Game Reviews

The release of Wii Party is a rather ironic event. The party game genre is one of the most abundant on Nintendo's system, and it's a genre that Nintendo helped make popular thanks to the likes of Wii Sports and Wii Play. Now we have Wii Party, a game that is seemingly following the trends made by the company years ago rather than re-inventing it. But after hours of gameplay I now understand what Wii Party was trying to do, and the end result is stunning.

Wii Party is in many ways a spiritual successor to Mario Party. If you are a fan of that series then you are bound to recognize several elements, such as the board gameplay and many multiplayer modes that house hundreds of mini-games. The big difference is that Wii Party strips the concept down to its bare essentials in order to make it more accessible towards the casual gaming audience. This works as a double-edged sword. On one hand, players that grew up with Mario Party will feel as if Wii Party lacks the depth and character that made the franchise so popular among many fans.

But on the other, the pacing in Wii Party is great. A common complaint about Mario Party is that it has too many things that slow gameplay down to a near halt, such as multiple traps on one game board and waiting for the player to finish his or her turn. Wii Party avoids this by speeding up gameplay. Many players feel as if Mario Party is more about luck than skill. While Wii Party also has moments when luck is needed to be successful, the overall game rewards players for their skill, and at the end of a game it is likely that the winner was indeed the best player. This creates a far more satisfying party experience where no one feels cheated. It may make the game look shallower than it really is, but considering that the Wii series has always been about inviting everyone to play and have fun, this works wonderfully.