Mario Party 9 doenst live up to its name.

I loved Mario party for a long time now.I regret to say that this game doesnt live up to the Mario Party Standard. They took coins away and you just get stars. There is no more coins or strategy when playing. Its a game of luck rolls. For me at least i didnt play for a story line but to play against friends and family. This seams to me to be thrown together to fit a deadline. You cant set turns and play a long game anymore and dont have a choice. It took about 2 hrs to get to the last level.
Ill stick with Mario Party 5,6,7,8 for my Wii . If your looking for a duke it out to the finish with a friend this game isnt for you. If you like laying luck rolls and anyone can win because it doesnt really matter who wins the games. (I won almost all the mini games at one level and lost because i didnt get the luck rolls you need to win)

This is still Mario Party, though not everyone will like the new changes.

Fans of previous Mario Parties will find this latest title a bit different than its predecessors. One of the largest differences you'll notice is that everyone travels together. The good thing about this is that it is less of a wait for everyone to take turns, and 1st time players won't get lost on the map and not know where everyone is. The bad thing is that you can't really use items to kind of hurt the other players as much. Though you can set the person after you up for an unfavorable event, but it isn't the same as before.

Another large difference is the factor of luck. Again, may or may not be a good thing. It doesn't matter if you are the MVP of mini games, you won't always win. Also many mini games are based on luck. The reason why I say this is good is that everyone is going to be at different skill levels. It won't be fun for everyone if the same person keeps on winning everything. Imagine playing a basketball game with Lebron James. Won't be too fun if he is going to own you every game. I think it balances the game more and it acts like a wild card factor. Everyone has a chance to win.

Fans of the series will at least want to rent before making a decision.

This game does live up to the Mario Party standard. The first thing I noticed from previous Mario Parties is that you do not have to shake the controller to roll the dice. The game is simple enough that our 5 year old could play it if she didn't struggle with pointing the remote at the sensor bar. Some of the boards are long.

Took me up to 30 minutes to finish a board, and there is no save point in between you must finish the board. The dice rolls don't seem to be a problem as the group stays together. The balancing system may be a little uneven as I could win all the mini games and be so far in front I was out of reach only to get knocked down by Bowser with no chance of catching up.

Pretty Fun.

I've played many Mario Parties. This is the first one I have played on the Wii.

The largest difference has to be that everyone progresses through the game board at the same time. Every player takes a turn being the captain driving some sort a vehicle around the game board. This keeps the game very straight forward and cuts back on the amount of times each player takes looking at the map and trying to figure out where to go.

Another great aspect is this game fools you into thinking that you are working together. There is still a winner at the end of the round and you still want to beat your friends and family at every mini game, but the story put forth in each board makes the game feel as if it is a collective effort to get to the end.

Having everyone as a winner is great for my two 4 year old nephews because when one loses a game the other rubs it, which normally leads to a fight or arguing. Now everyone can be satisfied by beating the boss at the end of the board, even if you lost.

Well, not as good as Mario Party 8, and that is sad. :(

Ok, where to start.....

So this is not Mario Party 8 for the Wii. Small things have taken over this game. First of all they have taken away the flick of a wrist to hit the dice block. Secondly you are all riding in a car and not running around individually. So no more challenges by landing on blocks with each other.

The game play is ok but as a long time Mario Party player (seriously, I'm 38 so I've played them all) the game feels rushed. It is good for a few plays but then I'm wanting to go back to playing MP Wii 8....?

*sigh*