criteeker's Full Review: Game Party for Nintendo Wii
After scoring a Wii system and Wii Fit in one visit to my local Wal-Mart, I wanted a couple of game titles to augment what came with the Wii system.
One of my first picks was "Game Party." Why? Because it has seven games that add the physical interaction of the Wii-motes. The games are for one to four players and most are quite addicting. Add the the very attractive price of $19.99 and you have a hit.
Darts:
Being a huge fan of darts, I've spent many an evening in British and Irish pubs. You choose a Mii character (I like the salty Irish dockworker) and settle in for hours of fun all set to Irish folk music. The Wii-mote sits in your hand like a dart would. You pick your target and then toss your virtual dart at the TV screen. It takes some getting used to, but I have perfected my Wii dart game. I also love the background Mii characters who cheer or groan at darts thrown.
The dart games include...
Cricket; score three (single, double ring or triple ring) at 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and then 3 scores of bullseye to win.
301, 501 or 701; start with 301/501/701 points, then toss three darts (per turn) at the board to remove points until you reach zero. The bad part is that you don't have to double in or double out (hitting the outer ring) like in real dart rules.
Unlockable Baseball dart game. This is another fun dart game played by hitting various hits, out, strike, etc to win a short baseball game.
Darts score: 5 stars
Table Hockey (Air Hockey):
Here's a game that anyone would enjoy playing at the arcade. The Wii-mote is used to move a character's arm to strike and block the disc. The game play is a bit slow and I find it annoying that FAR TOO OFTEN we score on ourselves. It's a bit quirky controls. Fun but annoying.
Table Hockey scores: 3.2 stars
Skill Ball (Ski Ball):
Another arcade favorite including the tickets. The only things missing are the cheesy prizes you can trade in for. There are table variations and the user swings his or her arm in the same motion you would playing the real game.
Skill Ball score: 3.4 stars
Hoop Shoot (Basketball Toss):
Just like another arcade favorite, you get to show off your basketball prowess using the Wii-mote just like you would a real ball. It's so addicting that you actually break a sweat and your triceps get a workout. The goal is to break the high scores of your friends and family so it can get pretty competitive.
Hoop Shoot score: 4.5 stars
Ping Cup:
If you were to mix Beer Pong and Quarters, you'd have this infuriating game. Players take turns tossing Ping Pong balls at cups. A player goes again if he or she scores. If you bounce the ball and it goes in, you get two points - one point for direct scores. Once you've scored in a particular cup, it's vanishes. I suppose fraternity guys could turn this game into a drinking game (wink wink).
Ping Cup score: 3 stars
Shuffle Board:
Players take turns whisking slippery discs down a wooden table to score points on the table. Like the Italian game Bocci, you can knock another player's discs off the playing field for higher points. Fun game but the controls are a bit hard to master.
Shuffle Board score: 3.9 stars
Trivia:
You use the Wii-mote to spin a wheel containing the categories (General, History, Kids, Music, Film&TV). Each question is flashed on the screen and players use their Wii-mote to answer the questions. The faster you answer, the more points are earned. But answer incorrectly and points are removed. Very addicting.
Trivia score: 4.8 stars
As expected in a series of games like these, the graphics are not as impressive as the human interaction with movement of the Wii-mote.
All in all, "Game Party" is scads o' fun and my family seems to reach for this game the most - after the Wii Fit of course.
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