Mario Party 8 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Ever since Mario Party debuted on the Nintendo 64, we've been receiving a new game in the series on a yearly basis. The last few Mario Party games have all been tiring. Almost rehashes. However, with the Wii, Mario Party has a chance to be a lot of fun again thanks to the Wii-Remote. Unfortunately, it isn't all its cracked up to be. The Wii-Remote controls work, but they feel like a last minute tack on, and ultimately some of the mini-games just aren't all that fun. Finally, there are other video games chock full of mini-games that make much better use of the Wii-Remote than Mario Party 8.
The formula for Mario Party really hasn't changed at all over the years. You and your friends (or the computer) will roll the die, move around the board at the end of each round of rolls you'll be thrown into a mini-game.
The mini-games are pretty short. Most of them being around 30 seconds long. Some of them are quite fun and make good use of the wii remote, such as the game where you have to shake up a soda can, or wipe off the chomp. However, there are not a lot of these kinds of mini-games. Most other mini-games don't make as big of an impression with the wii-remote, as most of them consist of you holding the wii remote like a basic gamepad and then tilting it left or right. Take for example, the game where you race on water skis. You don't actually do anything outside of tilting the wii remote left and right to jump ramps. It is in moments like these where the wii remote controls just feel tacked on. And unfortunately, this comes up in quite a few mini games. There are also a lot of mini games that simply have you tilting the Wii-Remote forward and backward. Again, the controls feel tacked on in instances like this.
The biggest slap in the face, however, is that there are a myriad of mini-games that don't use the wii-remotes motion sensor controls at all and you'll hold it like a gamepad, and play with it like it's a gamepad using the D-Pad to move your character and all. It's also to no credit that these games aren't really all that fun.
To the game's credit, though, when they do make good use of the wii-remote and its motion sensor controls, they really do a bang up job. Such as the mini-game where everyone shoots at the screen while one person dodges. It's just unfortunate that there aren't a lot of mini-games that do so, and instead make you either play the traditional way or just simply tilt the wii remote. There are some fun games here, but the game is populated by more games that really aren't a lot of fun.
As usual, Mario Party games are no fun by yourself. They need to be played with friends and family. Like previous installments, multi-player can be a lot of fun--provided you get a good mini-game. Some of the games are free-for-all but there are also some games where you'll be by yourself against three players, or working together with one other player. Mostly, though, they're free for alls, and playing with a friend is nice just so that you can see who's better. Multi-player has always been a strong aspect of Mario Party and it's no different in number 8. However, much like previous installments, the game is entirely left up to chance. One moment you're in first place, and after the very next roll you're in last. It's annoying sometimes because you really don't have any control. It's all a game based on luck. This is both a good and bad thing. Good because it makes the outcome unpredictable, and once more anyone can play this without any prior experience. It's bad, however, because for some who like to add a little strategy to their gaming, you just can't do it here.
Perhaps the biggest problem facing Mario Party 8 is that it doesn't really present a whole lot of new stuff that wasn't in Mario Party 7. With the game making use of the Wii-Remote, one would expect the experience to be quite different. Instead it's more of the same thing. Especially because there are other games on the Wii that are filled with mini-games that make far better use of the remote (Rayman Raving Rabbids comes to mind). In Mario Party 8 the wii remote controls either feel tacked on or you don't really use them. It's also hard to get past the fact that the mini-games aren't very inventive because of this. Certainly water-skiing is fun, but when you're just tilting left and right throughout the whole thing? You might as well have just put this on the Gamecube and let me tilt the analog stick left and right.
Graphically, it's no surprise that Mario Party 8 isn't the best looking game out there. Mario Party games usually aren't. At least it runs smoothly. There's no slow down or frame rate issues. It really doesn't look any different than any of the Mario Party games on the Gamecube however, and those who have a widescreen television will be disappointed to know that the game won't take up the whole screen, and instead will give you a boarder. Luckily, graphics don't make the game. Mario Party doesn't look bad, it just looks dated.
Mario Party 8 had so much potential. If they'd done more intuitive things with the Wii Remote, this may have been worth a buy. There are other mini-game collections out there that utilize the wii remote much better than this. There will be plenty of gamers out there that will be able to get past the big flaws and just have fun with it, but if you're one who's been playing Mario Party since the beginning, you can't help but admit a change is in order. Unfortunately Mario Party 8 doesn't do much for you.
Pros:
+When the Wii Controls are good, the games are actually quite fun
+Simplistic gameplay; anyone could pick this up and play it with no problems
+There are over 60 mini-games to play
Cons:
-There are far too many mini-games where the wii controls feel tacked on, and these games are pretty boring to play
-There are far too many mini-games that don't make use of the motion sensor controls at all
-There are not a lot of very inventive mini-games
-In short, the game doesn't do much to stand out above previous Mario Party installments. You'd think with the Wii Remote, Mario Party 8 would be something new to experience, but instead it ends up not being that much of a step higher than Mario Party 7

