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Mario Party 8 (Wii)

Wii Review

By Iun - 6th July 2007 10:16

"The boards in the game are the typical over and underdone versions that are the hallmarks of the MP series."

P-A-R-T-why? Because you gotta!

Continuing the long line of successful party theme board games from Nintendo comes Mario Party 8 – this time on the Wii. MP7 threw in a new gimmick in the form of the microphone, adding literally minutes more of enjoyment to the otherwise flat and uninteresting game. This time round, wee have the worldly wonder of the Wii and its wand-waving whimsy. Can Mario host the party of the season? Or will this be one social event to forget?

Personally, I never played the original Mario Party games on the N64. By the time they were released I had sold my machine to finance a week in France (and WHAT a week) so I arrived at the party somewhere around number 5, which I found to be a mixture of successful ideas and downright stupid ones. Mario Party 8 is definitely different to the other titles in the series in that it's unrepentantly rubbish.

From the very moment you arrive at the title screen, things are obviously wrong. You are greeted by some crazy-assed Dusty Bin/Ringmaster rip off that speaks its first line with a recorded voice over, then pretty much for the rest of the game speaks in grunts and laughs for no obvious or given reason.

The interface that greets you is clunky, slow, difficult to manage and suffers some dreadful loading times that really grate on the nerves. The whole thing is set up like a circus village, but you will feel anything but entertained as you scroll through option after option just to do what you want. Thankfully, you only have to press the “off” button once to turn the darn thing off. At first I had visions of screens asking you umpteenth number of times whether or not you really really want to turn the game off, or whether you would like to go to another menu to select from the menu that leads you to the menu taking you to the screen where you can select which menu you want to enter the character selection screen. All hyperbole aside, it's not an easy game to get to grips with, and for a game that is supposed to be multiplayer, time is of the essence and this eats up far too much of it.

The boards in the game are the typical over and underdone versions that are the hallmarks of the MP series: sometimes your character will traipse for several squares without triggering a mini game; other times it seems you cannot move for silly and slow-paced special effects that are mildly boring the first time around, and frankly irritating when you have seen them more than once.

Perhaps it is the board game nature of the piece that really lets the whole show down, as the mini games themselves are not too bad. The Wiimote control is reasonably tight, certainly better than in the latter stages of Raving Rabbids where the darn thing seems to switch off. The real issue with the mini games is that they are just so uninspired when compared to far superior games such as Wario Ware and Wii Play. Tipping, dipping, pointing, shooting and waggling are all relatively diverting, but when you have to examine thoroughly the instructions for each game prior to play, and go through several lengthy practice sessions before realising that the instructions are no help at all, you cannot help but feel as if all the fun has been drained from the game.

The graphics are functional at best, garish at other moments and sub-par for the rest of the time. The boards, while pretty are overcrowded with silly animations, obviously designed to distract you from the fact that nothing is really happening. Character animations are solid, but nothing you would not expect to see on the Gamecube. The same can be said for the sound, which drones on in the background quite happy in the knowledge that it is not really adding anything to the production. It is as if the programmers decided that all games have sound, therefore this game needs it too, without really considering what music can do to improve the atmosphere and feel of a title.

Mario Party has always been about multiplayer, and when you find them, you will realise that there are plenty of unentertaining options to keep you bored silly for the next five minutes. If you manage to persuade friends to join you in a party session, don't expect them to thank you for the opportunity or to ever grace your home again. In fact, dig out Wario Ware or Wii Sports, older games which are entertaining long before this game has even begun.

In closing: go away. Forget this game, as it really does not have any redeeming features that I have found. Many among the press have lambasted Nintendo for creating a yearly-updated franchise such as this, and until now I was loth to agree with them. But now I see a certain wisdom in not diluting your creative talent. I would sooner see a Zelda sequel with more developers on the team than another iteration of this rot, if Mario Party 8 is indicative of things to come for the franchise.

Comments

Eraser Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 05:41 \|\| Total Comments: 505

Mario Party's always been a rubbish game. The first one was great because of the originality, but 8 titles down the line it's more of the same and the game is sooooo slow and 100% based on pure luck that it's not even funny anymore.

