Family Party: 30 Great Games – WII – Review

I have said it before and I will
say it again, for some reason, they keep making these games that feature
crazy, sports or other similar styled events for the Wii. Yes, I know, the
unique controller practically invites developers to come up with fun, goofy
games that will make it appear as if you are being attacked by invisible bees
to the uninformed observer. But, more often then not these variety games
usually feature a couple of decnet games and then a whole slew of fodder to
make it seem like you are getting a value.

"Saw that log! Bail that hay! This isn’t
fun, it’s work!"

And with that, we have the latest
in a series of mediocre games featuring you climbing ropes, cutting logs,
running, shooting and as many other things they can throw at you. Problem is
the core gameplay is weak to begin with and the description of how to play is
often wrong. I understand that the Wii-mote is a clever device, but this is a
game where you may need to tag team another person in considering the severe
amount of movement some of the games require. I swear you could play this game
for a month and your playing arm would be all buff while your other would be
limp and atrophied. Yikes! Seriously though, the game is meant for up to four
players and you really do get tired when playing for any real length. I
appreciated the sheer amount of different movements required to play the
games, but the instructions are misleading in what to do and in some cases
completely wrong. Playing a game like this is tough enough, and now we have to
worry about quality control.

Not that I expect brilliance on my
Wii, but the game is missing a step in the graphics dept. Character sprites
can sometimes be edgy and not as smooth as other games in this vein. The game
as a whole looks really juvenile and doesn’t encourage you to keep plowing
through all the games. Oh sure, like I said, there is a couple that stand out
and could be considered entertaining, but the overwhelming majority not only
looks below par, but the gameplay mechanics aren’t all that riveting either.
Some cheap tricks are used to make the game seem to look better, but when you
compare this game to others on the Wii then you understand where the failures
truly lay.

Sound wise, the game isn’t making
any friends in the David house. I know it’s a tired comment, but these systems
all have a better sound board than past systems, yet the developers choose to
not really pump out the beefier surround sounds. Yeah I know, you can’t really
expect too much from a variety game like this, but when you are sawing logs,
you expect some fuller sounds at least. It never really happens. Plus the four
default songs that play during the mini-games can begin to overlap when you
are playing a four-way melee competition. No lines were ever drawn in the sand
here.

"We can rebuild him, stronger, faster,
shorter…"

Now the developers did a decent
enough job of at least breaking up the monotony, and I have to respect that.
Too many times I have played these compilation titles and its just the same
couple of motions or games re-doctored to look like something new, but isn’t.
This one is a bit more varied and it works. Sure, the games may not be the
best; the title says 30 great games, but I’d say its more like 3 great games,
8-10 good-to-fair games, a dozen so-so games and the rest no fun at all. It’s
a rough run of games that, quite frankly, doesn’t scream "play me, play me!"
But it is a value title and for that it almost seems to be enough, almost.

Since the game is touted as a
family title, it is perfectly fine for playing with all members of the family,
getting them to play is another. Yes, there is some fun to be had in this
game, but it also depends on who you have playing with you. Some games take
any group of people and make a party of it, others require that you pick the
right people if you are going to have any fun at all. This would be the
latter.

Gameplay: 6.4
It varies, there are different
games, fishing, log cutting, jumprope among others. They may not be the games
you play with your family, but its the ones you play in this title.

Graphics: 6.0
I said it before, this is a game that looks alright, does a couple
things right, but falters and stumbles when it comes down to it.

Sounds: 5.5
Things can get confusing when
multiplayer mode is engaged. The canned sounds and recycled music can get
tiresome.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 5.5
These compilation games are
getting long in the tooth, it is going to take something special to raise the
bar.

Multiplayer: 6.7
Those few games that you will find
fun, will buoy you into playing this a few times.

Overall: 6.1
This is one of the few compilation
games that actually passes the bar, barely. I can’t say that this is the one
for you, but there is some fun found in this title, you just have to look.