Wii Party: Chad's impressions

by: Chad - posted: 9/27/2010 3:07:00 PM

Nintendo had another title up its sleeve at the Experience Nintendo Tour last week.  In fact, Wii Party took me by surprise and not only because I wasn't expecting it.  The Wii has become overrun with minigame compilations, but Nintendo once again is going to prove that they know how to do it right.  Sean and I had a chance to play Balance Boat and I enjoyed it.  Balance Boat is a cooperative game mode that really makes two people learn to communicate well and put that communication into action. 
 
The premise is simple.  Start by having two people run through a variety of minigames.  The reward of doing well is getting two Miis of similar size; doing poorly or failing a minigame will give you Miis of very different sizes.  Those little people must then be placed on a ship but care is needed to ensure it doesn't capsize.  Since it’s easier to balance two Miis of equal size, it quickly becomes apparent that working together is the only way to make it to the final rounds.  All of the minigames we played were distinct and made Balance Boat quite entertaining.
 
Unfortunately, we barely had time to scratch the surface of Wii Party.  Balance Boat is just one of 13 different game modes included on the disc.  Some others that we were told about include: Hide 'n' Hunt, where you actually hide four remotes in the room and see who can find them the first; Animal Tracker, put all four remotes on a table and try to pick up the one that's making the correct sound; and Time Bomb, which is a "hot potato" type of game. 
 
It looks like Nintendo is making sure that families and friends have even more reasons to play games together.  Even when it was just a standard minigame, the delivery looks fun.  However, Wii Party is also bringing the experience off of the screen to involve the entire room.  Look for Wii Party to be released in early October.