Mario Party 8 Member Review for the Wii

Mini-games fun, but latest could be more innovative.

It's always more fun if you're invited to the party. Mario Party 8 for the Wii is proof. The future of gaming is getting inside the experience, and the Wii's huge success is because of its interactivity.

This version of Mario Party takes advantage of the special way to play on the Wii, and the collection of mini-games draws you in like never before.

If you're a neophyte to the MP series, then you should know it's a video "board" game that has several different worlds to play in, and you move around the board competing in mini-games to win coins, and then stars.

Some feel the series is getting tired, but I have enjoyed each and every version, and MP8 is no different.

There's sports-themed games, racing, exploration, collection -- and they all take place in the bizarre world of Mario and his friends. Race, swing, fish, shoot, skip, jump; there's lots to do here and most of it is based on moving around your living room with the motion-sensored Wii controller.

The different boards are innovative, with new locations and great designs, but some troublesome powerups can leave you feeling the game is a bit cheap as you can you all your hard-earned coins to a random roll of the virtual dice.

If there is a downside, it's that the game isn't as innovative as it could be. Just like the Wario Ware game on the Wii, I thought these two franchises were made for the Wii but, though they're good, they just don't capture the interactive joy to the level we first felt when we got our hands on Wii Sports.

Overall though, this is a great game, either as a rental for a real party when you have a bunch of kids over, or as a purchase so you can play indefinitely with a close group of friends.