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mario Party 8

Get 10% OFF

Click here for more information about Mario Party 8

Read More...

Wii Play Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Basically, this game is a more polished version of various Wii demos.
The games are somewhat fun---though they will probably be more fun for kids than for adults. But, the games themselves aren't exactly classics, just little things to pass the time.
As party games---in 2 player modes---the games are a bit more fun, but Wii Play isn't a superb party game.
If you need an extra controller, the Wii Play with Remote is a good buy. If you want to add a new game for you Wii, this won't be incredibly entertaining, though it will be cute.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Wii Play

Wii Play Stand Alone Software

Get 70% OFF

Click here for more information about Wii Play

Read More...

Game Party 2 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'll be honest: I liked Game Party 1, even though the controls were awful (Ping Cup was completely unplayable and Darts was frustrating at best). I liked the variety of games which were perfect choices for a motion-controled console, but it just wasn't developed well and wasn't my top choice for parties.
Enter Game Party 2. I felt a bit silly buying a game that I already had the majority of (GP2 contains all of the games from GP1 plus some extras) but I read a preliminary review from a gaming website and decided to give it a try. The controls are greatly improved. Still not perfect, but at least I feel like where I aim is where I'm (generally) going to land. Aim in GP1, and you'll probably hit somewhere else entirely.
GP1 had many, many pages of characters to choose from. GP2 doesn't have as much of a variety, but you can create your own custom player and save your stats. I'll actually pick up GP2 and play by myself, which I never did with GP1. Too frustrating. By obtaining tickets, you can purchase new things for your characters to wear; I haven't gotten that far yet since the games I played the most didn't offer tickets. It's nice that you can obtain tickets even while playing with friends, something that most games do not offer.
There is also a tournament mode in GP2 which is great if you have more than 4 people who want to play (up to 16, depending on the game). There are a lot of ways to conduct the tournament, such as loser goes home, an actual brackets advancement, and so on. Depending on which one you pick (we did a winner takes all), you can choose how many rounds (3, 5, or I believe 9) before the winner is declared.
The thing I disliked the most about GP2 gameplay was how it was arranged. Perhaps we didn't have the right settings (we cancelled out of a tournament to play individual games, so maybe it was still stuck on tournament mode), but there were just 3 of us and it was forcing 2 of us to be on a team and the other person to play solo. I would have preferred for each of us to have our own scores. Another bummer was the number of games that required you to throw underhand; we switched between games just to give our arms a rest!
Now for the games. There are 11 total, all of the ones from GP1 plus some new additions.
- Darts: Again, thanks to the improved aiming function, this game is playable. I really enjoy it. The venue where you are playing changes, so it's nice to be somewhere other than the pub in GP1.
- Skillball: Venue is a little sharper, and again the aiming helps, but it's still pretty straightforward. (I am a fan of the version on Carnival Games, so I'm used to a different style.) However, you can roll more than one ball at once, so long as the other one is on its way to falling in a hole, you can toss another ball. Since this is timed, it's however many points you can get before the buzzer sounds, rather than having 6 balls and seeing how many you can score. In that regard, I wasn't actually trying to get in the 100 slot and was just trying to throw as many balls as I could.
- Shuffleboard: It's quite a bit better than GP1, again because of the improved engine. We had a lot of fun playing this, and there are other options (first to 15, first to 21, and same for a version called curling which is arrange like a bullseye). I like it in real life, and this is a great substitute.
- Ping Cup: Wow, this is probably the most improved game. In GP1, this was virtually unplayable. It was so hard, I never played it. So when we decided to try it out in GP2, I warned everyone how frustrating it was. To my surprise, it was easy and pretty fun.
- Hoop Shoot: Again, my view of this is colored by Carnival Games, but it was okay. I landed only two baskets, so I was apparently doing something wrong. With a little practice, it can be fun, just tiring for your arm!
- Trivia: As with GP1, I just don't get this game, and the instructions are still not helpful. I tend to skip over it.
- Quarterback Challenge: The onscreen instructions helped me understand what was going on, and once I figured it out, it was enjoyable. Basically, you're trying to throw to your (yellow) team mates to advance and score a touch down. Throw to the wrong player, and you lose points. Whoever has the most points at the end wins. It takes some practice.
- Puck Bowling: This was amusing. It's similar to shuffleboard, except you are hitting the bowling pins at the end. Picking up a split is virtually impossible, so you have to be spot on with your aiming (and again, it's easier than if this game was on GP1). Very straightforward.
- Lawn Darts: Try to land inside the circles to score points. It's hard to tell where your dart will land based on the camera angle, so you just have to get used to the motion of throwing underhand.
- Horseshoes: This was frustrating at first. We couldn't score any points. Of course, a refresher on how horseshoes is actually scored helped us, and we were doing much better by game's end. Underhand throwing again.
- Bean Bags: I was really looking forward to this one, and it wasn't as great as I had hoped. First, it's played indoors, which was strange to me. But the board you're throwing to has different designs. Also, your throws don't seem to upset the bean bags that have already landed which makes it a bit less realistic. It's hard to knock your opponent's bags off. On the other hand, points don't cancel out so I guess there's less of a reason to do so.
Game Party 2 is a good addition to your Wii party game collection. It's not perfect, but it provides enough games that people are familiar with to be enjoyable, and the changes over GP1 make it a much more worthy purchase.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Game Party 2

