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Game WiiView: Mario Party 8

The highly anticipated Mario Party 8 was released this Tuesday, May 29th arriving in stores only a day later. Anyone would be hard pressed to find a true Nintendo fan who hasn't tried one of the eight Mario Party games (with Nintendo popping out a new one about once a year for the past decade). Fans of the game were anxiously awaiting the new version to see what type of changes and exciting fun Nintendo could create with the union of Mario Party and the innovative Wii console.

My initial impression of Mario Party 8 (MP8) was that there appeared to be no "options". After several attempts to remove the stagnant blue checkered bars on the side of the screen, I discovered there was absolutely no widescreen support for this particular game other than the initial game screen. So for those of you who've poured a fortune into expensive high definition plasma TVs, you'll be disappointed that your investment wasn't even considered in the process of making MP8. The thought of having blue checkerboard burned into my 63" plasma TV is less appealing.

This newest version of Mario Party takes place at a "Star Carnival". Just like previous Mario Parties, there are several game types including the "Battle Royale". Since this is probably of the most interest to Mario Party players, let's start there. In the Party Tent, you'll now find three types of play: Battle Royale (1-4 players), Tag Battle (team based play with two teams of two players), and Duel Battles (1vs1 play). Each board is played differently depending on the type of party you choose. This provides some different type of play and keeps the game from feeling old once you've played each board a couple of times.

The first board is DK's Treetop Temple. This board reminded me a lot of the first board in Mario Party 7. This board provides some generic play that is reminiscent of past Mario Parties. You'll find yourself running around a board in Donkey Kong's Tree chasing the star in hopes of getting to it first. Once the star has been purchased, the star space will then move to another area of the board. There are of course some new obstacles so it's not completely boring, but it's definitely not the most exciting of the boards.

Goomba's Booty Boardwalk is surprisingly entertaining. As far as game boards go, it's fairly simple. The entire board is basically a straight line from beginning to end with no options to take different paths. The idea is to be the first to Goomba to get a star for free! Unlike other Mario Party boards, cash is not a problem for this particular board. Because players don't have to buy the star, the game certainly has a different type of feel. You'll find yourself purchasing rides from dolphins to help get to Goomba and even using slow rolling dice in hopes of landing on a "lucky" space that will take you to a secret island where you can get a star (without being sent back to the start space) and pick up some easy cash.

King Boo's Haunted Hideaway is probably my favorite new game board. This game board is very unique to past game boards and definitely keeps the game moving. Players find themselves outside of King Boo's Haunted mansion with only a couple of spaces in front of them available for them to see on the map. Once you move forward, the game board is now viewable by your opponents as well, so sometimes being last in line is best. The object is to be the first to find King Boo from whom you can pick up stars. Once he star has been retrieved, everyone is kicked out of the mansion and the entire game board changes! There are also dead ends and pits where you'll find yourself back outside the mansion starting all over again.

Shy Guy's Perplex Express also provides some unique game play. I personally found this particular game board to be very frustrating, and I'll explain why. Players find themselves aboard a train where their only goal is to find their way to Shy Guy in the engine car in the front of the train. Once there you can purchase the star and end up on top of the train and head back to the start in a big loop. However, there are several "?" spaces which will take whatever car is in front (behind the engine car) and move it all the way to the end of the line. Even worse, if you land on a DK spot, he'll take over the train and give the first person who makes it to him a free star. But once you've landed on a DK spot, all DK spots become Bowser spots. Landing on a Bowser spot will put him in the engine car and he'll take your star if you make it to him first. Just like the Goomba game board, there are "lucky" spots that will take you to a special area where you can get a star for free and some free cash. So look out for those "lucky" spots! The most frustrating part of this board is to once you make it to the first car, it's easy for someone to rearrange the cars and put you right back at the start again. So make sure you're first in line and avoid sitting in the first car for too long.

Koopa's Tycoon Town is very reminiscent of Mario Party 7's windmill game board. You'll find yourself running around town trying to deposit coins in five hotels to gain and keep possession of them. Each hotel is worth 1 to 3 stars. The difference in this board and the windmill board - each hotel can eventually be worth 3 stars even if you buy it when it's just one star. Once enough money has been deposited in a hotel (20 coins for 2 stars and 50 coins for 3 stars), the hotel will upgrade to a two or three star hotel. So potentially, each hotel is worth a lot of stars. This solves the problem of the three star hotel being hard to get to and from one star hotels having high amounts of cash in them.

