Now I had the pleasure of playing MP 8 right when i got my wii since it came with the bundle i ordered from WalMart... until I played it a few times. Don't get me wrong I've loved Mario party since the first one was released on N64, but # 8 is nothing like Mario Party 1 or 2.
The game does have a good selection of maps, but only one of them offers that classic style of go to the star space and use 20 coins for your star. The others one have start systems like: build a hotel tycoon, use candies to steal stars, get to the end of the boardwalk, etc. Some of those are actually fun, but a few more courses with the normal Mario Party style would have been great.
The controls are pretty good with the wiimote. The shaking soda can game is one of my favorites, but the game list is small and lacking. You can unlock games to play with your friends and use your Mii's. These games actually were very fun and more detailed then the games you play on the board.
There is a good list of characters you can be, but if you want blooper or hammer bro you have to waste time on the star battles. I was getting so damn angry cause of all the time wasted on these star battles. Star battles are when you play a 1 vs 1 game against a computer player on every board of the game, but theres no games at the end of each round only spaces and stars. It is the most boring gameplay ever in a Mario Party and you have to do a full set of star battles (every course plus the unlock able one) to unlock blooper, then hammer bro and the secret bowser course (which isnt that great). I wish I found this site before I put myself through star battles, I could have just downloaded game saves.
Overall Mario Party 8 is just boring after 4 games. Nothing like MP 1 or 2, and even if online was on MP8 it would be just as boring unless they put voice chat, but we all know Nintendo won't ever give us little kids optional voice chat even if parental controls are on the system.
So heres my rating.
Pros:
Lots of Characters
Good multiplayer unlockable mini games
Nice controls
Fun the first one or two games.
Good for the family.
Cons:
Gets old... fast.
Not as many games as there could have been.
Mii's as a character would have been fun.
Star battles are a pain in the ass to do (use lovingwii's gamesaves!)
Not worth the money.
The Cover looks gay.
Overall:
5/10
Now this is my opinion and if you don't agree thats your problem. Its my review of the game and I'm sure a lot of people disagree. Hope you enjoyed it.
Linear Mode