Game Party 2 is the ultimate Wii party game for players of all ages and skill levels. Game Party 2 features new games like Bean Bag Toss and Horseshoes, as well as classics like Shuffleboard and Hoop Shoot. Every game has exciting new features like four player mode, customizable characters and tournament play, making Game Party 2 the family favorite party game.

Get 49% OFF

Click here for more information about Game Party 2

Read More...

Deluxe Dirty Minds Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The game is fun but the directions are hard to get at first. Also, it is one of those games that cannot be played over and over again because the questions get old. I had fun laughing with my sister and her boyfriend when we played this the first time but we have not played it again since then. I would consider this game to be a one to two time play.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Deluxe Dirty Minds

Dirty Minds 15th anniversary of the world's cleanest dirty game. If you are the type of person who hates when someone finds a dirty reference in everything you say, Dirty Minds is the game for you! The dirtier your thoughts, the worse off in the game you will be. The game has dirty clues that all have clean answers. Just read the clues out loud and let the group try to find the cleanest answer. Dirty Minds is for two or more adults and will provide you with hours of filthy laughter leading to a clean end. The deluxe version includes 906 dirty clues, 302 clean answers, 100 game cards, 4 puzzle booklets, 4 pencils, 4 markers, dice, and a game board. All new and even more outrageous than the original game!

Get 15% OFF

Click here for more information about Deluxe Dirty Minds

Read More...

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Bowling is one of America's great pastimes and it is a given some companies will develop video games based on it. THQ tries but fails somewhat. It may be because they didn't spend enough time working on it, didn't care or bowling is too hard to make into a game. To be fair the physics of the game are quite good. It is no easy task to bowl a high 200 game and 300 seems improbable. The various oil patterns of the different venues also adds to the challenge. The problem in this game is less than stellar graphics. The crowd watching looks like cardboard cut-outs (maybe thats what they use at real tournaments come to think of it)and the bowlers themselves are woeful. The create-a-bowler feature is OK but there is virtually no variation in faces meaning the bowlers all look the same, except the pros who look somewhat as they should. The music is terrible and turning it off is recommended. There are some pluses though. As mentioned before the game is challenging and there are several venues and tournaments to be played. Even on the easy setting it's tough. In closing, the game has a below average look with above average bowling physics. If you love the latter you will probably like the game but if you want it to look good too you might as well jump in your car and go yourself.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling slides onto the Nintendo 64 with a faithful recreation of the professional alley-going experience. Pick from six modes of play, including practice, skins (i.e., bowling for dollars), exhibition, tournament, career, and the Las Vegas-based, glow-in-the-dark cosmic bowl. Assuming the role of one of seven pro bowlers, each with unique playing characteristics, players compete using Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowler rules, equipment, and lanes (14 in all). Though you can't design your shoes' color scheme, a create-a-bowler feature allows players to customize appearance and general playing characteristics.
To recreate a realistic bowling experience, ball and pin physics are like the real thing and intuitive controls, closely resembling golf game setups, allow players to control launch speed and influence hooks and rolls. Avid fans can host virtual leagues with the game's six-player multiplayer mode.

