Mario Party 8

Jun 4, 2007

Is there a place for a game like Mario Party 8 on the Nintendo Wii? After all, this is a platform already inundated with party games. Why do you need another Mario Party when you can swing for the fences or hit the lanes on Wii Sports, arguably the most successful party game in years? Pinball, table tennis and pool await you in the casual-friendly Wii Play, and you don't want to count out those Raving Rabbids. There's also Big Brain Academy on the horizon, as well as something for the more serious gamer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. So really, who needs another Mario Party?

Let's throw a Mario Party! I'll be the Princess.

Mario Party 8 is the game you break out in those occasions when you'd normally hit the closet for Monopoly. This is the game that you play when you'd rather kick back on the couch and enjoy some social time with your friends and the Wii without having to make elbow room for Tennis on Wii Sports, or you've had quite enough of gyrating your hips in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.

You really need a trio of friends to get the most out of Mario Party 8, since playing it alone against the CPU is a downright bore. The mini-games are only entertaining when you can laugh and joke with others, reveling in the spirit of competition.

Hudson Soft has definitely gone back to the well to put together this collection of rather uninspired mini-games. The only thing making these games any different from what you've played in previous Mario Party games is that the controls make use of the Wii remote controller. Previous Mario Party iterations have had downright brilliant mini-games to choose from, but many of those in this installment feel uninspired.

Most of the games rely on basic movements with the Wii remote, such as in the various target-shooting games, while others default to the sideways NES controller configuration. The board layouts themselves are entertaining, and bring unique gameplay mechanics into play. One that we particularly enjoyed was similar to a game of monopoly, where the star count was based on property ownership across the board. This board challenges players to skillfully invest in hotels, outbidding each other for ownership and driving up property values by dumping those precious coins.

There are many games in this collection, separated into groups like four-player free-for-alls, one-on-one duel games, and even a handful of single-player challenges. Depending on how many people you have to play with, whether you've got a full couch of friends or you're home alone once again on a Saturday night, Mario Party 8's got you covered. You also have plenty of reasons to play, since unlocking trophies and additional mini-games will take many late-night game sessions.

Party Like it's 2007

The single-player Star Battle tournament is the lonely gamer's way of learning the layouts of each board, but one of the underlying problems behind Mario Party 8 is that the game, like all previous versions, relies on random die rolls and the fickle nature of the AI to determine a game's winner. In this sense, it's comparable to board games like the game of Life, but can lead to some very cheap outcomes. Being one roll away from victory after an hour-long game, only to be denied your celebration by the predictably cruel nature of the die is almost enough to make you swear never to play again. Still, if you don't mind playing a game that is almost completely unpredictable (outside of the AI screwing you over and over), then you may be entertained.

Mario Party 8's graphics also look puzzlingly poor. The visuals haven't seen significant improvement since the GameCube era, and simple things like a fiery halo effect around characters can cause the frame rate to noticeably dip. The menu screen teases you with a nice widescreen display, but once a game actually starts, you're treated to a 4:3 ratio screen with sidebars -- it's almost criminal that the game doesn't support a widescreen display.

While unimpressive from a technical standpoint, and uninspired from a mini-games standpoint, the core Mario Party formula remains intact. As with any multiplayer oriented game, having a good time is always possible as long as you surround yourself with good friends. So yes, this eighth installment of the series may be worth your while if you like throwing Wii parties and have exhausted all of the Wii's better such games already. Otherwise, you're not missing much.