"The Star Carinval beckons you, but will you stay?"

STORY 5/10

Round up, round up, the carnival is in town. The Mario Party series have not really revolved around any significant stories. In Mario Party 8 a Star Carnival is opened and all the Mario Party chracters are invited, plus more. You can play in different tents for 4 player board games, battle games, mini games and more. There is some story in the beginning of Mario Party 8 and the Star Battle Arena but not enough to give it a decent mark. However since the story was not the most important part in this game I won't give it a low mark either. That being said, some story throughout the entire game may have had some players working towards an objective and keeping them retained to the game. You'll find in Mario Party 8 that playing boardgames and minigames is just for fun or to earn cards to unlock things and not really to advance any story segments.

DESIGN 6/10

The wii's graphical power is nowhere near as good as playstation 3 or xbox 360 but it is better than the previous nintendo console, the gamecube. Mario Party 8 does not seem to use the full power of the console on the game. Players won't expect hugely detailed environments, but the designs and details look previous gen in this game. It does feel like the boards have been rushed, made short and with only partial detail when you play. However the colours are very bright and colourful and there are more characters, that have been designed, to play which is a pro for this game. Gameboards have previous elements such as blue spaces which give a player 3 coins and red which minus 3 coins. There are also green question mark spaces which trigger an event either good or bad. There are also more NPC's on boards which may help you or sell you candy. Players can also play solo minigames to earn more coins. However the gameboards overall background environments lack liveliness and diversity.

GAMEPLAY 6.5/10

The Star Carnival consists of 5 specific locations to visit. The Party Tent where you can play with 4 players on the boards, the Star Battle Arena where you can plough through the boards against an opponent, the Minigame Tent where you can replay minigames you have unlocked, the Extras Zone where you can play 8 extra minigames and the Fun Bazaar where you unlock character models, music and more. There is a lot to do in Mario Party 8 however there are only 6 boards and they feel very short. If you do select say '50 turns' then you'll find yourself repeating the boards over and over again. There are around 70 new minigames which are fairly fun to play but lack excitment in most cases and the controls can be hard to get used to. Also the characters difficulty can be changed from easy to very hard. Playing off against the computer on easy still feels difficult as the game feels fixed for them to win or strike back if they have a fault during play. It is best to play off against real players. New features to gameplay include collecting candy to steal coins, move forward with speed and spring to another characters position have been added. Also extra star awards can be obtained at the end giving players a bigger cjhance of winning. In the end you may get bored but Mario Party 8 has its gameplay highlights, lots of minigames, new boards, variations in battles, and extras to unlock.

MUSIC 7/10

The music element to the game is fairly strong. The Carnival music feels welcoming and the sounds you hear are what you would expect at some fantasy carnival. The game boards music is also nice to play along too and elements from previous Mario titles can be heard, which is a nice feature. Additionally if you do love the music and the voices of the characters they can all be unlocked in the Fun Bazaar.

CONCLUSION

Mario Party 8 is a fun game to play when you are feeling bored or it it is a rainy day. Playing with friends is exciting and the element of collecting stars like in previous Mario Party titles is still exciting. There are loads more minigames and extras to unlock. However Mario Party 8 feels rushed, the graphics feel like next gen and the controls and difficulty can ruin the gameplay.

FINAL SCORE 6/10 (Not An Average)

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/07