Are you sure?
Then get ready for May 29, 2007 because that is the day when the new Mario Party 8 is released for the Wii!
Developed by Hudson Soft this is the first game in the long running Mario Party series to hit the Wii. Unlike the last version, Mario Party 7, this game does not support eight players. The eight player system used in Mario Party 7 was a bit clunky in that players had to "share" a controller between them. It would be possible to do something on the Wii by having one player hold the Wii-remote while the other holds the nunchuk but, any game that required pointing would not work.
From all of the news I have been able to dig up about this new Mario Party game it appears that it only uses the Wii-remote. This means I can hold off on buying that fourth nunchuk for a little bit longer!
- Highlights
- Play with motion control: Players row their way through a river race, punch a statue to pieces, steer race cars, mopeds and go-karts and handle a balancing pole while walking a tightrope.
- Play using the Pointer: Shoot at Boos in a haunted house, rag and drop toppings in a cake-decorating competition, select the correct answers in game show challenges.
- Play using the Wii Remote's buttons: Players jump and pummel their way through a football brawl, hop and run across a field of spinning platforms
- Mario Party 8 also includes dozens of new minigames, six new party boards and many new game modes. In a series first, players can transform their characters into many forms, such as player-smashing boulders and coin-sucking vampires. Mario Party 8 also includes "extra-large" minigames like Star Carnival Bowling and Table Menace. One to four players can play Mario Party 8, each with a Wii Remote.
In Mario Party 8, a whimsical ringmaster has invited Marioâ„¢, Peach and the rest of the crew to his carnival, a perfect setting for the dynamic spectacle of the Wii game play. Mario Party 8 keeps the surprises coming with minigames that draw upon the Wii Remote's motion, pointing and button control in a variety of ways. Players always know how to jump into the action by watching an animated tutorial that shows how to use the Wii Remote (just like in Rayman: Raving Rabbids).Following tradition, Mario Party 8 takes the social, strategic game play of board games and adds breaks for quick, action-oriented minigames. In the main mode, players travel across six boards in search of Stars, landing on spaces that are helpful (example: giving coins) or a hindrance (example: sending Bowser in to mess with the player). Several variations for these boards tweak the main goals to enhance game play for solo sessions, two-player games and three- to four-player games.
In addition, Mario Party 8 includes four more minigame-infused kinds of board games, such as Tic-Tac Drop, where players earn the right to put the next mark on the board by winning a minigame.Mario Party games are a celebration of all things Mario, so you can play as 14 classic characters, the widest selection yet for the series, including newcomers Hammer Bro and Blooper. You'll also bump into many old friends and foes that span 20+ years of Mario games.
- There are two major changes in Mario Party 8
- Players can transform their character using candy power-ups. Examples: When Peach eats Bowlo Candy, she'll turn into a Peach-faced ball and bowl over characters to get their coins. When Warioâ„¢ eats Vampire Candy, he'll sprout wings and fly off to suck the coins from all other players.
- A more engaging view of the action puts the player "on the board" with his traveling character, no longer far above the whole board looking down.
I have already pre-ordered my copy of this game. I do not know if Nintendo is planning on giving out any bonus items to the pre-order folks but I don't care because I expect this game to sell out in the stores and become as hard to get as Wii Play was.
In case you are wondering, my favorite character to play as is Wario!What can I say, I just love the big guy! It might have something to do with the far more Italian voice he sports than Mario does. I mean, just listen to him when he says, "Wa ha ha, Wario winner!" when you win a game. He sounds far more Italian than Mario does.
As an Italian myself (Northern Italy) I just can't get behind a wimpy little Mario guy with his wimpy little "winning" speech. Nope, I need that big Wario in my corner. Just so you know, I can't stand Waluigi.