Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: HudsonSoft
System: Wii
Genre: Party game
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher Troilo

Since the explosion of Wii Sports as the new must-play game at social gatherings, video game makers are racing to release the next great party title for the Wii. Mario Party 8, Nintendo’s latest installment of the popular series, wants to be this game. To be succinct however, Mario Party 8 will provide most gamers with only moderate amounts of entertainment, occurring mostly when players feel the need to take a break from superior Wii party offerings.

Mario Party 8 has a very basic premise in terms of story. Mario and his friends are attending a carnival, with the ringleader being an animated fellow named MC Ballyhoo, who serves as your host for the duration of the game. Ballyhoo invites the Mario characters to partake in the Star Battle, from which the winner will receive the Star Rod, a trinket that just so happens to be Bowser’s latest object of affection. When Bowser tries to swipe the game’s trophies, it’s up to the gang save the carnival.

The gameplay of Mario Party 8 is that of a board game, with various players “rolling the dice”, moving their character along the appropriate spaces and dealing with the results of where they land. Depending on the board type chosen, the goal of the game is slightly modified. In all worlds, the main goal is to collect stars; what changes is the method in which you do so. Most levels require simply navigating to the space on the board with the star and purchasing it with coins you’ve collected throughout the game.

Earning (or losing) coins is dictated by various actions, most usually by landing on particular spaces, using collected candy or playing mini-games. Candy pieces are acquired items that can be used at the players’ discretion to hinder opponents. An example of this is the Bowler Candy, which morphs you into a giant ball at the start of your turn and allows you to roll over your opponents and steal some of their coins.

When most people think of the Mario Party series, the first association they make is with the popular mini-games. These are little side battles during the main game in which the players can duel each other, either on teams or by fending for themselves. Playing the mini-games is the interactive, and as such the most entertaining, aspect of Mario Party 8. What Nintendo was hoping to capitalize on was utilizing the Wii’s unique control system to further immerse players. Did it succeed? Not entirely.

There are seven things holding Mario Party 8 back from being a great game: Mario Party 1 through Mario Party 7. Mario Party 8 is a fine game, but it yields little in the way of creativity and expansion compared to its predecessors. For the most part, the gameplay and several of the mini-games are the same as before. This series needed a full imaginative reboot, much in the spirit of the Wii itself, in order to provide a fresh experience.