The Wii is quickly becoming mainstream. The console has only been out in North America for little over half a year, but it’s already becoming a popular choice for the casuals looking for something fun to play while hanging out. Indeed, some are already referring to it as the ideal “party” console – perfect for get-togethers involving people that love games as well as folks who rarely play them.

Joining Wii games like Wii Sports, Rayman Raving Rabbids and WarioWare is Mario Party 8. Although it’s the eighth Mario Party to grace a Nintendo platform, it’s actually the first one in almost two years, and what’s more, it’s the first Wii edition of the franchise. Because of this, many are looking forward to the title, as the hope is the game will take the Mario Party formula – board games and mini-games – and evolve it via motion-based controls.

The title ships on Tuesday next week, but we got our hands on our review copy this week, and since then, we’ve logged several hours with the game – primarily with its multiplayer modes. But while we’ve played a lot of Mario Party this week, we admit it’s hard to tell whether or not the added Wii remote control is a positive or a negative thing.

In our playtime, as said above, we’ve been mostly playing multiplayer. While Mario Party single-player might be adequate, it’s obvious the real fun to be had in any version lies in multiplayer. There are several modes here and fans will already be familiar with many of them. There is Party Tent, Star Battle Arena, Mini-Game Tent and Extra Tent.

Party Tent, if you will, is the “main” multiplayer mode. The mode lets you embark on an experience similar to what can be found in the single-player mode. Up to four can play – with CPUs filling in if you need them – with the goal being to traverse a game board of surprises and challenges, collecting coins and stars. At the end of the game, the player with the most stars and coins wins. Sure, it’s Mario Party on Wii, but you’ll feel right at home. Gamers take turns moving around the game board, rolling a die to see how many spaces they can move. At the beginning of each turn, you flick the Wii-mote to stop a spinning die floating above your character’s body. Whatever number it stops on represents how many spaces your character will automatically move.

There are over five maps or game boards to choose from, and each varies in size, theme and design. Each map also has in store its own obstacles, challenges and surprises, too. For instance, one map, Koopa’s Tycoon Town, is basically a city with a metropolis of purchasable hotels spread across it. If you land on a square that’s populated by one of these hotels, you have the opportunity to buy it with your coins. By doing so, you’ll own it and thus receive a star (or two, even). There’s a catch, though. You might own the hotel, but if another player lands on it during their turn, they can choose to buy the hotel by matching what you paid plus more. “So what?” you say. Well, if they do this, you’ll lose any stars gained from buying that hotel, and they’ll get them instead. This adds a nice bit of strategy that can’t be found on more linear, straightforward boards.

Of course, if you don’t like having to worry about whether or not your backstabbing friend will try and buy out the hotel you just bought two rounds ago, there are maps that are more linear. For instance, in DK’s Treetop Town, a vertical tropical jungle built around ladders and barrels, you simply buy stars (if you choose to) as you come across them. Once you own a star, nobody can take it away from you.


Koopa's Tycoon Town
While collecting stars is the name of the game, the bulk of Mario Party 8 isn’t different at all from any Mario Party before it. That means it’s all about mini-games. After each player has a turn rolling the die and moving across the board, everyone takes part in a mini-game. Every mini we’ve encountered, so far, features simultaneous multiplayer, meaning nobody is ever left out. However, while some are free-for-alls, other minis pit team against team, and some even pit one gamer against all other players.