Video Game Review: Mario Party 8 for Nintendo Wii

I've been dreaming about you, drooling over you in every magazine and online article I get my eyeballs on that mentions you. Oh sweet Mario... Mario...
I have been getting glimpses here and there about Mario Party 8 for the Nintendo Wii. When I first learned about the game being developed I couldn't wait to get a copy. I couldn't wait for the title to hit the shelves at my local video game store.
Waiting though is always part of the video game world. Every gaming lover I know can most likely tell you they're waiting for this game, or that one. The release date seems like an eternity, eventually though, the game does hit shelves, and gamers nation wide all line up for a chance at owning a copy. Is it worth the wait though? Was Mario Party 8 worth the wait?
Read on...
Mario Party 8 for the Nintendo Wii is gorgeous, and different; and finally, it became mine. Muahahahaha!
Like the old school Mario Party games, Mario Party 8 for the Nintendo Wii is not much different, the characters all look the same, the worlds you will be playing are not much crisper either; but hey, it's Mario, and he's the best. So deal.
Game play:
In Mario Party 8 you have to option to play against the computer or against 3 of your friends; that is if you have 3 friends.
If you're like me though, 3 gaming friends are hard to come by when you're 25, and usually you're lucky to get your significant other to pick up the controller and play.
-This is where my first GRRR moment occurred. I was really hoping Nintendo would surprise us Mario Party fans by allowing online game play.
How spectacular would it of been to kick someone else's butt for a change? To not have to worry about gathering friends and family up to play a game of Mario Party.
Boards:
This is basically all Mario Party 8 is; boards. Like the old Mario Party games you would choose a board you want to play, you would then pick your playing character, then you pick your computer opponents, or your friends choose their characters, and finally you move on to play land. Yippie!!! (There are a few characters you cannot use when you first play the game. You must unlock them to be able to use them).
There are options too of course. If you know you're a stinky game player you can set the computer characters to easy. If you think your decent, but not perfect, set them guys to normal. If you're a freak of nature, set them to very hard.
You can also set how many turns you would like to have. 10, 15, 20, 25... all the way up to 50.
A game with 50 turns could take up to 5 hours or more. 30 turns is about 3 hours, 20 about 2.
You may also give yourself some stars by default. So you can start with a bunch of stars which basically guarantees that you win at the end. But really that's cheating, and they won't count towards your trading card cash out anyways.
Next you choose your board. Oh my favorite part!
Do I want to romp in the jungle with Donkey Kong? Or do I get a scare from big Boo's mansion? Or maybe I want some Mario Party game play I'm used to, so I should maybe visit the Mario Sunshine board? Or wheel and deal in real estate in Turtle's board? Or do I take a ride on the Shy Guy Express?
All of the boards are extremely unique compared to past Mario Party games where the characters for the most part just raced to a star or hidden star.
In these new boards you are still racing for the star; yes, but in some boards the star is free, in others you have to invest in real estate to obtain hotels for stars, in Boo's mansion, the mansion changes with each collection of a star, and sends you packing back to the beginning of the board to start the race again. In Shy Guys Express, a train will move forward, but that does not always mean you are. It's a trick to the senses...if you are smart though it will be easy to tell where you are, and where you are headed.
For the most part though only about 3 boards are worth any fun. The rest are all based on chance, and luck. I'm unlucky, so when a game board calls for luck, I back out from the get go.
After you have chosen a board (and most likely you will choose based on which looked the coolest) you are taken there where you and the other characters hit numbered blocks that blink from 1-10. They blink so fast though you never know what you'll get. Another game of chance. This determines who will go first.
The board will be filled with mostly red and blue spaces. If you land on a blue space you are given 3 coins, and you are safe. If you land on a red space, you loose 3 of your coins and you will become the target in the mini games, with a 3 on 1 mini battle.
You can also expect to find golden note spaces that will usually take you directly to the path of the star. There are only about 2 gold spaces on each board, so your odds are slim. Landing on a gold note though is sweet victory...to the star we go!
There will also be Donkey Kong spaces, when you land on them you will get a prize from DK himself, and then after DK leaves the space will become Bowser spaces. If you land on a Bowser space expect to loose coins, or a star. We hate the Bowser space!
Scattered throughout each board will be pieces of candy, you can also obtain candy by buying them at candy shops. It's sort of like the orbs in older Mario Party games. The candy becomes your weapon, we like candy!
Types Of Candy Scattered Throughout The Board:
You will come across all types of candy; candy that turns you into a big stone-crushing machine, that will smash anyone who is ahead of you if you happen to pass them on your journey. They will loose coins; you will be happy. Haha.
There is also lightning candy that will zap whomever your target is. You choose a target on the target wheel and throw a dart at them. Most likely you'll miss the person you want to steal coins from and get someone else. The target wheel is another game of chance.
