Reviewed by: TheHobbit on 29-Nov-07 Rating:

Strengths:Great game for the entire family!!!

Weaknesses:None

Summary:This game is similar to the previous Mario Party games. Has lots of mini-games for everyone to enjoy. This game doesn\'t have the microphone like Mario Party 7 on the Gamecube. In this game, you earn carnival cards that you can use to unlock new games. All in all, this is a very good game to play with your friends and family. A must have for the Wii console. If you enjoyed the past Mario Party games, you would love this one too.

Reviewed by: botticus on 05-Oct-07 Rating:

Strengths:Great variety of mini-games

Weaknesses:Lacking in some aspects of the presentation

Summary:Mario Party 8 should be a known quantity for those who are familiar with the series. Dozens of mini-games, now adapted for the Wiimote, the game is a fine choice for those who have other people to play with. Lacking an online mode, anyone who tends to game alone in their household will find the longevitiy of this title severely lacking.

While the fun is there for those with the people to experience it alongside, Hudson unfortunately cut a few corners where they figured people wouldn\'t mind. The lack of widescreen support is unfortunate.

Reviewed by: shrike424242 on 29-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:Fun multiplayer games, better looking than past Mario Party games, more of the same

Weaknesses:Plays in 4:3 on an HDTV, not a lot of Wiimote type games, passable graphics, no real singleplayer appeal, more of the same

Summary:Mario Party 8 is the first entry of the series on the Wii. Unfortunately, it looks like it was a GC game ported to the Wii, as the game plays in 4:3 mode on an HDTV, not 16:9. Also, the graphics are better than past games, though not up to snuff with some of the other Wii games out there. It\'s the same type of gameplay as previous games, so anyone liking that should like this one. Most of the minigame controls aren\'t really Wiimote specific, though they\'re all pretty fun. Single player is a wash, and it\'s all about the multiplayer.

Reviewed by: krunch on 28-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:loaded with minigames

Weaknesses:Must play through to unlock most minigames

Summary:Even with the added Wii motion controls, Mario Party 8 feels too similar to past Mario Party games. The game isn\'t bad by any means, it\'s just feels like Nintendo could\'ve done more with the minigames. Like past Mario Party games, most of the minigames aren\'t readily available when you first start the game--you have to play through and \"find\" them. Even with these little gripes, Mario Party is still a solid multiplayer game on the Wii.

Reviewed by: mike27112 on 28-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:It\'s very similar to other Mario Party games. Lots of minigames. High replay value. Tons of fun! Kid-friendly.

Weaknesses:It\'s very similar to other Mario Party games. Only a handful of minigames that utilize the Wii\'s motion-sensing feature.

Summary:The best (and possibly worst) aspect of Mario Party 8 is that it\'s very similar to the first seven editions of Mario Party.

In the main game mode, players choose a character from the Mario universe and then play minigames as they move throughout a themed gameboard like DK\'s Jungle or Boo\'s Haunted Castle. There are also a few other game modes like Star Battle which provide a different premise for playing minigames.

Personally, I love Mario Party games. Yes, I know, they\'re geared towards 10 year olds, and they\'re very simple in graphics, design, and execution... but they\'re fun! And there\'s something to be said for a game that I can play with my college buddies as well as my younger cousins (without fear that I am subjecting them to mind-warping amounts of excessive blood and gore).

If you own a Wii and you liked previous versions of Mario Party, you should definitely give Mario Party 8 a try!

For those who don\'t share my enthusiasm for Mario Party, there isn\'t anything about this newest version that is going to change their minds. Their entertainment dollars are best spent elsewhere.

Reviewed by: mystic818 on 24-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:similar to other marioparty games, fun, multiplayer

Weaknesses:Not full screen display

Summary:If you liked the other marioparty games, marioparty 8 on the wii is for you! I really enjoy the older marioparty games, and I liked this one too! It uses the controls of the wii nicely in the minigames. The best thing about this game is the hotel board and the haunted castle board because those two provide variability- every time you play, it\'s different! You never know who will win in the end. I wish they had more minigames this time around, but it\'s still just as fun. The only thing I wish this version had was a full screen display on my hdtv. The game shows bars on the side of the tv. Still, this is definitely one of our favorite games and I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by: aramirez on 23-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:Lots of familair fun when having a party. Great controls.

Weaknesses:not wide screen, graphics

Summary:The game is over-all alot of fun, but unfortunately most people have wide screen tv\'s these days and the fact that is it 4:3 instead of 16:9 takes a little away from the experience. Over all though the game is alot of fun and would highly recommend.

Reviewed by: maxyuan on 23-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:great for all ageseasy to play withfun

Weaknesses:didn\'t work so well on widescreenneed to unlock all mini games

Summary:This is still a wii/mario masterpiece. The children had so much fun at the PARTY. It is excellently designed for the use on the wii platform with the remotes. People of all ages can come together and enjoy the game for a couple of hours.

Reviewed by: fox25 on 15-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:Fun for the whole family, good use of Wii remotes, loads quickly. Mini games are well done.

Weaknesses:None

Summary:Mario Part 8 is a lot of fun for the whole family...2 adults play with a 7 & 4 year old and have lots of fun. You can set up each game to determine how many turns will be taken allowing you to shorten games when time is tight.

The game play is fairly simple and has been designed very well for the Wii remotes. The 7 and 4 year olds have been able to play in all of the mini games.

