Nintendo sure does like to party.
After all, they basically invented the genre with Mario Party back in 1999, which they
expanded upon with their dozen or so follow-ups, and its spiritual spinoff Wii Party back in
2010.
And now they're at it again with Wii Party U, this time offering more minigames and more
ways to play.
But does Nintendo still have what it takes to host a killer party, or has it begun to
grow a little stale after all these years
So like its predecessors, Wii Party U is built around minigames.
And as usual, you can play them by themselves.
In fact, two of the three primary game modes are built around that very concept, offering
a handful of games that are a little more in-depth than the others.
Take House Party mode, for example, which offers several stand-alone games for up to
4-players, all of which use of the Gamepad in some novel way.
For example, a minigame called Button Smasher is basically Twister for your fingers, requiring
everyone to hold certain buttons on the same GamePad and Wii Remote set as instructed by
the game--it can get pretty hectic, but it's also pretty fun.
Then in Water Runners, you actually place the Gamepad on the floor somewhere far away
from the TV.
Players must then use Wii Remotes as spoons to carefully carry virtual water from the
Gamepad and walk it back to their container on the TV, without spilling it along the way.
It's as crazy as it sounds, and also quite clever.
Then there's the GamePad Party mode that similarly revolves around novel uses of the GamePad,
but this time, the entire game takes place only on the GamePad.
And because of this, the games are all limited to just 2-players each.
So in one game, you'll actually play a tabletop version of Foosball, as each player grips
a control stick to control their entire team.
In another, you'll take turns in a competitive connect-four like puzzle game where you try
to assemble Miis in the proper order.
Finally, there's TV Party mode, which is where is where the bulk of the gameplay resides.
Here you'll find 5 different board game-like experiences that feature mini games sprinkled
throughout the game.
Such as in Highway Rollers, which is a straight-forward board game with the goal being simply to reach
the end.
But, the amount of dice you can roll at a time depends on how well you perform in the
minigames that periodically appear, so the better you are at those, the better the odds
you'll have in the board game itself.
Now I've really only scratched the surface of the modes and games available, as there's
far too much for me to break it all down here.
But this should a general idea of the play-styles available.
But of course, the question is...how well do they actually play?
And answering that's a little tricky.
So before I do, I want to explain why I like party games.
Or to be specific, the first few Mario parties, and that was due to the sheer intensity of
the board games, which was derived from the brilliant interplay of the skill-based mini
games and the strategy involved with the boardgame portion.
Yeah, yeah, there was still a lot of luck involved--as with most board games--but it
was never completely out of your hands.
And that's where Wii Party U's TV Party mode goes a bit astray.
Take the aforementioned Highway Rollers for example--the boardgame portion is dependent
entirely on luck, as there's not a single choice you can make throughout the experience.
The only influence you have on the game itself is through the mini games, which again, affects
how many dice you can roll.
But since that's the only factor, the boardgame portion feels completely arbitrary.
There's really no more skill involved here than in chutes and ladders, a game made for
3 year olds.
It's a little hard to become engrossed or even care about winning when the winning conditions
are left almost entirely to luck
GamePad Island, another TV Party mode, falls victim to a similar fate, though at least
this one turns every dice-roll into a minigame of its own, giving you some influence on what
happens during the boardgame itself.
And though the rest of TV Party's mode aren't quite as egregious in this transparent lack
of strategy, most of them simply just aren't that engaging.
Perhaps the best one of the bunch is Balldozer, which is similar to the Coin Push game found
in many arcade games.
Here you'll play through 5 rounds of mini games and the outcome determines
when and where to drop the balls.
While I did have fun with this one, it didn't hold my interest for long.
And that's really the main problem that permeates all of TV Party--it's all very shallow, which
is basically the exact opposite of what many look for in a board game
Okay, I know what you're wondering--what about the mini games themselves?
And with over 60 of them that you'll encounter in TV Party mode alone, there's quite a few
of them.
Well, if you've played a party game before, then you basically know what to expect, as
they're still relatively simple and straightforward--which isn't a negative.
In fact, some of them are fun, like R/C Drifter.
Unfortunately, for me, most of the minigames are simply too passive in nature and don't
often allow for direct interaction with your opponents, which frankly makes them feel a
little boring.
With that said, I did find a subset of those games to be far more interesting, as they
directly addressed that concern.
The 1 vs Rivals games, that pits the GamePad player vs the others using Wii Remote, can
be hilariously delightful, as both factions have a direct--and immediate effect on each
other in almost all 14 available games.
Take Operation Sandbox for example, where the GamePad players controls a giant tank,
who tries to roll over the opponents targeting him with spiked balls.
I really enjoyed most of these games, as they were both engaging and used the GamePad in
unique ways
Unfortunately, the 1 vs Rivals mini games don't appear that often in TV Party Mode
Which leaves you the duller, more passive ones.
Now don't get me wrong--the Mario Party series has its shares of clunkers too, but they're
at least propped up by a compelling board game which added excitement to every game,
because you were actually invested in the outcome.
But because the board games in Wii party U, are almost entirely based on luck and shallow,
the minigames are left to stand largely by themselves
Now so far, I've mostly been talking about the TV Party mode, but what about the games
featured in Wii Party U's two other modes, being House Party and GamePad Party.
So the thing with House Party is that all of the games make novel use of the GamePad
and are pretty interesting for that reason--and well, basically only that reason.
Because once the novelty of things such as carrying virtual water from your GamePad to
the TV wears off, there's really not much left to these games.
Now some of the games do have a little more replay value to them, such as Name That Face,
which challenges other players to guess your facial expression, but all of them suffer
from a similar lack of depth that makes them hard to enjoy more than once or twice.
However, I will say that the GamePad party games are actually my personal favorite of
the bunch.
These too make novel use of the GamePad controller, but this time offering a level of depth that--at
least for some of them--make them pretty addictive.
I love Foosball, and it's amazing how well Wii party U's version captures the essence
of that game.
Similarly, playing Tabletop baseball is far more engaging than I expected.
And finally, Mii-in-a-Row is actually a fairly deep puzzle game that'll leave you and your
opponent scratching your heads.
Whew, clearly there's a ton to this game--and as I mentioned before, I've still only scratched
the surface.
And a lot of it is fun...just not that fun, and not for that long.
The TV Party Mode falters with its far-too simplistic boardgames which also winds up
taking the wind out the sails of the minigames.
Then House Party, though often creative, has little else going on for it.
GamePad Party, on the other hand, is actually the highlight of the experience here, though
even its games grew tiring after a few play sessions
So overall, I'm giving Wii Party U's multiplayer mode 3/5 stars.
It can be entertaining as long as you have friends., just perhaps
not for that long--at least in my case
Now if you're going solo, you should know that not all of the game is playable.
And the parts that are, well, really aren't that entertaining by yourself.
Sure, CPU players will fill in the blank spots of your roster, but there's just not much
to be had in taking them down, which is why Single-Player gets 2-Stars out of 5.
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