Get 42% OFF

Click here for more information about Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling

Read More...

Boom Blox Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Boom Blox is the perfect example of what a good Wii game should be. It is innovative, intuitive, and most of all, fun. Gamers and non-gamers alike will be able to pick this game up and start playing within seconds.
First off, I'll get the bad news out of the way. Graphically this game isn't going to wow anyone. The graphics are adequate and never go beyond that. The sound and music is instantly forgettable. The characters are saccharine cute, uninspired and half of them make weird grunting noises like a puppy with a bad case of painful gas. Hardcore gamers will likely dismiss this game as a throw-away cutsie/kiddie title. I wouldn't blame them, but that would be their loss. On a side note, if you're a fan of Happy Tree Friends, the characters bear a striking resemblance... except they are block-shaped.
The good news is that just about everything else in this game is very well designed and fun. To truly grasp how the gameplay works you have to see it in action, but I'll try to describe it as best I can. The premise of this physics-based puzzle game is that each level will have a challenge, such as destroy every gem block or carefully unstack a pile of rectangular blocks much like you would as if you were playing Jenga. Some levels will have you throwing tennis balls, bombs, or bowling balls at to interact with the level while others may have you spraying fire hoses and blasting things with lasers. Some levels encourage you to operate with delicate precision and others encourage reckless, destructive behavior. Overall, the game has a good balance. The gameplay is varied and the use of the Wii controls is very impressive (with one minor exception being the light-gun style mini-games which are very rare). This game really could have been terrible. Too many developers would have slapped some half-baked control scheme onto this game and called it good, but this is one of those rare games where the developer obviously put a lot of thought into the control.
I haven't played multi-player very much, but what I've played is very fun and enjoyable. Single player is addictive, so much so that I was late to a dinner meeting because my friends kept urging me to check out the next level. Most of the levels are clever and leave the player with a great sense of accomplishment when completed. After every five or six levels a new feature or function is opened up, which keeps the gameplay from getting stale. From what I can tell there are hundreds of levels built into the game PLUS the game includes a full featured level editor allows you to modify existing levels and create your own in addition to being able to share your creations with others on the internet.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Boom Blox

BOOM BLOX?, the first game developed in collaboration between EA and director and producer, Steven Spielberg, is a high-energy game featuring over three hundred levels, a variety of activities, a cast of over thirty wacky characters, and an easy-to-use in-game editor that allows players to express their creativity. BOOM BLOX’s visceral gameplay is perfectly suited for the Wii’s interactivity.The action gets going fast and the fun never ends as you throw baseballs, blast lasers, save wacky animal characters, explore cool worlds and more!

Get 33% OFF

Click here for more information about Boom Blox

Read More...

Game Party Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Revising my review after a week of owning the game. Here's a rundown of each of the games:
Darts - once you get the hang of it, which doesn't really take that long, it's fun. Especially nice is the fact that up to four players can compete in this game at once. Custom darts/boards are unlockable.
Hoop Shoot - this can get tiring, but is fun for quick competitions between friends. Getting the ball to stay straight can be a little bit of a challenge at times.
Skill Ball - aka Skee ball - is fun. The controls are pretty much the same as Wii bowling, and the only thing you need to watch out for is throwing too hard. Also, this only has a one player mode, but you can easily just select "play again" at the end and pass the remote to a friend.
Shuffleboard - this is not what you're thinking. This is the tabletop version. Controlling the direction that the puck goes in can be a bit sporadic. Perhaps most frustrating here is that in one player mode, the computer will always, and I mean always, get the second turn, allowing them that last chance to knock your pucks out and score the win. Oh, and you can unlock curling if you get enough tickets.
Air hockey - the controls for this are similar to real air hockey, which means you hold the Wiimote parallel to the floor and actually push it left/right and forward/backward to control your player's hand. It's a little easy to score on yourself until you really get the hang of it, but it's a fun game to play in two player.
Ping cup - aka beer pong - frustrating to no end. The controls seem incredibly sporadic on this, and I still have not been able to clear the table before getting irritated to the point of quitting. If this is the only reason you plan on buying this game, be prepared to spend a lot of time with it before you start drinking, or you're just asking for a fight with your TV.
Trivia - I still haven't actually tried this; I'll update again when I do.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Game Party

