Mario Party 8
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Game Information
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Party
Release Date: May 29, 2007
Platform: Wii

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Synopsis
Mario Party 8 (Japanese: 8 Hepburn: Mario Pti Eito?) is a party video game, the eighth installment in the Mario Party series, and is the first title in the series to be released for the Wii. It is also the first Mario Party title to have the ability to use Mii characters. It was released in North America on May 29, 2007, in Europe on June 22, 2007, in Australia on July 19, 2007, in Japan on July 26, 2007, in Korea on November 6, 2008. It was originally released in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2007. However, some retailers were reporting that it was supposedly withdrawn from shelves because some copies included the word "spastic"; it was eventually re-released in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2007. Mario Party 8 is followed by Mario Party DS in late 2007, and Mario Party 9 in March/April 2012.

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Gameplay
The gameplay of this features similar gameplay of Mario Party 7 with just a different plot and setting. There is a huge amount of mini games to play with over 73 in total. These mini games can be played in Party mode or just roaming around on the game. There is six total boards that players can actually play on. Each map is different with its own features on it. There is five areas in which the player can play; Party Tent, Mini game tent, Star Battle Arena, Fun Bazaar, and Extras. The party tent and the mini games are the main things to do in this game. In the party tent there are three types of modes to play; Battle Royale, Tag Battle, and duel battle. Every single one is different, like Battle Royale is a four play competition, Tag Battle is a two versus two, and Duel is a one on one battle. When playing one of these modes players throughout the board can collect candies. Candies are a new addition to this game. There are 14 candies in total and each have there own ability. Like double candies can cause you to hit two dice blocks instead of one. In the mini game tent the player plays all the mini games that are available. It is all up the players choice and what he/she wants to play. All of the mini games are different and have nothing in common what so ever. In the extra zone there is nine mini games that are not available in the mini game tent. These are longer and more and requires a little more thinking to it. The other two tents are nothing really big but they are quite fun when you have nothing else to do.

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Plot
In Mario Party 8 there friend invites them over to his carnival. The person that invites you over to his carnival says to whoever wins is crowned the Superstar and receives a year's supply of candy. This begins the battle between characters in the boards to retrieve the prize. Well after finally defeating there last opponent MC Ballyhoo promises something better than the candy, the Star rod. Then bowser comes out of nowhere and takes it and flies away. Then you guys must go after bowser and get that star rod back. Once you defeat all of his little minions you get the star back to MC Ballyhoo and he tells you to keep it.

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Graphics
The graphics of this game have definitely have improved since Mario Party 7. They have a nice little texture to each map which makes it a great feel towards the game. But this games graphics arent the best I suppose they still need some touches. The game in the story line has a lot of cut scenes. And instead of them talking it will pop up in a text box that should be able to be sped up but you cant speed it up. You will find your self pressing A a whole lot but thats not gonna do you any good. There is also a lot of text interruptions that are really not necessary for the game, and it gets quite annoying. The pads you jump on are huge which is really not necessary either. The good part of this game is that the characters look way better from the previous one. There is also shops around the boards where the player can purchase candies or other things to help you win. The shops look great and they also change on every map depending on what map your on like a jungle or city. The mini games are not laggy and they run very smooth like on each and every one. I saw no bugs with any of the mini games which is a big one up. There are few things that needed to fixed and that could make the game a lot better.

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Controls
Well there really isnt an identified or main control of this game. Ill say what I think is the main controls of this game although there really isnt any. Well hitting A or moving your Wii remote around really fast will cause you to hit the dice block, and that is pretty much it. I mean your gonna need to point the remote at the screen to select want you want to use or choose what to get. All of the other controls are for the mini games and the consist of using the wii remote, pressing A or B and then your set. It will give you a guide on what controls to use for a specific mini game. You can then go to practice and it will not count towards your round nor stats. Every control may be confusing at first or simple but its all preferred of the player. I found nothing wrong with any of the controls and your just using not even half of the controls it could use for the to be more difficult but its not like that. Overall there easy and simple to learn nothing needs to be fixed.

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Rating
Synopsis 8/10
Gameplay 9/10
Plot 8/10
Graphics 7/10
Controls 10/10
Overall 8/10