to death.
So far, there are a lot of games with the Wii Remote held like an NES controller. Motion sensing works most of the time, but others require only basic d-pad movements. Old-school fans will enjoy the d-pad setup combined with a few twists of motion sensing, but some gamers may yearn for the standard positioning of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to fully take advantage of their new console's unique capabilities. Still, Mario Party is an everyone kind of game. No points should ever be deducted if the variety in control schemes helps bring people together.
Oddly enough, the Wii Remote does not vibrate to indicate a player's turn (if it does, the vibration is barely noticeable). Wii Sports Bowling was nice because it helped keep track of players who left the room for a drink by letting them feel the 'it's my turn!' rumbling. This kept the action moving, and every Mario Party player knows that the action stops when someone walks out of the room. A more noticeable incentive to keep players in the game would help pacify annoyed friends and family members.
Restroom breaks are forbidden until the end of the game!
These are perhaps petty aspects of Mario Party, but it's possible for these little things to add up. So far, the mini-games have been fun. The Wii Remote adds new life to old games, making the experience a bit fresher for series veterans. Players even jab the controller upwards to hit the roll block dice. However, those apathetic toward Mario Party will probably steer clear of this game, because Mario Party 8 still takes forever to beat. While it won't take more than five minutes to win a game in WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Mario Party is still designed to last for a couple hours.
Check back here for Stage 2 to find out how those next couple hours play out!
Stage 1: Impressions |
Stage 2: Analysis |
Stage 3: Evaluation |