Game Party, available this holiday exclusively for the Wii console, brings all the rec room classics to your living room, all in one package. Using the Wii Remote, guide your darts, slide your shuffleboard discs or launch your skii balls for the ultimate party experience.. Up to four players can play at once, for the ultimate party experience!

Get 26% OFF

Click here for more information about Game Party

Read More...

Game Party 3 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I review mainly 3rd party family games for the Wii. If you want to see more of my reviews go to youtube.com/wiiviewr.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Game Party 3

Create-a-Player allows everyone to create unique characters to fit their style. New for Game Party 3, there are now twice as many Create-a-Player pieces, so the combinations are nearly endless

Get 8% OFF

Click here for more information about Game Party 3

Read More...

Block Party - 20 Games Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Do NOT buy this game, don't even rent it.
Menu is basic, single & multi & music & sound levels. The music is actually nice, kinda Broadway musical feel. Too bad ITS ONLY IN THE MENU. There is NO music during gameplay. There are no sounds other then requisite 1-2 sounds of whatever your doing & a lot of giggling & "whoa" for no reason. The colors are bright & cheerful, but there is no texture, no nothing. It feels half done & halfheartedly at that.
There are a lot of bugs, in one that you are a human sling shot, you sail in the air, my character landed sideways & flat. In one balancing on the ball, one of the AI was a blond boy, when the game ended, it was a redheaded girl.
There are 4 sections to cycle through, each with 5 games, 2 of which are locked. You have no idea which game unlocks those & you must get 20,000 points.
The game styles are inane. Shoot SCARY looking 3D bugs that fly AT YOU complete with blood red eyes before they eat your cake, STUN the dog who ate your friend so you can pry your friend by their feet out of the St. Bernard's mouth. Follow the trace lines like a Rayman Raving Rabbid game w/o the personality, MANY shooting games: shoot clay targets, shoot your characters balloons, shoot the BOY riding in the free falling tire, etc. MANY hit the buttons displayed games one in which you are hanging on a metal chain over a evil plant in a pot who is trying to eat you, waggle & hit buttons to do tricks in the air like Mario & Sonic Olympics trampoline game w/o the personality & the flips aren't even programmed fully. Drink soda, fart into the air & try to hit the gingerbread cookie targets in the air on the way down, etc.
The text/drawing instructions make sense & work most times when it only involves buttons, though once the instructions were wrong by saying to shoot the OPPONENTS balloons to win, but the goal was to land which means shooting your own. Though the games has trouble recognize the movements correctly & sometimes doesn't respond AT ALL & even the IR for shooting feels sluggish & off. Anytime in the "rhythm" games w/o the music, if it asks you to swipe to left/right or up/down, it rarely works. Even pushing forward to launch yourself in Sling shot doens't respond the first 3x. Some games are even insanely difficult for anyone, much less a child.
Balance ball - using nunchuck stick to balance left & right (constantly moving) & on the wii mote hit A or B as they quickly for 1-2 seconds scroll under your character.
Chariots of Fruit - no, you pull a baby wagon of fruit & run like M&S Olympics. But no matter what you're still last & the score doens't even make sense.
High Wire hangup - balance the wii mote to walk across. But if the ball in the rectangle telling you where the balance is, the ball & rectangle falls lower on the left, you don't bring the right side down which would make gravity sense, no, you drop the left side LOWER. Same for the right side.
Crazy Clothesline - ok, if the above wasn't hard enough, you do that PLUS you move the nunchuck's stick in a circular fashion because now you're on a short unicycle.
this game was poorly done, from controls, to gameplay ideas to looks. this is PURE shovelware, this is NOTHING good in it. DO NOT FEED lazy & cheap programmers by buying this or EVEN renting it. Your wallet controls how much time/effort companies put into games, don't let them even think this will make them money.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Block Party - 20 Games

20 Party Games: Family Friendly Fun Wii

Get 67% OFF

Click here for more information about Block Party - 20 Games

Read More...