Oditri Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 06:36 \|\| Total Comments: 182

I still think the best one was Mario Party 2. They've kinda gone downhill since then.

Nintendo-master2 Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 06:57 \|\| Total Comments: 1530

one review gave it a high score saying that it was really good! hmmmmmmmm...¬_¬

Eraser Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 07:05 \|\| Total Comments: 505

I guess that if you're a fan of the series who can't get enough of more of the same then it's probably good for you.

I think that the Mario Party series is flawed at a basic level. Kind of like the review said, the whole game is one big charade put up to hide the fact that nothing interesting happends at all. Yeah the minigames are fun, but the in-between boardgame bits are bloody annoying.

RawkingRawlings Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 07:19 \|\| Total Comments: 343

I quite liked Mario Party 7, managed to play it in 8 player mode a few times too which was a riot!! Won't be getting this though, im just gonna focus on getting games for me rather than my friends (which i used to do in the past e.g Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles).

Vyse Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 07:38 \|\| Total Comments: 17

Games like this are OK for family gatherings and such. As a 19 year old student though I can think of many more suitable games for me and my flat mates.

D_prOdigy Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 10:49 \|\| Total Comments: 1596

RIP Mario Party (please?)

Emerald_Emblem Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 11:40 \|\| Total Comments: 32

It's all down to opinion. I personally love the Mario party series. No other game of it's kind has outdone it, that should count for something right?
My little brother plans to get it when it's finally released in the UK. Plus it's Mario so what do you expect?

Pookiablo Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 13:16 \|\| Total Comments: 157

As I said in another post the other day, Mario Party 1 and 2 were the only decent versions. They had some excellent mini games and some top notch boards too (especially MP2). I think by the time they got to four, they started making Mario far too silly for my liking, introduced too many silly rules and modes that it was a rather uninspiring experience.

Maybe next time (if there is another one that is!) they'll make it a bit more original, as it'll be built from the ground up for the Wii and therefore we may find the game will contain better use of the remote. Also I hope they get rid of all these extra crappy characters, the original six were the best and all that were needed in my opinion!

But as I've already said, I suppose this is just an opinion....

Mako89 Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 15:18 \|\| Total Comments: 421

I think the review is a bit harsh but I'm not really going to argue. Most sites gave it about a 6 so it's not a great game but in todays age of gaming, it's a pass. I think you have to accept it as a party game and a game based on chance because it is a board game... I can't speak for the mini games.. some people like them, some don't. If you've never played a mario party then maybe it is fresh... If you've bought every one.. well I feel sorry for you. Must be hard to have to come up with 50 mini games every year.

Gypooooo Says:
July 6th, 2007 at 23:39 \|\| Total Comments: 105

It would be good if Nintendo released something like "The Best of Mario Party" Which was basically the most popular mini games from each party on 1 disk...I hope someone from Nintendo reads this!

Rummy Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 05:07 \|\| Total Comments: 186

I think I've only played MP1 and MP4, and to be honest with you, when I played MP4(which I bought for £20) I was kind of dissappointed and did not play it for very long at all. Somewhere between 1(which was a brilliant brilliant game, with excellent single player features as well as multi) and 4, things had gotten worse, and I've been put off them ever since. The best thing I got out of MP4 was my zelda disc.
I was hoping MP8 might redeem things for the series with the wiimote though, but it sounds like an utter crapfest. Where did Nintendo go so wrong?

Zorgon Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 20:57 \|\| Total Comments: 41

I actually like it, and think it's a VAAAST improvement over Version 7 with its crappy microphone.

OptimaX Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 06:47 \|\| Total Comments: 1

Last weekend i played this with my girlfriend and her two kids (6&9) and we had a great jolly good time! The only thing that annoys me is that you can't switch off the background music. The review on this site is not a good one, sure enough you won't like this game if your favourites are Resident Evil, Metroid Prime, Scarface, Zelda and all the real 'boy' games. But try to review from a different perspective! Nintendo has always focussed on a 'family entertainment system' and with this game you are garanteed to have a great time with your family!