You will also come across candy that will blow people back to the start line, and candy that will allow you to steal coins from all of the players. Candy is probably the best thing added into the game, besides the mini games.
Mini Games:
After each character has had a turn hitting the numbered block, the mini games section opens up.
Here you will play 4 against 4 if you have all landed on safe blue blocks. If someone has landed on a red block it will become 3 vs. 1, if 2 people land on it, it becomes a 2 vs. 2 game. It's all pretty basic.
Here you will battle each other for coins. Coins equal stars. We want as many as we can get!
There are plenty of mini games to play; however if you play a long game with 50 turns, you will notice that there is not as huge a selection as you would think.
Each mini game is fun as heck though, so it is all good...even if you end up playing the same one 4 times in one game.
Mini games use the wii remote in very basic ways. A lot of the mini games call for holding the wii remote sideways and using it as a normal game controller. Some games ask that you simply wave it around from left to right, or up and down. There are a few other uses for the wii remote in the game, but seriously they're limited mostly to those few moves. The rest of the actions the game asks for are similar but do not show up as often as holding it like a remote controller or like a sword.
Regardless, as I mentioned, gaming is still fun. You will find yourself racing in cars, decorating cakes (which reminded me of Cooking Mamas Cook Off), jumping rope, shooting targets, snowboarding, water skiing, paint ball throwing, drawing, balancing yourself on a tightrope, and many, many other fun mini game battles will be taking place throughout the game.
If you win the battle you get 10 coins while your opponents walk away empty handed. However there are some rare games of chance that pop up where everyone keeps what they collect.
Even if you loose the board, which can be frustrating, you will still acquire trading cards. You can use these to buy things in the extras zone, such as music, or statues.
Extras Zone:
In the extras zone you can play mini games you have already played in the game. The extras zone allows you to practice mini games you're not that great at You can also verse a friend to beat a mini game record.
What is very interesting here, is that you can play with your Mii characters! It may not add much, but it is a bit different to see in a Mario game, and the mini games here are considered extra large seeing how there is bowling, and some other longer mini-game type "longer" games.
What's Good About Mario Party 8 For The Wii?
Wii game titles have been lacking a lot, and I was glad to see a Mario Party game come out, because I enjoyed playing it on the Gamecube console back in the day.
Mario Party 8 is also very fun when you have 'real friends' to play with. Not computer generated players.
-Game play is fast and fun, and replay value is extremely high. I could see myself easily wasting hours away on a rainy day with friends, and I could easily see myself doing this often.
-The Wii remote works flawlessly in the game. I did not encounter any stuttering, locking up, and my pointer did not fall off of the screen or disappear like it does in some games.
I honestly thought this title would be difficult to play with the wii mote, but when I tried it for myself, I was surprised at just how easily the remote worked with the game.
-Sound. The different sounds in the game are pleasant and cute. You will find yourself bopping you head to the cheesy Mario tunes, and dancing when you are victorious in a mini game battle. None of the music is annoying or overbearing. It's the classic Mario charm that every fan seems to enjoy.
Issues:
The game itself is an excellent game, however the anticipation of waiting made me expect more from the game, and I didn't get much more. I was expecting ions of new mini games, yet most of them were sort of the same, just compatible with the wii mote.
-The issue of all issues!!!!No ONLINE play! Hmph, a big middle finger at Nintendo for this long wait. Argh this is so pathetic. I'm guessing they will remodel this in the future forcing me to buy Mario Party 9 just to get in on some online play. Bah! 2 middle fingers.
-The price is awful. This has been an issue for me though when it comes to Wii games in general. 4 Nintendo Wii game titles cost just as much as the console. Each wii game that is half decent will run you $50 plus tax. If the game sucks it'll be under $50, that's how it seems to go with Nintendo.
-Graphics, they look exactly the same as they did in Mario Party 1 for the Nintendo 64. Pretty cheese Nintendo. Let's improve it just a little... come on!
I mean the graphics are nice and all, I'm not saying they aren't, but Nintendo could of at least done something different.
-A lot of the game boards are all based on chance. If you are lucky, you win, if you are unlucky, you loose, and you loose bad, even when the computer characters are set to easy.
Overall Opinion:
Mario Party 8 is an excellent game, however it lacks in many departments, and needs some work. Like I said, they will learn from this one, and quickly make a part 9. That's how they do things as far as what I've seen with Mario Party games.
Recommendation:
Mario Party 8 for the Nintendo Wii is a green light GO!
It's worth a purchase even with its bad points. I would however wait for it to go on sale if you're on a tight budget. It may be quite some time though, so see if you can grab it up for a steal on ebay if you MUST have it now.
The main reason I recommend it is because of its high re-play value. Buying this title for your kids will keep them busy for hours.
I recommend it to everyone. No age in particular.