Mario Party 8 Partying Preview

Party games have nearly faded off the face of the planet on every other system not made by Nintendo. Fusion Frenzy for the Xbox 360 isn’t a bad attempt at a good family-friendly party game, but it sure as heck isn’t Mario Party 8. With new characters, new mini-games and the added play-scape of the Wii-mote, Mario Party 8 has already defined itself with a prospective appeal.

The Mario Party franchise has officially taken the step into the next-generation, as it will be appearing on the Wii for the very first time in March of this year. The game will feature 14 different playable characters and two bonus characters added to the group. As usual, the game will center around multiplayer competitive situations that play out in classic Mario Party, board-game fashion.

And if you certainly haven’t had enough of your fill of mini-game action on the Wii, you should be pleased to know that there are more than 70 mini-games that will be available in Mario Party 8. These mini-games will take place over the course of 6 new boards with 12 Wii-elbow busting game modes. But what would a Mario Party game be without frustrating your opponents by dodging traps, stealing stars, or skipping ahead on the board? That’s why MP8 will be fully equipped, lock-and-loaded and full to the brim with the most cheat-worthy, under-dog friendly, over-the-top power-ups you can imagine.

What’s more is that while speakers in a controller wouldn’t seem like a necessary addition for interactive gameplay, it will actually play a rather significant part in Mario Party 8. Nintendo wasn’t lying that the controllers would be the most expensive aspect of the Wii; mainly gamers won’t just be using the Wii-mote motion sensing action to progress through the game. But the speakers in the controller will actually help players via indicating who’s turn it is or discerning other events that place during the game.

Mario Party 8 for the Wii will be available in North America and Canada on March 7, while Europe and Japan will receive the game this coming February.

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