Wii Party: Review

It’s time to grab that Wii remote and have a Wii Party, Is it worth inviting your friends or has the party already died out? Find out in this review.

Wii Party is exactly what a party game should be, Nintendo this time around decided to put a lot more effort in making  a better compilations disc of mini games compared to there predecessors.  This time around Nintendo have packed in a variety of different game modes, loads more mini games,  and a variety of different types of games. Single player is where the title lacks, Playing alone in your own party isn’t enjoyable as it is dancing around in your room listening to the latest hit from Bruno Mars or some other singer who’s big in the charts. Single player party’s never go down well and this time in a video game it’s not that entertaining either.  It’s a shame that many of the mini games are meant to be played with 3 other people, but it gives you the excuse to invite your friends over and have a “Party” pun not intended…

So having a look at the different game modes, some of the game modes consist of you working with the other player to get a higher score, some modes consist of you competing against the other players to get your own individual score’s. Depending on how many players you have playing chooses the outcome of how you would play. The game modes are split into three categories, Group Play, Pair Play and House Party. These modes are specifically made for a 4 Player face off, although if your taking the single player party route you can happily play with 3 other CPU players.

Now looking at each mode separately starting  we will start with Group Play. Group Play is a mode that is based around a Board Game Island.  It is similar to how Mario Party worked but is slightly unique. This mode works like I guess you can say a Snakes and Ladders with mini games.  How this mode work’s with all four players is you all have to compete in a mini-game to be given a position in which order you will roll.  You also get a second die depending on where you are ranked out of the 3 other players.  You are ranked by getting gold for first place, silver for second bronze for third and nothing for last. When rolling the dice as you could of imaged it determining on how many space’s you more. with the gold and silver ones are more likely to roll higher numbers.  The overall aim is to get to  the top of the island before any of the other players do.  It’s straight forward and very competitive if you playing with 3 other players, this is a special thanks to the ranking system that is used depending on how well you do in the mini-games.  Looking into the other modes the Push-Start team have decided this is our favourite mode but we shall continue the review and let you guys get your own opinion on which mode you think you prefer.

The next mode on offer is Globe Trot, this mode plays a lot more like Mario Party compared to Board Game island. In this mode your objective is to travel around a large map of the world by rolling dice and landing on spaces like before. This time this is where Mario Party comes into the picture by the use of coins to buy stars. This is now when your task is now consisted of you travelling to key locations in the world by paying 10 coins to get a souvenir photo to prove you were there.  A weird concept but an enjoyable one.  This mode does feel much more open compared to Mario Party as you are able to travel to three landmarks to visit instead of only going after one star.  This does mean each player gets to decide which country they want to head for first.  You have to hope your dice rolling skills are perfect because you also need to have the exact number of of moves to land on the space to retrieve the souvenir. It’s a nice change of pace since there is no rush to get to the goal first this time around. The mini games are thrown in after each players turn which goes to helping you win more coins.

Another mode you can play is Group Play. This mode consist of Mini-Games that are based on luck.  There are some pretty simple games like Bingo where your Mii’s  heads become the bingo balls, if you have your own Miis of course, if not it will use generic Miis. You will also be able to play another game which is called Spin-Off, this is also pretty straight forward and just consist of you spinning a wheel to decide whether you will receive any points, lose them or add them to the bank that is received when someone wins a mini-game.

Pair Play is an another mode where it consist of three modes – Friend Connection, Match-Up and Balance Boat. Balance boat seems to be the most enjoyable mode as it involves both of the players to balance their Mii’s on a boat.  After each round a co-op mini game will pop up.  If you fail the mini game the Miis placed will change in size making it harder for you to balance with.  This is probably the best 2 player co-op experience we have had for a long time in a Wii title and we are pleased this is featured in the game.

Friend Connection allows two players too play mini-games together to see how well they are connected, this is a very team based effort and a lot of communication is key during this two player mode. You will encounter different mini-games such as having to get sheep to another side but both of the players have different positioned platforms to do so.

The final game mode is  Pair Play  – Match Up which is an entirely luck and chance based mode.  This mode consist of you the stereotypical “match two” card games we have had in the passed. This time around though it is presented by the Miis, causing you find a Mii wearing the same coloured shirt ad another. If you successfully make a pair then the Miis will start to converse at the top of the screen.  Even though this game mode has been done many times before Wii Party somewhat makes it feel very fresh and unique.

Overall – Great

The variety of games in this package and widely be proven to be one of the best mini-game complications of all time, some of them are very unique and individual as the others lack depth. Wii Party has a lot of games that are meant to be played with 4 players, and really that’s where all the fun stands. Its a very family friendly type of game, and also a very cooperative based game. The cooperative games are sometimes difficult with some that cause a challenge. The may issue we found is the controlling system. Sometimes you’re asked to hold the Wii Remote sideways and then use the D-Pad to do certain things such as movement. Then the next time around you will also encounter a game with similar mechanics expect you now have to tilt the remote to move. It does become frustrating and doesn’t seem like it was needed. It’s also a real shame that the use of the Wii Motion Plus is not needed with these mini-games. Even though the original functions of the remote hold strong, it would of been nice to see some Wii Motion Plus based mini-games. Ignoring the frustrating controls the party is about to start, so all you need to do is get some friends over and have some fun on some of the most weirdest and enjoyable unique mini-games to date.