Wii Party

Review from Cav - Friday, 26 November 2010 @ 4:06pm

Wii Party is another disc of Mini Games bundled together from Nintendo. Much larger than Wii Play, Wii Party takes elements from many of its Mii based games and presents them in a style not much unlike the original Mario Party series, but with a lot more packed in and a lot less plumber. The lack of plumber means that someone needs to step up…. And that someone is Mii! I mean you! Not you, but your Mii! No, not me, but Mii…. Ahh forget it… that joke has been done to death.

Mii-aster Chef?

Mini Games will see players using the Wii Remote in a variety of ways. Those of you who are yet to purchase a Wii or have recently made the jump, will be relieved that Wii Party only requires the standard Wii Remote. No Motion Plus adapters, Nunchuks or Classic Controllers are required for this game. No extra expenditure, just start playing! This is one reason that the Wii Party/Wii Remote bundle is so appealing to those new to the scene.

Those wanting to play the traditional Mario Party style ‘board’game will be able to choose from the five Party Games. Only two of these actually resemble board type games, but the other three are just as entertaining, with Bingo and Spin Off there to please the game show lovers.

Larry Emdur got turned into a Mii

One of the best things about Wii Party is ‘House Party’ mode and it is exactly that. These games use the Wii Remote extremely well, with the inbuilt speaker playing a major role. A sizable room to play in doesn’t go astray either. I do like the Hide ‘n’ Hunt game where players take turns in hiding the Wii Remote around the room and the other players try and locate it by listening for sounds emitting from its speaker. But I have four kids and they do a damn good job of hiding the remotes on me WITHOUT the assistance of the game.

Parents, like myself, will be happy to let the kids play through all the mini games, but after they go to bed (or get sent early, just to kick them off the console) the Challenge Games await! These are what kept me going and added much needed variety. These can be very frustrating at time, but the scores on the pre set high scores list will keep you going for a while. I rate Garden Gridlock highly and Hidden Charms has shades of the Mario 64 DS Australian Gamer Scoreboard Challenge game we featured not long ago.

C'mon! Momma needs a new pair of shoes!

Another thing parents will appreciate is that all the game types give you an estimated time that each game type should take. This certainly saved the ‘one more game before bed’ argument that occasionally arises at our place. It’s also a handy tool when you’re short on time and need a quick Mini Game fix, although you could just play your favourites on their own.

Pros

Loads of Mini Games to play - Great use of the Wii Remote - Nice variety of Game Modes

Cons

Some Mini Games are way too quick - Annoying game host - Wii needs to support more than 4 players