The last board is Bowser's Warped Orbit which unfortunately has to be unlocked and therefore, I've not had the opportunity to play it yet. After looking over the shop, I'm not sure how the board is unlocked either.

Can you play with your Mii?

Although there is very little Mii integration, there was some early speculation that Miis might be included in normal Mario Party 8 play. Early screenshots showed Miis in the background although Nintendo never gave a straight answer regarding this. Miis are included in Mario Party 8, although only to a small degree. When you create your saved game, you can save it under your Mii. Also, when playing the Extra Zone, you can play with your Mii (although dressed in overalls). So the Miis are included in the game, but make very little difference in normal game play.

Are there orbs like in Mario Party 7?

Yes and no. There aren't "orbs" but there are "candies". Just like the orbs, you can pick candy up around the board and in shops. Candies do different things ranging from stealing coins to rolling more than one die. However, candies are not placed on squares but rather eaten and affect you primarily and only other players if you are stealing coins or you happen to run into someone after eating certain types of candy. So far, I've not found any candy that brings the star to you or takes you to the star though so that is a nice addition for those of us who found frustration in such orbs in Mario Party 7. There are four types of candy: red candy (affects the dice block), green candy (makes impact before you move), yellow candy (makes impact while you move) and blue candy (makes massive impact while you move).

What's so extra about the Extra Zone?

The extra zone includes 8 minigames you can't play anywhere else in the game. Four of the eight games must be unlocked by purchasing them with carnival cards. Unfortunately, some of the games provided are a real let down for those of us who've played Wii Sports or Wii Play. The bowling and the table tennis areas provide little competition and prove to be less enjoyable than the Wii Sports and Wii Play versions. You'll recognize most of the games in this area as games you've played elsewhere but less enjoyable.

What is in the minigame tent besides the normal party mode minigames?

As in previous Mario Parties, you can play all unlocked minigames in the minigame tent. But reminiscent of Mario Party 7, you also have some games you can play in the minigame tent area. If you and your friends aren't feeling up to a board game where you collect stars, maybe your thing is battling it out in the minigames. Keep in mind that most areas in the minigame tent must be unlocked before you can play. You'll find Crown Showdown (similar to King of the River in Mario Party 7 and for 1-4 players), Flip-Out Frenzy, Tic-Tac Drop (for 1-2 players) and Test for the Best (one player mode and must be purchased in the shop). If you're not up to an hour of board game play, the minigame tent is the place to be.

What is Star Battle Arena?

The Star Battle Arena is a one player mode similar to story mode in other Wii console games. You'll battle a computer controlled player through each board to unlock an area in the Fun Bazaar.

What is the Fun Bazaar?

The Fun Bazaar is basically the shop. For whatever reason, you'll have to pick your player before entering the bazaar. Inside you can check records, trade carnival cards for new minigames, look at your carnival figures you've purchased, purchase various games and unlocks in the Surprise Wagon and listen to game sounds and music in the Carnival Calliope. Unfortunately, much like Mario Party 7, you'll find yourself wasting precious carnival cards on "carnival figures" which do nothing.

Is the game worth $50?

If you enjoyed the other Mario Party games, yes. As with most Nintendo fans who love Mario games, you'll like this game as well. It provides new game boards and new characters (Blooper and Hammer Bro). It is fun and entertaining however, it is very similar to previous installments of the game and therefore doesn't have that lasting new feel you get from a game like Wii Play, Super Paper Mario and Rayman Raving Rabbids. It'll provide hours of fun for you and your friends but don't expect to find yourself spending hours in front of your TV alone playing MP8. I can't tell you whether the game is worth your money or not. I can tell you I bought the game and I enjoy it. You can't expect it to be less than $50 anytime soon, so if you like Mario Party games, it's worth your money. There are new minigames that you've not seen before and if nothing else, the minigames are worth your money. If Mario, minigames and such aren't your thing, Mario Party 8 likely won't be either. But you never know - I'm a huge fan of Counter Strike but I'm always up for Mario Party when I have friends around. It's at least worth a try.