This is a good solid game that the whole family can play and enjoy together.

Reviewed by: ncodedcode on 11-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:Easy to learn, great for all ages, hours of fun!

Weaknesses:Have to unlock all the mini-games before they can be played by themselves

Summary:If you haven\'t played any of the Mario Party games then this is a must buy! Me and my friends had never played any of the old Mario Party games and this game got us addicted! It\'s a great game for when you have friends over! The best part is the board games - you will tons of fun. That being said, the only bad part about this game is that you have to unlock all the mini games before you can play them on their own. Also, they could have added more game boards! Other than that, I highly recommend this game!

Reviewed by: mojave on 04-Sep-07 Rating:

Strengths:More wacky Mario Party fun on Nintendo\'s latest console

Weaknesses:Graphics seem to have taken a step back, use of Wii remote disappointing

Summary:Some have said the latest Mario Party title was clearly developed for the Gamecube and simply switched over to the Wii late in life. One indication of this is the relatively light use of the motion or pointer functions of the Wii remote. Many games control \"classic\" style with the Wii remote turned sideways and the d-pad used for control. If the games are going to be like that I\'d much prefer to use a Gamecube controller (choosing the analog stick over a thumb-cramping d-pad) and simply play Mario Party 6 or 7. Sure, there are a few pointer-based games (mostly variations on target shooting) and those work fairly well. The other problem is the lack of widescreen. Inexplicably, the border of the screen on widescreen displays is filled with a pattern instead of being used for the game. Given that many games are played with the screen divided in 4 parts, it is critical in titles like this to make the most use of the screen space. It is also inexcusable for Wii titles, especially those published by Nintendo, to not support widescreen.

The most disappointing thing about the game is that the graphics seem to have taken a step back from the last 2 Gamecube Mario Party games (6 and 7). The character models and animations on the board portions of play, in particular, seem very primitive. It seems this game could have undergone a lot more polish before being released. Hopefully any future Mario Party game will come with some vast improvements (I haven\'t even even mentioned online support which might be nice in the future as well).

Another knock may be that it is the same old Mario Party gameplay we\'ve had for years. I don\'t see that as a big problem, though, as you know what you are getting with Mario Party. But because it is the same gameplay as before, I expected the presentation (graphics, widescreen, etc) and control (innovative use of new Wii remote) to be the key improvements and was sorely disappointed.

Reviewed by: The_Admiral on 21-Aug-07 Rating:

Strengths:It\'s mario party. In general, very fun party game.

Weaknesses:Some fo the games are of inconsistent quality.

Summary:Mario Party 8 for the Nintendo wii is a very good party game. It\'s not necessarily the best in the system. I and friends have had a lot of fun with it. But I personally think some of the games are hit and miss. But it\'s nice to have a game where everyone can participate with the wii.

Reviewed by: rarerules on 06-Aug-07 Rating:

Strengths:Easy to pick up and play, lots of fun for people of all ages

Weaknesses:If playing on an HDTV, the image will be centered with bars on the sides of the screen.

Summary:Mario Party 8 is the first Wii version of the popular series, and it utilizes the strengths of the Wii remote very well. The game setup remains the same as past Mario Party titles. You control a character and roll dice to move him around the board. Like a real board game, different spaces produce different results. Every fourth turn, the game chooses a random minigame in which all players compete to win coins, which you can spend on the board itself.

The game is a very fun multiplayer game, but as you can imagine it doesn\'t work so well if you play alone against the computer.

Still, the game is highly recommended for parties or for families with lots of children.

Reviewed by: thenettavenner on 25-Jul-07 Rating:

Strengths:lots of games to play

Weaknesses:N/A

Summary:This game is really fun. They have lots and lots of minigames that you can play but the only problem is to unlock them you have to play the single player battle maps then you can play multiplayer on the minigames. They have lots of options for multiplayer like 2 on 2 or teams or duel so this is fun for everyone and everyone can play at once. I don\'t think you can play this game online but if you can i have yet to find it. The single player area where you unlock the minigames takes several plays through the map to unlock the games and the map isn\'t too long. but overall this is a great game.

Reviewed by: Charlemagne7 on 22-Jul-07 Rating:

Strengths:Great party game, multiplayer aspect (up to 4 players).

Weaknesses:Too much text and pressing the A button to advance the text. Some weaker minigames.

Summary:Mario Party 8 is the 8th iteration (who knew?!) of the Mario Party series. Unlike a lot of the reviews out there who have experienced the previous MPs, mine is from one who barely played any of them until now.

Mario Party 8 is basically a board game that pits up to 4 players to win the most amount of stars. Players run around the boards playing minigames, collecting coins, and buying candy that temporarily gives them special powers. This game is definitely one you don\'t want to play alone.

A lot of the minigames don\'t require the use of the Wiimote\'s strength, which is the pointer on screen. Many times a minigame will just require the player to turn their Wiimote on its side and use it like a regular controller. While this might seem to spruce up the variety of minigames, it seemed the developer might of been a little lazy. From what I read, MP8 was originally designed for the Gamecube. So there you go.

For a party game, I really wish that players didn\'t have to hit A to advance through almost all the text while playing. It just seems to slow down the gameplay. Maybe an option to auto advance quicker or better yet turn it on would of been nice.

Overall Mario Party 8 is a great game for those who haven\'t seriously played any of the previous versions.