Mario Party 8 (Wii)

Advantages: Fun games, cute graphics, good variety of characters
Disadvantages: Doesn't use the wii remote quite as much as it could

...long time fan of the Mario Party series, I was looking forward to playing the Wii's first attempt at continuing the games. After an extremely long wait with Nintendo continually pushing the release date back, it's finally available. If you've never played a Mario Party game, the concept is quite simple. It is basically a board game, where the idea is to collect as many stars as possible. You can play with up to four friends as different Mario characters ...
...If you've never played any Mario related games at all, that shouldn't put you off buying this game. Characters don't really have any advantages depending on which one you choose, and none of them have any special skills. It's basically a case of which you find the cutest, or whether you'd find it more appealing being a ghost or a dinosaur! There is a lot of candy in this game. Candy's can be gained from walking through certain places, from stealing ... Read review

Advantages: Hilarious in Multiplayer, New ways to play
Disadvantages: Can get tedious in single player, Wii remote could be used better

...to be an epic game. Mario Party 8 attempts at once again taking the boredom out of board games and giving a fun twist on the traditional roll the dice and move spaces style of games. It entertains and infuriates, but can only be regarded as fun for everyone. Whilst former games have been good, they have gotten slightly repetitive with similar styles of play using the controller. Of course, the Wii remote solves this, and has been put to use in many ...
...frankly is the most annoying Mario character I’ve ever seen. He also makes these stupid noises which make you want to shove that microphone he carries down his throat. Of course, he doesn’t affect the entire game, but I do really wish he’d crawl back into the cave from where he came from and never return. The basic idea of the game is very similar to games such as Monopoly, in which you roll a dice to see how many spaces you move. Your counter (or ... Read review

Advantages: for a party
Disadvantages: graphics, set up.

...bundle. I didn't think Mario Party 8 good. The game is relaxing, its one of those games where you can just sit back and relax on the couch. It is better enjoyed with friends or family. Playing the game alone is really boring and it probably is more playable and enjoyable when with 3 or 4 friends. The mini-games are only amusing when you can laugh and joke with others, reveling in the spirit of competition. The thing making these games different ...
...of the controls. Previous Mario Party games have had really brilliant mini-games to choose from, but many of those in this installment seem uninspired. Most of the games need the basic Wii remote movements, like the target-shooting games, other ones rely on sideways movement. The game bored is very interesting and unique. I liked when you land on the donkey Kong place the mini-games are fun and are different. There are many games in this collection, ... Read review

Advantages: Can be enjoyed with friends
Disadvantages: you have to own more than one controller

Mario Party 8 is a family-friendly, fun game. This game is quite simple, it is basically a board game, you roll a dice, you take your moves and the idea is to collect as many stars as possible. After each person has had one move on the board, a mini game is played. Before the game begins you have to select your character, choose how many turns you want the game to run for, choose the level of difficulty and decide which board you want to play on. ...
...different Mario characters. There are 14 characters for you to choose from. These include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Waluigi, Wario, Toad, Toadette, Boo, Yoshi, Dry Bones, and Birdo. It makes no difference to the game which character you choose as they do not have any special skills or individual abilities. There are several different boards to choose from that you can play on and some are harder than others. Some boards emphasize covering distance, ... Read review

Advantages: Fun minigames, great for multiplayer.
Disadvantages: Annoying controls, too much luck needed.

The 8th(!!) Mario Party Game in the series has, I feel, dropped the standard from the last two games. It still has the "Party" feel to it; turn based play, mini games (and the pleasure of winning them); the coin earning, the stars, and the different boards. This edition has more characters than any of the previous ones, with the veterans such as Mario, Peach and Yoshi, whilst introducing new ones such as Hammer Bros. and Blooper, both found as enemies ...
...has all new boards, retaining the usual "get 20 coins and trade them for a start" feature, and including new ways of earning stars. For example, on the "Koopa's Tycoon Town" board, your character moves around investing coins into hotels, a bit like "Monopoly", in order to earn stars, with each hotel only providing stars to the player with the highest amount of coins invested. However - it has less mini games than "Mario Party 7", and retains the ... Read review