Does this party have Twister?

The mini-games range from simple to complex. If you win one you get ten coins to help you on your way towards the winning pedestal. There are mini-games that range from light gun type games where you shoot ghosts or cards or some other such object via the point-and-click capabilities of the Wii Remote, and there are racing mini-games where you tilt the Wii Remote right or left to make sharp turns at 180MPH.

Most of the mini-games are quite fun, but there are a few that suffer from technical bugs. In one mini-game, you have to tilt the Wii Remote in the fashion that was mentioned above. The problem is, you are on a 3D plane in this particular mini-game, so you're continuously running in circles instead of going where you want to go. It's annoying when developers like to tack on Wii Remote functionality in an attempt to make the experience more fun, but they employ it in situations where it just doesn't work.

How about Pictionary?

Then there are the mini-games where the Wii Remote truly shines. There is one mini-game that was particularly fun where you swing the remote above your head like a lasso in order to swing the virtual lasso on-screen. Then you snap the remote forward to hook a barrel with a number of points on it. You then snap the remote backwards to add the points to your tally. The mini-game could have easily worked with analog controls, but Wii Remote functionality makes it a lot more fun.

Thankfully, the same holds true for the vast majority of the other mini-games. Mundane and boring tasks such as pounding a hammer or sawing a log of wood in half are all done through the Wii Remote. It really gets the whole room up and moving and it's a blast to play with other people.

I hope you put a coaster under that glass?

And that brings us to the one big flaw with Mario Party 8, and indeed all the other Mario Party games. The game is simply not fun at all when playing by yourself. Much like a good game of Monopoly, Mario Party truly shines when you're playing with someone else. Single player mode will take roughly three or four hours to complete. This is not a game for misanthropes or people with relatively no social status. When you play with a friend, sibling or whatever the game suddenly becomes humorous and the whole room is filled with activity. Playing mini-games against real, thinking people is of course as always more fun and rewarding.

There are also a few additional things to unlock in the game such as new boards, characters and even new mini-games. Players will find the 'extras' room taking up a lot of their time as it has a lot of fun mini-games that use the Wii Remote quite well.

From a visual standpoint, Mario Party 8 impresses in some areas and disappoints in others. Character models are not improved at all from previous games in the series which were on less powerful hardware. However, colors are much more vibrant and bright than they were. Lighting and reflections are also improved, and it gives the game a very 'shiny' look. A minor nitpick is that the Miis are quite dull looking. They aren't bright and vibrant in contrast to the other characters around them, and it makes them look very out of place.

Party horns and whistles

Sound and music aren't anything special. The music is just there. You're not going to be paying any attention to it at all, and it's just background sound. It is easily drowned out and forgettable. Sound effects are mostly voice-overs. When it comes to the main host's voice, it gets somewhat annoying with his over exaggerated laughing. The sounds that aren't voice-overs are once again just... there. They serve to make the game more engaging, and they do their job sufficiently.

Board game or bored game?

Mario Party 8 either has no replay value at all or it can end up being your most played game ever. It all depends on whether you have people to play it with. If you like to go it alone, you'll spend about four hours with the game and never touch it again. If you're a party animal and love to play with other people around you, the game will enjoy months inside your Wii. It really all depends.

Overall, Mario Party 8 is definitely the best in the series. However, once again it suffers from the problem that plagues all games in the party genre: it is worthless without friends. If you have friends and want some light-hearted gaming fun, you can't do any better than Mario Party 8. For the rest of you, your fifty bucks is better spent on something meatier in the adventure department.