Mario Party 8 user review

WARNING: Do not play alone.

Review written by
BrothaZ

To a lot of people, Mario Party 8 was just another set of mini-games and a new design. The game may be that with more to it, but only thanks to the hardware shift. But does the Wii bring a new experience even with a game such as this?

Graphics

Mildly impressive, if they were done on GameCube. It doesn't run in 16:9 which feels odd when playing on a widescreen TV. Animations have moved up from the last game, but not as much as they did from N64 to GameCube with Mario Party 4. Although graphics are in my opinion the least important part of a game, it would be nice if Nintendo put in some effort for the series.

Sound

There's hardly any voice acting in the game besides a big "HeyheyHEYYY!!!" from the host of the game (what's his name again?) but then again if there was, it'd probably be somewhat annoying, such as the "MARIO PARTY 8 AAAAHH!!" you hear when you choose the game from the Wii menu. The music is not something to be impressed about, my little brother's band class in 5th grade does better. Then again he's in a private school.

Gameplay

Probably the best aspect of the game.. if you have a lot of friends. On the board game section, even Easy CPU's get exactly what they want no matter what, whether it's a dice roll or a small mini game on the board.

But on the mini games, the CPU's are just too easy. Playing alone is torture. However the mini games themselves aren't that bad. Sadly not even half of the mini games use motion sensor control and actually go to the NES WiiMote style. But for those that do, they're fun to play, especially with friends.

Lifespan

This game will actually stick with you for a while. There's a lot to achieve and unlock, but you'll find it's just not worth it if you're alone. It'll happen to be played around parties and holidays, but won't last longer than two years at the most seeing to it that a new Mario Party (sorta) will be out by then besides Mario Party DS.

Overall

Don't buy the game if you aren't a social kind of person. There's nothing for it. However if you are like that, you'll have a lot of fun with this game no matter how GameCube-ish it seems. Actually renting it for a one time thing isn't too bad an idea though.