Game Party – Nintendo Wii Reviews

The air hockey game is horizontal and not vertical. Yes, they put the table on screen SIDEWAYS — meaning instead of left/right motion used to defend the goal in most air hockey games, this one requires an up/down motion. The left/right motion, in this game, is a forward/backward. It’s an utterly absurd design choice that ruins the game.

The rollerball game doesn’t follow the usual control standards used in other games either. To adjust angle of roll, instead of pressing A then left/right arrow, you have to press +/-.

The hoops game was mildly entertaining though again it suffers from a very limited range of movement. The action movement could be more realistic too. Any wrist movement during the shot sends the ball off too high or too low.

The trivia game was mildly entertaining — though I somehow managed to spin the wheel seven different times and still managed to get the same category, Music. Being asked a question about Brittney Spears ruined it.

The pong/cup/whatever toss game was hopeless.

Didn’t try shuffleboard.

I’m trading this one ASAP.

Air Hockey: This is a 1 to 2 player game. The first to score 7 points wins the game. It looks just like real Air Hockey, but it was very hard to control my actions, and I would often be unable to move the puck or would score against myself. The game often froze as I was playing it. You cannot name your player ahead of time so you are always player one even after repeated playing.

Darts: One of the best games on Game Party. It is a bit tricky to get used to – you have to lock the target first and then shoot, but once you master that it is easy to play. Up to four people can play, and there are several games to play: High Score, 301, 501, 701, Cricket. And, if you win enough tickets, Baseball Darts. One thing that annoyed me is that if you wanted to play a different version of darts you have to start all over again, including selecting a player. Still, darts is a fun game that can take a very long time to play.

Hoop Shot: One of the easiest and most fun games on Game Party. You have one minute to score as many baskets as you can. You don’t have to wait for the ball to hit the basket before taking another shot – you can shoot as often as you want. It is a bit hard to aim at first, but I found it best to use both hands on the remote – it is easier to score baskets and reduces the risk of injury. This is a game I love to play over and over again.

Ping Cup: A computerized version of Beer Pong. Cups are arranged in triangular form and you must land a ball in each cup to win the game (the cup disappears after the ball lands in it). You get bonus points if you land the ball in a cup in consecutive attempts or if the ball bounces before landing in the cup. This is one of my least favorite games. You have to lock the ball before throwing it which is hard to do and you have no real control over where the ball lands. You get 10 points for each ball that lands it matter how long it takes and it can take a very long time.

Shuffleboard: Up to four players can play. You slide pucks across a table (you have four pucks) and you try to rack up points while preventing your opponent from scoring. This is very easy to play and one of the most fun games to play.

Skill Ball: Skill Ball is a variation of the Carnival favorite Ski Ball. You have 10 balls (you can select ball color and alley design) that you roll up a ramp and score points. It is not a bad game, and mimics the real game well, but it takes a lot of practice and learning exactly when to let the ball go. It is also hard to score the really big points, as it can be difficult to control where the ball lands. And if you throw the ball too softly, and it bounces back to you too many times, you lose that turn – tricky.

Trivia: One of the best games in Game Party. There are five rounds with three questions in each category (categories include Sports, Kids, General, Music, Movies and TV, and History. The quicker you answer, the more points you get, starting with 10, nine, eight, etc. Up to four people can play and if you get enough tickets you unlock Lightning Trivia. If there is any problem with this game it is that you need to click directly on an answer, or you’ll get credit for a different answer.

While Game Party has a few good games (Hoops, Trivia, Darts, and Shuffleboard) it can be very frustrating to use. The controls are shaky and sometimes hard to use. You can not use your Mii and have to choose a new player for every single game, which is annoying. The graphics are nothing special – the expressions on a different “players” faces are funny and this feature should have been utilized more. Game Party is probably best played with a group of people that are looking for a mindless way to kill some time.