Mario Party 8, the newest addition to the 8 year long franchise has arrived for the Nintendo Wii. This year, the party takes place at the Star Carnival which is ran by MC Ballyhoo and his top hat, Big Top. This game has one area where it really shines; its ability to handle the Wii Remote. On the other hand, Mario Party 8 does not have as many mini-games as Mario Party 7 and it does not even support eight players! That would actually be O.K. if Nintendo added online play to this title, but guess what? It didn’t.

The gameplay is generally solid and the game does shine in the way most mini-games are played. You will quickly find yourself swinging at baseballs, shaking cans of soda, paddling boats, walking tightropes and lots of other crazy situations all by simply moving the remote. Bring a couple of friends and you are guaranteed a good time until you start screaming at each other for losing the game on one turn after dominating from the very beginning. On a good note, the game is extremely easy to pick up and most of the mini-games have virtually no learning curve. The only problem with that is that you will find yourself not wanting to play some mini-games after owning the computer ten or twenty times without even breaking a sweat.

Hey, look what I can do!

The six gameboards are quite innovative and unique. Each provide a different gaming experience. The haunted mansion for example, will have you running around corridors hunting for stars in a mystery style setting. Another board takes place on a moving train that requires you to impress a movie star who’s onboard. Unfortunately, no matter how fun and, at first glance, strategic the boards seem to be, you can, and trust me, you will find yourself moving from first to last in an unexpected twist of fate that no one can explain. That is where the game gets frustrating. The strategy and skill involved seem to be a very small part of this game. Honestly, you can have anyone who has never seen the game play with you and they will have a good chance to beat you.