Star Bright
Right behind you.
- Credits
- 421
No, I kid you not. I meant to put nine out of ten for the score.
Wii Party is a game for the Wii that, in many ways, is sort of a Mario Party clone. However, unlike the Mario Party games themselves, there's variety in the ways you can play the game, rather than just "Go around the board and collect stars".
I'll start with the main gameplay mechanics. There's 5 different "main" party games you can play: Board Game Island, Globe Trot, Swap Meet, Spin Off, and Bingo.
Board Game Island is not quite the clone of the Mario Party boards. Here's how it works: At the start of each turn, you play a 4-player minigame. They call this "Playing for Position". (Here's another thing. Unlike Mario Party, ALL the minigames are unlocked at the beginning, rather than you having to play the game to effectively unlock it.) The player who gets first place in the minigame receives a gold dice, the player in second receives a silver dice (has the numbers 1-3 on it), and the player in third receives a bronze dice (has the numbers 1 and 2 on it). Everyone then takes turns based on their position in the minigame. You roll your dice, total them, and move forward that many spaces. The board is entirely linear - you don't get to pick your path - but random "challenges" are thrown into the board at various points to shake things up a little. Basically, Board Game Island is all about luck (That's why my family loves this game; I can't kick their butts too hard even if I win all the minigames).
Globe Trot is more like the Mario Party games, but with a specific theme in mind: "Be the best tourist ever". Basically, you play a minigame to receive coins and then move via a hand of cards dealt to you at the beginning of the game. However, the basic cards only get you so far, which is where the "vehicle card" system comes in - You can spend a few coins to get fancier vehicle cards that can move you further in one turn or give you more precise movement. If you land on a certain space, you can spend 10 coins to get a Souvenier Photo, which is basically a "star". Whoever has the most photos after 10 rounds (plus a few for overtime) wins.
Swap Meet is an interesting game. At the start of a set, you are given 6 Miis of various colors (red, green, blue, yellow, purple and platinum). Each turn, four Miis line up in the center (Two of which you can see their color, two of which are hidden until they're picked). On your turn (determined by minigame), you take one of the center Miis and swap it out for one of your Miis (hence, Swap Meet). This game has a level of strategy that makes it quite a hit at my house.
Spin Off is basically a giant roulette game. It's not quite as fun as the other modes, but I give it a try every now and then.
Bingo is (wait for it...) a game of Bingo with Mii heads. It's great if you want to pass a little bit of time.
There's more minigames and challenge modes for two players, too, but the game puts more emphasis on the party games. Not to say they suck, they're just not AS good.
The graphic style of the game is rather simplistic, featuring your basic Mii characters as well as Mii-styled animals, vechiles, and landscapes. It's not stunning graphic quality by any means, but it's cartoonish and fun and really nice on the eyes.
The music in the game is strangely nice. The minigame music in particular is kind of fun to listen to (I love this song in particular) and rather bubbly. It fits really nicely.
All in all, the idea behind the game is nothing new and probably would be a turn-off to many, but it has enough unique features to make it worth 9 (
) Golden NintenDans.
Thanks for your time, and see you around the forums!
Wii Party is a game for the Wii that, in many ways, is sort of a Mario Party clone. However, unlike the Mario Party games themselves, there's variety in the ways you can play the game, rather than just "Go around the board and collect stars".
I'll start with the main gameplay mechanics. There's 5 different "main" party games you can play: Board Game Island, Globe Trot, Swap Meet, Spin Off, and Bingo.
Board Game Island is not quite the clone of the Mario Party boards. Here's how it works: At the start of each turn, you play a 4-player minigame. They call this "Playing for Position". (Here's another thing. Unlike Mario Party, ALL the minigames are unlocked at the beginning, rather than you having to play the game to effectively unlock it.) The player who gets first place in the minigame receives a gold dice, the player in second receives a silver dice (has the numbers 1-3 on it), and the player in third receives a bronze dice (has the numbers 1 and 2 on it). Everyone then takes turns based on their position in the minigame. You roll your dice, total them, and move forward that many spaces. The board is entirely linear - you don't get to pick your path - but random "challenges" are thrown into the board at various points to shake things up a little. Basically, Board Game Island is all about luck (That's why my family loves this game; I can't kick their butts too hard even if I win all the minigames).
Globe Trot is more like the Mario Party games, but with a specific theme in mind: "Be the best tourist ever". Basically, you play a minigame to receive coins and then move via a hand of cards dealt to you at the beginning of the game. However, the basic cards only get you so far, which is where the "vehicle card" system comes in - You can spend a few coins to get fancier vehicle cards that can move you further in one turn or give you more precise movement. If you land on a certain space, you can spend 10 coins to get a Souvenier Photo, which is basically a "star". Whoever has the most photos after 10 rounds (plus a few for overtime) wins.
Swap Meet is an interesting game. At the start of a set, you are given 6 Miis of various colors (red, green, blue, yellow, purple and platinum). Each turn, four Miis line up in the center (Two of which you can see their color, two of which are hidden until they're picked). On your turn (determined by minigame), you take one of the center Miis and swap it out for one of your Miis (hence, Swap Meet). This game has a level of strategy that makes it quite a hit at my house.
Spin Off is basically a giant roulette game. It's not quite as fun as the other modes, but I give it a try every now and then.
Bingo is (wait for it...) a game of Bingo with Mii heads. It's great if you want to pass a little bit of time.
There's more minigames and challenge modes for two players, too, but the game puts more emphasis on the party games. Not to say they suck, they're just not AS good.
The graphic style of the game is rather simplistic, featuring your basic Mii characters as well as Mii-styled animals, vechiles, and landscapes. It's not stunning graphic quality by any means, but it's cartoonish and fun and really nice on the eyes.
The music in the game is strangely nice. The minigame music in particular is kind of fun to listen to (I love this song in particular) and rather bubbly. It fits really nicely.
All in all, the idea behind the game is nothing new and probably would be a turn-off to many, but it has enough unique features to make it worth 9 (
Thanks for your time, and see you around the forums!
